water hammer and spring valves

David Jacopille

I live in a 100 year old apt. building with steam heat and the landlord has used the "it's just old" excuse for water hammer for the last time. I have a radiator that I have "shut off completely" - we don't need any heat in that room due to overall building heat. It's two feet from my head in the bedroom and it has severe water hammer - and I can tell the difference between pipes banging in the building and someone hitting a sledgehammer on a pipe 2 feet from my head. My question is - if I really have the valve turned off completely how can I be getting water hammer at that valve? There is a 15lb valve on the radiator - is it possible that even with it fully closed that the valve is opening momentarily under pressure causing a pressure drop - rapid steam formation - followed by water hammer? (too much pressure/bad valve)

There are certainly other people on the same steam "riser" as I'm on - is it possible that their valve settings could be causing water hammer at my completely closed valve?

I've read everything under "Steam Problems" but since I don't own the building I'm limited by what I can check. The landlord's plumber is coming over and I'm going to talk with him and want to be sure I'm as prepared as possible so I don't get the "well, it's just old" excuse. I'm an aircraft mechanic and if I used that excuse for not fixing stuff there would be a lot more dead people than there are. Any ideas?

Thanks - Dave Jacopille, Brookline MA

Jamie Hall

Bang whang...

It may not be water hammer in that particular pipe. It could be from the riser... (trust me, been there, done that, have the T-shirt). Is there a long horizontal runout to the riser in the basement? Could be at the elbow to the riser at the end of that. Amazing how sound travels in an iron pipe...