Noise in radiator that’s turned off

PamD

Hi Everyone. I’m posting this again to see if anyone might be able to figure out what’s going on with my radiator as my local heating guy is stumped.

  I live in a multi unit building with radiators. The heat is on all the time and recently one of my radiators started making a loud noise. See here:  https://youtube.com/shorts/h_a5Ig5a3PY?feature=share   My landlord sent out a heating technician and he changed the valve (he used the correct valve for a steam radiator). The noise is much louder when the valve is open so he closed it completely but it’s still making noise. Other tenants along my stack are experiencing the same thing.

The boiler pressure reaches 1psi and then shuts off. The heating tech installed a cycle timer on the boiler, completely emptied my radiator and did some other maintenance on the boiler but none of that made any difference. The noise will occasionally stop for a few minutes but then it comes back.  I’ve lived in my apartment for over 16 years and it’s never been noisy like this. Anyone know what might be going on?

Big Ed_4

It sounds like a pressure release or steam leak . Noise can originate from one location and transmit to another . Just like a string and cup telephone .

To find the problem a tech or better techs would need access to the whole system when the noise is accruing .

KC_Jones

Definitely sounds like steam flow going through a pinch point, or most likely a leak somewhere. For diagnosis I'd probably be starting with a monitoring of water usage in the boiler. If it is a leak the water usage should be fairly significant.

Given that you've been there for 16 years and this is new, a leak seems like a distinct possibility to me.

EdTheHeaterMan

If it is a steam leak, can you (your maintenance personnel) get a company with an infrared camera to look for steam leaks in the walls close to the noise?

I wonder if the steam riser that is on the noisy radiator has a new vent at the top of the riser? The air that is leaving thru that vent could be moving a lot faster than if did before the vent was replaced. I think this because others on that same riser are experiencing the same noise according to your previous comments (assumes vent was replaced between this year and last year)

Need to think outside the box (Boiler Room). Something has changed between this year and last year. What was it? ANY WORK that could have caused any change close to a steam pipe may be the source of the change.

One other thought. Could a flake of rust inside the pipe have fallen to the bottom of the riser and lodged in such a way to cause a restriction in that pipe? If that is it, the steam will rush past the obstruction at an accelerated rate and may be the source of the noise. if that is it, then it will be almost impossible to find.


I still recommend that you put your concerns to management in writing as indicated in my comment on your previous post.

Big Ed_4

The job is gaining access to six apartments at the right time....
By chance is one of the other tenants a jeweler

PamD

Thanks everyone for these suggestions. I am passing them along to the heating technician. He was in the building yesterday and was able to check some of the radiators in the other units along my stack. Two were off so he turned those on and two more were capped off.  There are actually 12 radiators along each stack but the tech only had a work order for 1/2 of them. The noise has decreased significantly so is it possible that if all the other radiators are turned off that would create more pressure in mine?  I’m on the first floor above the boiler. 

@EdTheHeaterMan interesting idea about a piece of rust. The building is over 100 years old so that could be the case. 

I have been putting all of this in writing to my landlord. They actually are addressing the issue and seem to want it resolved but the heating company is not sure where the problem is. I don’t know that they’d ever reach out to a forum like this but I’m finding it helpful so thanks again. 

JUGHNE

I have found the remains of washers and screws in the sediment leg in the basement of an old school.

It could be that someone above your floor had a valve disintegrate and the parts are stuck in a 90 ell just below your floor........just a WAG.

109A_5

Hello @PamD,
Although probably not the actual problem. When they changed the radiator valve (twice ?) they apparently did not change the Spud (twice ?). Which is common practice, best practice (see the other post) with a valve change.
So it makes me wonder what else are they doing wrong or simply overlooking. Maybe there would be better luck resolving the problem with a different contractor.

EdTheHeaterMan

PamD said:

@EdTheHeaterMan interesting idea about a piece of rust. The building is over 100 years old so that could be the case. 

The only reason I bring this up is because I had an experience with a 1-1/4" pipe that was partially blocked on a vent pipe for an oil tank... Every time any of the delivery drivers made a delivery to that basement tank, they would fill out a "BLOCKED VENT" report. The vent pipe was connected to a vent alarm in the top of the tank. The 1-1/4" pipe would exit the basement to the outside of the home then the pipe ran vertical about 15feet where there was a standard mushroom vent cap.

After years of service department sending out a technician with his Soot vacuum cleaner and placing the hose on the exhaust and the fill pipe, hearing the whistle operate properly and checking off "VENT CLEAR" and "ALARM WHISTLE AUDIBLE", I was lucky enough to get that customer for a delivery on morning in 1975. The truck I was driving that day was able to push fuel oil into the tank at about 80 Gallons per minute. Since the vent was still partially blocked the pressure was a little more than the old tank could take but only by a small amount. Just enough to split the bottom of the 40+ year old tank about 6" along the welded seam. But the vent alarm was still whistling.

This delivery was taking longer than usual so I looked at the meter on the truck to find that there was 278 gallons already delivered to that tank but the whistle was still signaling the tank was not full. I stopped the pump and noticed that the alarm was still whistling from the built up air pressure in top of the fuel tank. It took over 30 seconds for the pressure to release enough for the alarm to stop.

I took a look in the basement and called the office imediatly on the truck 2 way radio. The company maintenance man and 2 service techs quickly responded to the home with all that oil on the basement floor to start the clean up. The AFTER SPILL REPORT indicated that a piece of rust was stuck inside the vent pipe. When it reached the top of the vent pipe, the mushroom vent cap retained the obstruction and only allowed a fraction of the needed air to leave the tank.

This pierce of rust was there for years and only when there was an oil spill was the vent pipe properly investigated. The loyal customer switched to Gas Heat that year and we never delivered another gallon of fuel to that home. We had many chances to fix that problem and keep that loyal customer over the years. However, I was the reason that we lost that customer, according to my Uncle Joe. The incorrectly diagnosed vent pipe blockage had nothing to do with it.

I can't see thru steel pipe to find a restriction. I don't even know if you have a restriction that is causing the new noise. All I can say is that when all the normal possibilities are addressed, the one that is left, no matter how unlikely, is probably the reason for the noise.

PamD

@109A_5 the first time my valve was changed it was done by a handyman and he did not change the spud (which looked like it had been there since the beginning of time). The second time it was changed was by an actual heating technician and he changed the spud as well as the air vent. He installed a TRV but it’s not working. That is, any adjustments I make to the dial make absolutely no difference. I’ve attached a photo of what my radiator looks like now. 

Big Ed_4

It would work to solve the problem of too much heat .....