By vote of the full Examining Board for Plumbers of Onondaga County on January 11, 2024, the Board determined that it is in the best interest of the public, the plumbing community, and aspiring Master plumbers to publish a recent Master Plumber Exam with instructions and the grading Guide Key.

The Board encourages candidates to review the materials provided on this page, participate in the Study Guide Program, and remember to show all work, calculations, and reasons for their approach to test materials in order to demonstrate competence.

1.) Instructions Master Part 2

2.) Towne Student Apartments Fixtures List Key

3.) Guide Key_Dewey_2023 Master

Observations Regarding Part 2

Point Values

The instructions often identify point values for specific portions of the exam. Candidates sometimes skip portions and may not realize that they are skipping portions with relatively high point values. Candidates are encouraged to plan their time during the exam to maximize their outcome.

Example

In the Fall 2023 exam, the three isometric drawings amounted to 25% of the total grade. As can be seen from the Guide Key, the isometric drawings are not exceptionally complicated. Other jurisdictions may have much more elaborate isometric drawing requirements, but this exam attests to the Onondaga County Examining Board for Plumbers what it believes a Master Plumber should be able to produce -- a suitable double commercial bathroom supply, waste and vent isometric in short order. Similarly, a successful Master Plumber candidate should be able to properly configure a two-temperature water heater and show a correct isometric.

Cost of Skipping

A candidate who skips a section of the exam, such as the above example, will then forfeit 25% of the grade from the start. Candidates are cautioned to pay attention to the point values for each item and plan their work accordingly.

Guide Keys

The Board employs Guide Keys when grading exams. These are called Guide Keys because they act as a guide to the extent and content expected for each drawing. The Guide Keys are not taken as the only correct or perfect answer. They are taken as an illustration of one acceptable solution to the problem. Candidates who show equivalent skill in demonstrating their proposed solution will be successful. Click here for an example of a Guide Key.

Shortcomings

The following are some shortcomings identified by the Board from the Fall 2023 Exam. (Drawings included in Guide Key)

Drawing P1

• Different GPM values for stormwater shown on drawings P1 and P2
• 2" (oversized) waste for bar sinks
• Providing 4" minimum under-slab sanitary although that has not been required for at least two decades
• Did not show Invert Elevations at start and end of drains, or showed inverts which did not match with the indicated slopes
• Insufficient cover over building drains for protection from freezing (See Onondaga County Requirements for Implementation)
• Incorrect pipe slopes or inverts considering actual surface grades shown
• Incorrect DFU values shown
• Did not show calculations for pipe sizing or explain how sizing was arrived at. No documentation indicating that pipe sizing was other than "seat of the pants"
• Showing a combined building sewer: (BCNYS 704.1 and 1109.1) require separate connections
• Provide clean outs per code at connection of building sewer and drain for both sanitary and storm, or within Code required distance from that connection.
• Provide trap and co at property line at storm and sanitary prior to connection to combined sewer
• Providing backwater valves where not required by code

Drawing P2

• Failing to provide hot water re-circulation loop for both of the two temperatures
• Bypass on meter not provided
• Provided illegal bypass on backflow preventer
• Roof drain sizing not supported by calculations
• Unable to size water supply piping according to instructions. If it is maximum 5 fps for this test, piping should not be provided at 8 fps

Drawing P3

• No calculations provided for gallons per minute values
• No inclusion of half of parapet wall or end-wall in storm calcs
• No auxiliary means of drainage provided

Drawing P4

• No thermostatic mixing valve shown for 115 deg water
• No hot water recirc for each temperature
• Incorrect or missing check valves
• Lack of vents on waste and vent isometric
• Drawings which are not isometric

Calculations

A constant theme in the instructions is for the candidate to show their calculations or methodology for their solution. The Board of Examiners cannot award a Certificate of Competence for a Master Plumber unless the candidate clearly shows that they know why the sizing they put on a drawing is correct.

Double Penalty

The Board makes efforts to avoid making a double grading penalty for a single candidate mistake. For example, if the candidate makes a mistake on the math addition on the Towne Fixture unit calcs and comes up with a very wrong sum of fixture units for water supply or drainage, the Board will look at the resulting pipe sizing for the candidate and see if the sizing is correct for the sum indicated.

Open Book Test

The current Master and Journeyman exam protocol encourages candidates to bring a copy of the current Plumbing Code of New York State with them for the exam.

ICC Commentary

The Board encourages candidates to obtain and study a copy of the Commentary for the International Plumbing Code. This document amplifies and explains the thought processes and methodology of conforming to the plumbing code. Although the current 2020 version of the Plumbing Code of New York State is based on the 2018 ICC plumbing code, candidates will find that a more current copy of the ICC Commentary is more than adequate as a study guide. The Commentary for the International Plumbing Code is not to be brought to the exam.