hammer help

keith123

we just had some work done. the radiators were noisy before. now one of the radiators has hammer at the end of the cylce. what should I be looking for ? this is a one pipe system. thank you for any information

jpf321

pitch...

the first thing to check is rad pitch. rads should be slight pitched or tilted toward the inlet pipe .. assuming this is a 1-pipe system .. i would throw a level on the rad and be sure that they are properly pitched slightly toward the pipe end. don't over pitch, that could cause other problems. 

keith123

pitched

Thank you for your reply. it is a one pipe system & it's also pitched. what else can cause it ?

jpf321

the next question...

what kind of "work" was done? and what parts of your system were tinkered with?

keith123

we

we had a bathroom addition to the house. 2 radiators relocated & one new one installed. the new radiator & one of the moved radiators don't make a peep. The other one that was moved is the one with the hammer @ the end of the cycle.

jpf321

pitch again ..

the next place i would consider looking is in the pitch of piping leading to the rad. is there a horizontal pipe from the vertical riser to the radiator that could be improperly pitched and allowing water (condensate) to pool?



let's also make sure that we define what water hammer is .. as I understand it, it is the pickup of water by steam and slamming it against the next solid place in it's path...so it possible that the water in a horizontal is being picked up and thrown into the radiator.



please don't confuse normal expansion/contraction of radiators with the pickup and slamming of water by steam.

nicholas bonham-carter

water-hammer website!!

[url=http://www.kirsner.org/pages/WaterhammerVideo.html]http://www.kirsner.org/pages/WaterhammerVideo.html

this site will open your eyes [and ears] to this phenomenon, and show how destructive it can be.--nbc