 | ||||
| ||||
| | ||||
| ||||
| Moderated by: Admin |
|
||||||||||||||
| LOUD moaning :( | Rate Topic |
| Author | Post |
|---|
| Posted: Mon Aug 30th, 2010 04:32 pm |
|
1st Post |
|
ayeemjay Member
|
Hi guys, I searched the noise Q&A and didnt see anything like this- so I apologize if there is an existing thread somewhere out there. I have a 40g bradfordwhite water heater (built in 05, installed in 06) that has been making a lot of noise in the last year or so. It seems to be pressure related, like a really loud moan. Flushing the toilet, running the bath will usually make subside- but going down to the heater and lifting the release valve for a few seconds is the surefire way to stop it. Other than that, the heater works great..which is why we've delayed in looking for help. But I think our neighbors are ready to move because its so annoying..and it seems to be getting worse. please advise, thanks -Ian
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Aug 30th, 2010 05:24 pm |
|
2nd Post |
|
undee70ss Member 
|
Water pressure could be to high. Get a lazy pointer water pressure gauge, connect to a hose bib and leave on for a day or so. Note the highest pressure obtained, then post back. 
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Aug 30th, 2010 05:55 pm |
|
3rd Post |
|
eleent Member 
|
Hello: There is something in the water supply to the heater or house that is trying to stop thermal expansion as the tank reheats. You'll find rising pressure as the tank heats up. An expansion tank may be the thing, though it would be good to know more about what is preventing backflow. The tank is telling you in a clear voice it's unhappy  Yours, Larry
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Sep 1st, 2010 05:34 pm |
|
4th Post |
|
ayeemjay Member
|
Thanks a bunch for the suggestions guys..I wasnt able to find a gauge with a trailing hand to mark the day's highest pressure, just one that moves in realtime. Im having a good reputable plumber come check it out tomorrow, but he has never heard anything like it (in 15+ years). here is a video of the incident..you may have to turn up your volume to hear the moaning while Im in the kitchen. this is a "quieter" example of the heater moaning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsPqk6M4od8
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Sep 1st, 2010 07:57 pm |
|
5th Post |
|
undee70ss Member
|
Check all the shutoff valves, make sure they are fully open.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Sep 1st, 2010 08:35 pm |
|
6th Post |
|
ayeemjay Member
|
Thats exactly what my plumber suggested...Ill find out tomorrow and let you guys know. thanks again for the help!
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Thu Sep 2nd, 2010 03:51 am |
|
7th Post |
|
eleent Member
|
Hello: It's clearly not the thermal expansion moan I'd thought of. Any water running would prevent that. It would be nice to know a bit more about the plumbing. In your movie, that looks like an expansion tank possibly plumbed into the hot side. You would need a gauge to find static pressure and pump the tank up to that number. It's not doing you any good if it isn't charged to line pressure. Could help  Also, is there a recirc line? I'm wondering about flow partly bypassing the hot outlet of the heater. Lastly, a call to Bradford White technical support might be useful. I see some of their power vent heaters have interesting plumbing on top between hot and cold. They may have run across this before. Yours, Larry
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Sep 3rd, 2010 05:56 pm |
|
8th Post |
|
ayeemjay Member
|
Sorry, Im not familiar with the equipment enough to answer if we have a recirc line or not  But heres what the plumber found... the noise was traced to the water pressure valve just after the main shutoff, it was set to completely open (my pressure was at 40) and after adjusting it to a good pressure the noise has gone away completely. After that, he noticed my fan no longer had a sealed connection to the pipes leading out of the house (it was REALLY lose in fact) so he fixed that and then we saw water dripping out of the expansion tank. Its completely full of stinky, rusty, water. So he's coming back to replace that, and then we should be good to go! thanks again for all the suggestions..between you guys and him explaining everything as he went I feel a lot more confident with the workings of the whole thing.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Sep 4th, 2010 07:26 am |
|
9th Post |
|
eleent Member
|
Hello: We get so many bad plumber stories, it's nice to be reminded of the good ones. They go about their work and well, things that work don't get noticed I have run across only a few noisy pressure reducers, but yours wins the "Noisy as a Yeti" award! Sound travels through water and piping much faster than it does through air, so it's hard for us to know the source of the racket. Yours, Larry
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Sep 4th, 2010 08:00 pm |
|
10th Post |
|
sky_tech Member
|
It's not clear what you mean by "it was set to completely open (my pressure was at 40)". 40 psi is very much on the low side. If the supply pressure is at 40, you should remove the pressure regulator entirely since it may not work well when set to fully open (thus your noise?). If the supply is above 70 and the regulator is delivering only 40 psi, then it would need opening up more to raise the pressure to somewhere around 60 psi . Perhaps that's what your plumber did? I have seen air pressure regulators make that sort of noise, so I guess a water regulator can too.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Oct 6th, 2010 12:40 pm |
|
11th Post |
|
lhenderson234 Member
|
I realize this is an old thread but I just had to share... my mother-in-law's plumbing used to moan loudly. It wouild resonate throughout the house as if coming from every splinter of every floor, wall and ceiling. And did I mention it was loud?! It did this for some time and was checked by several plumbers (amateur & pro) who adjusted this or replaced that but to no avail. The family just lived with it. Late night toilet flushes would wake the dead. But is wasn't just toilet flushes... any water use could cause the moaning. After much internet research and prior to discovering this site I learned that a faulty or old toilet valve may cause this to happen. I ran water while observing float valve assemblies inside the tanks of all toilets. I discovered that one of the valves bubbled slightly when the moaning occured. I replaced that entire float valve assembly and suddenly, years of moaning stopped. Hope this can help someone.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Current time is 10:26 am | |
| thetankatwaterheaterrescue.com > Forums > The Tank > LOUD moaning :( | Top |
