Ever hear a drum roll sound like this?

TXBDan

Hi all,

I had a new Burnham Independence boiler installed by a reputable installer almost two years ago. It worked very well through the first winter, no noises, heated well. No issues.

Before this winter we had it serviced and ever since it's been a little noisy. The sound of boiling/gurgling water in the radiators, more vent whistle noises, some hammers, and even this sound. It sounds like a drum roll going on inside the boiler, mostly heard at the exhaust vent piping, that lasts for one second. And it repeats about every 30seconds as it gets cranking.

I checked the pressuretrol and it was set to 2psi with a 1psi diff. Today i lowered the main to about 1.7, as low as the slider would go with the same 1psi diff. The boiler has kicked on since with only very minor clunks/hammers, but the drumroll noises aren't perfectly repeatable. So we'll see if that does anything. I suspect my system never gets to that pressure anyway, i've never seen the needle on the gauge budge, granted its a wide range gauge.

Here's a link to a video of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c8vqdna4wvgrdeh/BoilerNoise.m4v?dl=0
(its at 14s and 34s)

STEVEusaPA

Why not post the video here? First upload to YouTube.

TXBDan

Can you see the link? You can view it directly.

Hap_Hazzard

Works for me. Sounds like a woodpecker. Very strange.

unclejohn

Normally one there are two outlets they both should be used.

jhrost

The Wurlitzer Hershel carousel has a drum roll like that - all you need is some organ music and you'll have found a way to make water hammer entertaining.

JUGHNE

Relay or gas valve chatter.....but too hollow sounding....IDK.

Hap_Hazzard

JUGHNE said:

Relay or gas valve chatter.....but too hollow sounding....IDK.

I was thinking something electrical too. Definitely not steam or water related.

Fred

It sounds a bit hollow but is the flue damper jammed against the flue pipe?

TXBDan

^interesting idea. I just went to investigate the damper. The shaft is horizontal so i assume its closed. The boiler was off. I tried to manually rotate the damper shaft by hand it was very stiff. I heard its scratch a little as if jammed and then it stuck and i can't move it, but also didn't try to break anything. I also noticed a switch on the side that says Auto or Hold Open. When i switched it to Hold Open nothing happened. Should the switch activate the damper?

TXBDan

I checked while it was running today and the damper did open properly. I guess there's a switch so the boiler shouldn't run unless it is open. No noises today so far.

BobC

The old mercury glass capsul switches were great because tyhey never failed to work and you had visual proof that a switch was open or closed.

They will have to pry my mercury switch vaporstat from my cold dead hands.

Bob

Boon

Sounds like a metal fan being poked with a stick

TXBDan

Ok, i woke up this morning to the sound of the drum roll. From upstairs on the second floor, its faint, but still enough to wake me up and run down and catch another video. This time it was much more frequent. Also notice the sound that's sort of like a bird calling/chirping. The noise was present, just the same, a few weeks ago when this first started. It sounds like a bird or animal, but its too perfectly repetitive and plus anything up in the chimney weeks ago would be long dead by now.

The sound is radiating from the vent ducting which goes up the chimney. I can't say for sure which direction its coming from (boiler or chimney) but i'd still guess the boiler. I held my hand on the damper shaft and the vibration doesn't seem to be coming from it.

This sound was recorded right after the boiler ran and the steam pipes were cool to the touch.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7j9dvzrfwau5fa3/BoilerNoise2.m4v?dl=0

JUGHNE

Woodpecker?

Fred

There are no moving parts in the boiler and the only moving part on the flue is the damper motor. It has to be the damper trying to open or close and getting hung up. It is not an animal, unless it's a dead one laying on the damper keeping it from fully opening.
Try opening the damper, switching it to "open" and leave it that way for a couple days and see if the noise is gone.

TXBDan

JUGHNE said:

Woodpecker?

At first i thought you were being a smart@ss, but it turns out, you are the winner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfTDsKKCWA&feature=youtu.be

It now seems so obvious. Thank you!

JUGHNE

Thanks for posting that last video. I often hear the woodpeckers from a distance, but seldom their call. We don't have many of them around here.
The call I have heard rarely. Sounds very much from the jungle, IMO.

