Banging sounds from daughters room

Bigpickle18

Hello.

I have a 44 year Weil McClain gas fired steam boiler that is causing intense banging sounds in my daughter’s room, which is also the furthest radiator from the boiler. The banging only happens in the morning, around 5-6 am. It seems to go away after the radiator begins to warm up near the valve side. It is a new issue that started a few weeks ago.

At the boiler everything is what you’d expect, clean water, stable, having to add maybe every 6 weeks. Pressuretrol is set to 1 PSI with a diff of 0.5 PSI. Water in the sight glass doesn’t bounce almost at all when steaming

I have 3 gorton 1 vents on the main, i had horrendous experience with a gorton 2, so that’s that. The main so 30 feet long and 2 in diameter.

It’s become problematic because it wakes her up in the morning and mom and i have a hard time getting her back to sleep.

What could be my problem here?

bburd

Most likely a pipe has sagged, allowing condensate to pool and causing water hammer. It would be most severe when the system comes on in the morning and the pipes are cold. The problem may be in the radiator runout or the steam main. Check pitch with a level to be sure that condensate can flow back to the boiler along every steam carrying pipe, with no flat or low spots. It may help to raise the radiator slightly higher on both ends with wood shims, maintaining pitch back toward the inlet valve, assuming a one pipe system.

EBEBRATT-Ed

What @bburd said sound like something is out of pitch and collecting condensate. Another problem although not very common is the rad valve could be bad and the disk has broken off partially blocking the pipe.

PCapNJ

I had the same issue pop up after not having it before in 10 years. I concluded what was said above, noticed some pipe hangers may have sagged over time and re-pitched things the best I could in the basement, then at the radiator to fix it.

I noticed that my radiator actually moves a tad due to expansion of the 10' leading up to the radiator so while it was pitched correctly when cold, it actually tilted slightly as the heat came on, leveling the radiator out a bit. Something to consider depending on how much pitch you can get at the radiator.

Big Ed_4

Is the room an addition to the original home ?

BobC

Houses move as they age to it may be the main and radiator unout have lost their pitch over time, Agter cheing the pipes with a level sretch strinh along each kenjth of pipe so you can spot any sage\x. A;sp put a lebel on top of the radiatot to make sure it's slanted a bit towards the boiler. I cut 2" wide slats of plywood to put under the deet of a radiator (1/2" under the vent end and 1/4" under the supply end).

If this radiator is on the second floor there may be a short horizontal pipe hidden in the ceiling that you can't see. use a 2x4 to lever the radiator up and put a 3/4" slat under the vent end and a 1/2" slat under the supply end to help any slope issues in that unseen pipe. Be gentle with that lever, don't force anything. Jinally you ,ight try a slower vent on this one radiator if it currentky has a very fast vent on it.

Bob

Neild5

Do you have a programed set back in the thermostat?

shames

While you investigate solutions, I wonder if keeping the overnight temperature higher and/or delaying the rise of temperature in the morning by a few hours would help your daughter sleep later.