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Baseboard radiator Heat

I recently moved into a house that has baseboard radiator heat all over the house. The baseboard radiators run across wall in every room. They are great except for the clicking noises that they make when the water starts flowing and throughout. It starts loud, then less. The baseboard radiators are probably 20 years old if not more. There pipes have fins on then and they are a little beat up, but there is no leaks and the rooms warm fast. I tried to support the pipes so that they do not vibrate and keep the flaps up so they are not touching the baseboard side, and this helped a little. Is there anything else I can do to reduce or eliminate the noise? Any feed back is greatly appreciated.

Bill

Comments

  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    If you go on youtube and search radiator or baseboard noise, I'm sure it will be more instructive. I believe "This Old House" has a video there, on exactly that topic.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,170
    The other thing one can do -- although it is a good bit fussier and more complicated -- is modify the boiler control so that it runs at least partly on outdoor reset of the circulating water temperature. That keeps the water circulating in your radiators most of the time (all of it, if you get really lucky!) and reduces the amount of expansion and contraction -- which is the source of the noise. It isn't always possible to do that -- it depends on the boiler and how it is piped and controlled.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Techman
    Techman Member Posts: 2,144
    What is the boiler water temp?
  • JohnNY
    JohnNY Member Posts: 3,226
    I'm hesitant to advise a non-pro to lower their boiler water temperature but the fact is the expansion noises are more pronounced as the difference increases from the pipes being at room temperature to their max temperature.
    If you could lower that differential, and have the pipes remain at a fixed state longer, you'll have less noise.
    Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
    Consulting & Troubleshooting
    Heating in NYC or NJ.
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