JUGHNE

My son stopped over today and listened to the last video.
His neighbor has a woodpecker hammer like that on her metal fireplace vent pipe cap.
That has to be noticeable in the house.

ethicalpaul

A woodpecker tries going after my aluminum siding occasionally and it sounds exactly like this. I almost suggested it. I could have been the hero

Hap_Hazzard

TXBDan said:

At first i thought you were being a smart@ss, but it turns out, you are the winner.

Wait just a doggone minute there. Take a look at my first post.

Hap_Hazzard said:

Works for me. Sounds like a woodpecker. Very strange.

JUGHNE

I'll share the prize money with you!!

TXBDan

Ha, two winners. My bad, Hap_Hazzard. Interestingly, i sent my Dad the video and he knew exactly what it was.

The bugger is still going at it every morning.

Hap_Hazzard

TXBDan said:

The bugger is still going at it every morning.

It's springtime, so he's not hunting for grubs up there.

BobC

When I first bought this house i noticed birds setting up nests where the dormers meet the main roof. With shingle siding that is sure way to start rot. One day I was in the upstairs back room and the cat was sitting on the windowsill looking at the back yard.

I opened the screen and she immediately went up and inspected the nests, 5 minites later the nests were gone and the birds were going crazy. later I saw here on a neighbors roof doing the same thing, she could get onto their garage and then make the leap to their roof.

After two years the birds didn't even attempt nesting on my roof.

Bob

TXBDan

Hap_Hazzard said:

TXBDan said:

The bugger is still going at it every morning.

It's springtime, so he's not hunting for grubs up there.

Nope, he's showing off for all the lady woodpeckers by pecking on the loudest damn thing in the neighborhood!

weedhopper

That’s a double stroke roll exercise...
LRLLRLRRLRLLRLRRLRLLRLRRLL

psb75

I think it might also be called "territorial drumming", largely for the 'benefit' of his male competitors.

Stet

This is funny and amazing. Four or five years ago, my wife and I would wake up to this noise in the morning. Almost always the same time, about 6:30, which is about the same time the heat would come on in the morning. It was early spring.

The metalbestos vent ran from the boiler room through our bedroom closet, and into the attic area, before going through the roof.

Same Noise!

An hour later, no noise! So we'd forget about it till we were awakened the next morning.

Yes, it was coming from the vent piping. A Peerless gas hot water boiler. So one evening, I shut the boiler off. The next morning, theres the noise again. So the boiler was out.

So the next morning, I got up early. Walked around the house, and there he was. Red Headed woodpecker! Jackhammering on my metalbestos. Must have seemed hollow to him.

Find a tree you idiot!

RotoRanger

How to stop a woodpeckers racket........view video through this link.........https://tinyurl.com/ycvqcean

Intplm.

I used a plastic owl to get rid of the wood peckers pecking on my house. It worked !

mvickers

Simply bec we have SO many around here, WV panhandle, Pileated would've been my 1st guess. They can be very destructive to wooden houses as they look for carpenter bee larvae

psb75

Wood peckers are far down on the list of troublemakers. First is bad construction--done by "peckerwoods". Second is water incursion. Third is rotting wood and insects.
Metal objects are another category.

MarkMurf

Had a gal call with the exact issue a few years back . Only hers was at the exact same time every morning . She had a warm air job , so it was even louder and more pronounced . Dan woodpeckers ! !

Jackmartin

Your vent damper has a small electronic board controlling your vent damper motor. You can hear the vent damper opening and then the sound The vent damper flapper arm is connected to the motor output shaft. What you are hearing is the shaft letting go of the vent damper flapper it is loose, the vent damper is still making the end switch but it will continue to turn until the end of the stroke. The electronic board has a strain gauge, once there is enough torsion pressure against the vent damper rod the damper motor stops, but it is energized when it stops it returns by a spring. Check to make sure the set screw is not loose or better yet get your installer to check ,these things are warranted. The comment about your boiler piping is correct, both outlets should have been used and a drop header installed to ensure dry steam. Be Well and Be Blessed Jack

roncook

Definitely sounds like a woodpecker on the chimney metal cap. Seen it happen live twice in my 35 years of service. Would have never believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes.

HVACNUT

The woodpeckers by me love to peck chimney caps.
Beak sharpener?

psb75

No, a beak "duller."