The water coming into my house seems to be pulsing rather than flowing
continuously. The cold water tap in the kitchen works fine, no
spluttering or anything, but gently pulses. There is also a regular
dull banging sound coming from any pipes directly connected to the
mains, consistent with the pulsing of the water coming out of the
kitchen tap. This noise, which sounds a bit like a heartbeat, remains
constant regardless of what taps are running.

The next door neighbours don't seem to have this problem. Thames Water
say there's been no disruption to the pipes in the area. Any thoughts
as to what could be causing the irregular flow?

Thanks in advance

The next door neighbours don't seem to have this problem. Thames Water
say there's been no disruption to the pipes in the area. Any thoughts
as to what could be causing the irregular flow?

Are all the pipes (particularly but not exclusively plastic ones) securely
fastened down and have you avoid the use of any flexible connectors?

Christian.

On 20 Oct 2005 04:30:12 -0700, wrote:

| The water coming into my house seems to be pulsing rather than flowing
| continuously. The cold water tap in the kitchen works fine, no
| spluttering or anything, but gently pulses. There is also a regular
| dull banging sound coming from any pipes directly connected to the
| mains, consistent with the pulsing of the water coming out of the
| kitchen tap. This noise, which sounds a bit like a heartbeat, remains
| constant regardless of what taps are running.
|
| The next door neighbours don't seem to have this problem. Thames Water
| say there's been no disruption to the pipes in the area. Any thoughts
| as to what could be causing the irregular flow?

It is called "water hammer" when the water resonates (sloshes backwards and
forwards) in the pipes sometimes one can hear it, and sounds quite
alarming. I would not worry about it if it were mine. If you put your
hand on the pipes, you should be able to feel the pipe moving slightly.
Put a lot more plastic clips on anything which moves.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

wrote:
The water coming into my house seems to be pulsing rather than flowing
continuously.

Could be the ball float valve in the water storage tank (if you've got
one) surging & turning the water on & off. When it happens, tie the
float valve arm up & see if it then stops.