Hello,

I live in a condo that was built around 1992. Unfortunaltely, when I
bought the condo I did not realize that the water pipes banged when
abruptly shuting off the water (from sink or flush one of toilets).
The water heater is on the third floor (3 level condo, not including
underground private garage). Is there way to fix this without
removing sections of walls?

TIA
J

You can try replacing your pressure reducer. A defective one is a common
cause of banging pipes in condos. If you don't know what it is you should
call a plumber.


"Joe" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I live in a condo that was built around 1992. Unfortunaltely, when I
bought the condo I did not realize that the water pipes banged when
abruptly shuting off the water (from sink or flush one of toilets).
The water heater is on the third floor (3 level condo, not including
underground private garage). Is there way to fix this without
removing sections of walls?

TIA
J

Sounds like you need an air bumper instaled, get a plumber to look it
over

In article ,
"John Grabowski" wrote:

You can try replacing your pressure reducer. A defective one is a common
cause of banging pipes in condos. If you don't know what it is you should
call a plumber.

Another thing to try... turn off the water at the street (turn your hot
water heater to pilot while your doing this to be safe). Go around and
open all your water valves, and flush all the toilets... turn the
washing machine on to warm 'fill' for a few seconds too. If you have any
outside hose valves, open them as well. Go back and close all the
valves, turn on the water (and hot water heater). There will be a few
minutes of air hissing and spitting when you start using water again...

Many plumbing systems have air chambers to absorb water hammer shock,
and sometimes they become water logged. Your goal in this procedure is
to temporarily drain as much water as possible out of your system,
allowing these chambers to refill... really just some short vertical
sections of capped pipe with air trapped within. (crude but effective
hydraulic accumulators...)

I need to do mine every 2 or 3 years...

Good Luck!

Erik

you stole my answer!

Someone will point out though that it is a water heater

Wayne


"Erik" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"John Grabowski" wrote:

You can try replacing your pressure reducer. A defective one is a common
cause of banging pipes in condos. If you don't know what it is you
should
call a plumber.

Another thing to try... turn off the water at the street (turn your hot
water heater to pilot while your doing this to be safe). Go around and
open all your water valves, and flush all the toilets... turn the
washing machine on to warm 'fill' for a few seconds too. If you have any
outside hose valves, open them as well. Go back and close all the
valves, turn on the water (and hot water heater). There will be a few
minutes of air hissing and spitting when you start using water again...

Many plumbing systems have air chambers to absorb water hammer shock,
and sometimes they become water logged. Your goal in this procedure is
to temporarily drain as much water as possible out of your system,
allowing these chambers to refill... really just some short vertical
sections of capped pipe with air trapped within. (crude but effective
hydraulic accumulators...)

I need to do mine every 2 or 3 years...

Good Luck!

Erik

Joe wrote:
Hello,

I live in a condo that was built around 1992. Unfortunaltely, when I
bought the condo I did not realize that the water pipes banged when
abruptly shuting off the water (from sink or flush one of toilets).
The water heater is on the third floor (3 level condo, not including
underground private garage). Is there way to fix this without
removing sections of walls?

TIA
J
There are several things that will cause this.
1. Poor installation / bad pipe strapping-isolation. (unfortunately
common) Condo's are "piece work" jobs. Bang it out as fast as possible.
2. Too high pressure. Should be between 40-80 psi.
3. Electric solinoid valves. (close quickly)

Short of tearing open walls to re-strap the pipes, there is not much you
can do for this aspect of banging pipes. Make sure the pressure is not
too high. Add shock dampers in several locations. Also called "air
hammer" devices. Check your local plumbing supplier. I think Arrow
Head makes several versions. There is also one called "ShokTrol". They
are a bit spendy ($75) but work well
Good Luck

I saw this on Google:
How you fix this is easy. You can either buy an anti-hammer kit at a do it
yourself store or an even easier way is to solder a "T" on the pipe that has
it's end capped and is facing upwards.

This typically will prevent the hammering because it presents a space for the
turubulent water to shoot up into. It only has to be about a foot long.
Pat