Banging pipes in a rental-- help!

torontotenant

Hi there,

I know pictures are preferred but as I am a tenant I don't have access to the boiler. I will link a recording of the sound if that helps.

For about a month, every time the heat comes on in my building there's a loud clicking sound for about 50 seconds. The problem is, it happens 24/7 every 1.5 to 2.5 hours and is loud enough to wake me up even with earplugs and white noise. My landlord and I have gone back and forth for 15+ emails and I've filed a complaint with the city. They've tried multiple times to fix it but it's still happening. In her last email, my landlord asked what else they could do, they've tried everything etc. I really think they haven't tried everything and am hoping someone can give some ideas (in layman's terms) of what else they can do? Here's the details of the issues and the fixes they've tried:

-It's steam heating
-The sound isn't coming from the radiators, but from a pipe in the wall
-happens for about a minute each time the heat comes on, then stops
-I have lived here three years, this didn't used to happen, only this winter
-steam trap has been changed to a bigger capacity
-they tried cleaning some components
-they claim the boiler is new (I'm actually wondering if it's so new that they just installed it this winter, and that's why there's suddenly noise?)
-No one has actually checked out the pipe that's making noise
-here's a recording:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b-ZAdtZO-F2k1sTeCj-fSS-grPpgcbVP/view?usp=sharing

I know it's hard to diagnose but if you have any idea of what could be wrong, tell me! At least that way I can prove to my landlord they haven't tried everything. Thanks in advance

Jamie Hall

Almost certainly and expansion noise, if it's a clicking (a water hammer would be more of a bang). As such, it can be really hard to find -- but somewhere, as the pipes are expanding as they warm up, a pipe or radiator is rubbing against something.

torontotenant

Jamie Hall said:

Almost certainly and expansion noise, if it's a clicking (a water hammer would be more of a bang). As such, it can be really hard to find -- but somewhere, as the pipes are expanding as they warm up, a pipe or radiator is rubbing against something.

Thanks! It's more of a clicking, but if you listen to the end of the recording I posted, the louder it gets it starts to morph into more of a bang. So, basically, if the source of the noise could be located, insulation would take care of it?

dabrakeman

Can try to get clarification from your landlord as to exactly what has changed in the system from last winter to this. Better yet see if they would be willing to discuss the issue directly with this forum. Better advise with better information input which the landlord could provide.

torontotenant

dabrakeman said:

Can try to get clarification from your landlord as to exactly what has changed in the system from last winter to this. Better yet see if they would be willing to discuss the issue directly with this forum. Better advise with better information input which the landlord could provide.

That makes sense to ask what changed since last year, I'll definitely bring that up. Thanks!

Neild5

What kind of floor is this radiator sitting on?  If tile or hardwood, try taking a plastic milk jug, cut circles slightly bigger than the feet and put one under each leg of the radiator. 

torontotenant

Neild5 said:

What kind of floor is this radiator sitting on?  If tile or hardwood, try taking a plastic milk jug, cut circles slightly bigger than the feet and put one under each leg of the radiator. 

The sound is definitely coming from the wall, not the radiator itself, so I don't think that would help. But thanks!

SgtMaj

Sounds like water hammer to me. Is it just in one area of the apartment? have any other tenants complained? Is there an apartment above you? It’s possible someone above you may have thought they could throttle the output of the radiator by partially closing the valve to the radiator, doing that can cause water hammer. Those valves are service valves only it’s either all the way on or all the way off. Is it a one pipe system or a two pipe system?