I'm trying to get more information about what I might be seeing here. I
have a home warranty that will probably get it repaired, but I wanted to
make sure they sent the right guy out (plumber or water heater repairman).

When I'm running hot water in the kitchen, I'm getting a Continual
pounding sound from the water heater. I think it's like water hammer,
but it's at a rate like a woodpecker attacking a tree in a cartoon.

It's happened when running the sink on hot or the dishwasher. Any ideas?

A plumber can fix your problem.

Searcher

Adam Preble wrote:

I'm trying to get more information about what I might be seeing here. I
have a home warranty that will probably get it repaired, but I wanted to
make sure they sent the right guy out (plumber or water heater repairman).

When I'm running hot water in the kitchen, I'm getting a Continual
pounding sound from the water heater. I think it's like water hammer,
but it's at a rate like a woodpecker attacking a tree in a cartoon.

It's happened when running the sink on hot or the dishwasher. Any ideas?

If it's a gas-fired heater and the hammer only occurs when the
flame is on, then it is caused by heavy sediment buildup in the
bottom of the tank. The water boils at the bottom and small
bubbles "explode" into steam.

You will probably get the "Oh, that's normal..."
and, in a sense it is.

There might be other causes for the noise, but that's one.

Jim

Speedy Jim wrote:
If it's a gas-fired heater and the hammer only occurs when the
flame is on, then it is caused by heavy sediment buildup in the
bottom of the tank. The water boils at the bottom and small
bubbles "explode" into steam.

You will probably get the "Oh, that's normal..."
and, in a sense it is.

There might be other causes for the noise, but that's one.

Jim

I'd assume that would only happen when the heater itself was running. I
get this problem after running the hot water for about 30 seconds.
Would that loss of water engage the heater again?

Adam Preble wrote:

Speedy Jim wrote:

If it's a gas-fired heater and the hammer only occurs when the
flame is on, then it is caused by heavy sediment buildup in the
bottom of the tank. The water boils at the bottom and small
bubbles "explode" into steam.

You will probably get the "Oh, that's normal..."
and, in a sense it is.

There might be other causes for the noise, but that's one.

Jim


I'd assume that would only happen when the heater itself was running. I
get this problem after running the hot water for about 30 seconds. Would
that loss of water engage the heater again?

Yes, only when the heater is firing. Monitor it and see if the burner
is on when hammering.

Jim

Might be your faucet. Sometimes they set up a loud vibration. May happen
only after the hot water hits the faucet. If it is a washer type faucet,
take it apart.

Water hammer only occurs when you shut off the water too abruptly.

--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-
"Adam Preble" wrote in message
...
I'm trying to get more information about what I might be seeing here. I
have a home warranty that will probably get it repaired, but I wanted to
make sure they sent the right guy out (plumber or water heater repairman).

When I'm running hot water in the kitchen, I'm getting a Continual
pounding sound from the water heater. I think it's like water hammer, but
it's at a rate like a woodpecker attacking a tree in a cartoon.

It's happened when running the sink on hot or the dishwasher. Any ideas?

On 8-Apr-2006, Adam Preble wrote:

When I'm running hot water in the kitchen, I'm getting a Continual
pounding sound from the water heater. I think it's like water hammer,
but it's at a rate like a woodpecker attacking a tree in a cartoon.

Quite possibly you have a stretch of hot water pipe that is not supported
properly. It starts to vibrate and makes a racket. If you can see the pipe,
it will be very obvious. All you have to do is get a pipe support thingy
(I'm drawing a blank on the proper name - age thing...) and attach the
pipe to studs/joists in several places.

If the pipe in inside a wall/ceiling, you might have to rip open the drywall
to fix.

Mike

troubleshooting the tank at:
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pag...ets-index.html

see other discussions at:
http://groups.google.com/groups/sear...mmer+hot+water

"Walter R." wrote in message
...
Might be your faucet. Sometimes they set up a loud vibration. May happen
only after the hot water hits the faucet. If it is a washer type faucet,
take it apart.

Water hammer only occurs when you shut off the water too abruptly.

--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-
"Adam Preble" wrote in message
...
I'm trying to get more information about what I might be seeing here. I
have a home warranty that will probably get it repaired, but I wanted to
make sure they sent the right guy out (plumber or water heater
repairman).

When I'm running hot water in the kitchen, I'm getting a Continual
pounding sound from the water heater. I think it's like water hammer,
but it's at a rate like a woodpecker attacking a tree in a cartoon.

It's happened when running the sink on hot or the dishwasher. Any ideas?


I had this problem an it turned out to be the cutoff valve on the water
heater. WH was installed in both input and output valves. Dont remember
which it was. It would hammer anytime I turned on the hot water at any
location. Sometimes it would stop when I turned on the cold. A guy where
where I bought the replacement valves asked me if I noticed which way they
were installed before I took them out(I didnt) said they may be in
backwards.