Radiator banging

RadiatorInsomniac

We live on the third floor of a 1920s era building with radiator heat. Our condo association just put in a boiler in early December. We always had some banging in our bathroom radiator before (that one's more of a pipe), but now we have banging in our sunroom, bedroom, living room radiators, etc. It starts out quietly in one radiator and then moves to the others sequentially getting louder until it hits the bathroom radiator. I can't tell you how many times we have been woken up at 3 a.m., 4 a.m. The bathroom pipe also hisses a ton.



All our valves have been checked out, and we've made sure our radiators are properly leveled but it seems to be a problem with the system. The boiler people have checked some of the air vents in the basement. Our janitor has also experimented with hand feeding water into the system, but it doesn't seem to help much. They've also tried draining all the water out of the system, but that didn't help.



Did the boiler company mess something up? What could be causing the problems? Any help would be lovely. Not getting any REM sleep for four months is starting to take its toll on us.

kcopp

sounds...

like the boiler is not properly piped...specifically near boiler piping. Could also be oil in the system... but we would need pict. of the set to confirm. break out the digital camera.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Steam or Hot Water?

What kind of system do you have?  Steam or hot water?  Yes, picturesof the boiler and piping would help.

The Steam Whisperer (Formerly Boilerpro)

Pictures, boiler size, et el.

Banging is definitely not normal and should of never been happening.  You may have had some existing problems if there was some banging already, but you probably have issues with the piping near the boiler.  Pictures from various angles around the boiler and some shots of any unusual looking devices near the boiler are a good start. 

The most commons issues causing banging after you have checked the radiator for proper slope are:

1) Incorrect near boiler piping

2) Over sized boiler

3) Over sized radiator vents.

4) Lots of radiators shut off (like in many condo/coops where overheating/under heating has not been addressed)

5) Dirty boiler water



So let's see what you have!

RadiatorInsomniac

Steam demons

It's steam heat. Will post pics soon. Thanks for your help!

RadiatorInsomniac

Steam demons

It's steam heat. Will post pics soon. Thanks for your help!