DIYbanter - Trapped Wind

On Sun, 02 Oct 2005 13:27:20 +0100, fragpig wrote:

Following replacing my Kitchen Taps, we now have a problem of howling
pipes. It only occurs when using the shower for more than about 6
minutes, hence it only really starts when my wife has a shower. All the
cold water taps in the house vibrate and by turning one on it
temporarily relieves the noise until you turn it off again.

I'm thinking this may be trapped air or maybe scale in the cold water
system, how can I get rid of this noise? Can anybody help? Thanks.

It sounds like there is a water hammer/resonance problem from the float
valve on the loft cistern. Since it worked OK before then I suspect that
there is air trapped in a dead (or otherwise ununsed) branch of the
incoming water main.

There are no hard and fast rules for getting rid of these noises.

Any one or more of the following may do the trick - also the best
strategy will depend on the frequency of the noise.

1) Get all the air out of the mains.
2) Re washer the float valve.
3) Water hammer arrestor. Low frequency
4) Change the float valve in the loft.
5) Pressure reducing valve on mains (if currently over 3 bar).
6) Half close the stop cock.
7) Better clipping and support of mains pipes. Low Frequency.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html