Banging Water Pipes

[nrestell]

Hi,

I am currently suffering from banging water pipes. It can start spontaneously (i.e. sometimes nothing is drawing any water at all in the house) and sometimes starts when a tap is turned on.

I have noticed that if it starts spontaneously, I can make it stop again by very slowly turning a tap on.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?

Kind regards

 

[Madrab]

Mains water pressure, and usually in partnership with solenoid/non concussive valves (washing machines/dishwashers/toilets/ball valves etc) and invariably loose pipework.

Are you on a shared water main?

 

[nrestell]

Thanks. I have my own external stop tap so I assume that I am not sharing a water main? I have been advised that an 'arrestor' at my internal stop tap should be installed - would you agree with this?

 

[Madrab]

An arrestor can be of use, if it is found that the concussion wave is entering via the mains, if it is internal then it may not be suitable and you may have to identify where it is coming from.

When you say you have water hammer, can you describe what the noise is like and where it seems to be coming from? Is this a new thing?

 

[nrestell]

This is not a new thing and has been happening for months and months now but nobody can seem to offer a solution. The problem being, when a plumber calls, I cannot make the pipes make the noise to let them hear it first hand! It is very frustrating!

I sounds like a regular banging noise (greater than 1 a second most times) and sounds to be coming from within the pipes. It can be heard everywhere in the house and cannot really be isolated to a single pipe. For instance, when it is banging I can feel it in the pipe(s) leading from my internal stop tap, to my combi boiler, to my upstairs sink taps. It really does not manifest itself in a single area.

 

[Madrab]

Yeah, chasing these type of issue can be most frustrating. Especially if it can't be replicated on demand. It also makes it extremely difficult for a professional to implement and guarantee a fix.

Certainly a first place would be to test each outlet that may be the cause and see if it can be replicated, the list of areas I mentioned before. If it's still illusive then you would have to generalise a fix, hence trying an arrester at the mains. The trouble with that though is that it may not fix the problem.

Best way to fix hammer though is to fix what's causing it and not fix the symptoms.