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If its water hammer (as it sounds like it is)-- it can fatigue joints and valves and cause leaks over time. Water hammer can be fixed by putting hammer arreste

by nullc 6y ago

If its water hammer (as it sounds like it is)-- it can fatigue joints and valves and cause leaks over time. Water hammer can be fixed by putting hammer arresters at the right locations.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
But - every tap in the house causes it! And the toilets. And the shower. And the outside hydrant. Where would we put such a thing?
- carapace 6y ago
  IANAPlumber but the "water hammer" effect is usually very immediate and short. It literally sounds like a hammer hitting something. What you're describing might be along the same principles but much larger, or it might be something else, but in any event it sounds serious. (No pun intended.) Get a second opinion before a pipe bursts or comes loose, eh? If by "the outside hydrant" you mean a fire hydrant then I would call the city too. Any chance of a video or audio clip?
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    Not a hammer sound, absolutely. An humming, thrumming sound. Rises and falls and a trailing off with a duration of 5 seconds.
    - carapace 6y ago
      Huh, that is weird. Pressure equalizing though some loose valve or something maybe? Can you feel vibration too or is it just sound?
      - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        I've not been able to identify any section of pipe where I feel vibration. Yet the sound permeates the house. Live on an acreage, and the outside hydrant is mine by the garden. Right by the well, which is a tube extending 111' straight down to a submersible pump. In the utility room, the water service comes into a pressure tank. We just replaced the tank, and the sound began after that. The plumber insisted it was unrelated. Maybe a relief valve there would help...just a guess.
        carapace 6y ago
        Weird. I'm really not a plumber, so I feel silly offering my opinion, but what the heck, it's the internet, right? If there's no vibration that you can feel then it's probably alright. Flutes don't fall apart from their own sound. But we're talking about your plumbing here, where a failure can be expensive and inconvenient, so "probably" isn't that reassuring. It's just not supposed to be doing that. > We just replaced the tank, and the sound began after that. The plumber insisted it was unrelated. It's not impossible (that they're unrelated) but that sounds to me like the obvious culprit, eh?
- nullc 6y ago
  Water hammer is cause by the inertia of flowing water. Water flows, it stops. Bang. It might be in your case that water hammer is triggering an oscillation in ... something. A valve, pipes that arn't strapped down? There could be a dead end in the system (essentially a hammer arrester) that is full of air which water is sloshing into and shaking in the process. What I think I'd try to do is isolate the cause. E.g. if you turn off the service valve into the house can you trigger it by opening and closing the hydrant? Maybe you are triggering a _pump_ upstream from you? In any case, if pipes are shaking or the pressure is obviously spiking then it increases the risk of failure... so it's not something that I'd personally want to ignore.

by nullc 6y ago

If its water hammer (as it sounds like it is)-- it can fatigue joints and valves and cause leaks over time. Water hammer can be fixed by putting hammer arresters at the right locations.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

But - every tap in the house causes it! And the toilets. And the shower. And the outside hydrant. Where would we put such a thing?

carapace 6y ago
IANAPlumber but the "water hammer" effect is usually very immediate and short. It literally sounds like a hammer hitting something. What you're describing might be along the same principles but much larger, or it might be something else, but in any event it sounds serious. (No pun intended.) Get a second opinion before a pipe bursts or comes loose, eh? If by "the outside hydrant" you mean a fire hydrant then I would call the city too. Any chance of a video or audio clip?
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Not a hammer sound, absolutely. An humming, thrumming sound. Rises and falls and a trailing off with a duration of 5 seconds.
  - carapace 6y ago
    Huh, that is weird. Pressure equalizing though some loose valve or something maybe? Can you feel vibration too or is it just sound?
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      I've not been able to identify any section of pipe where I feel vibration. Yet the sound permeates the house. Live on an acreage, and the outside hydrant is mine by the garden. Right by the well, which is a tube extending 111' straight down to a submersible pump. In the utility room, the water service comes into a pressure tank. We just replaced the tank, and the sound began after that. The plumber insisted it was unrelated. Maybe a relief valve there would help...just a guess.
      - carapace 6y ago
        Weird. I'm really not a plumber, so I feel silly offering my opinion, but what the heck, it's the internet, right? If there's no vibration that you can feel then it's probably alright. Flutes don't fall apart from their own sound. But we're talking about your plumbing here, where a failure can be expensive and inconvenient, so "probably" isn't that reassuring. It's just not supposed to be doing that. > We just replaced the tank, and the sound began after that. The plumber insisted it was unrelated. It's not impossible (that they're unrelated) but that sounds to me like the obvious culprit, eh?
nullc 6y ago
Water hammer is cause by the inertia of flowing water. Water flows, it stops. Bang. It might be in your case that water hammer is triggering an oscillation in ... something. A valve, pipes that arn't strapped down? There could be a dead end in the system (essentially a hammer arrester) that is full of air which water is sloshing into and shaking in the process. What I think I'd try to do is isolate the cause. E.g. if you turn off the service valve into the house can you trigger it by opening and closing the hydrant? Maybe you are triggering a _pump_ upstream from you? In any case, if pipes are shaking or the pressure is obviously spiking then it increases the risk of failure... so it's not something that I'd personally want to ignore.