Ridiculous clang/water hammer
I rent the top floor of a 3 family house in Bay Ridge. I have two huge radiators, and every morning at 530 AM I guess the heat goes back on, and there is a shockingly loud CLANG. It scares the heck out of me. The landlord says this is unfixable. I find this really…
I rent the top floor of a 3 family house in Bay Ridge. I have two huge radiators, and every morning at 530 AM I guess the heat goes back on, and there is a shockingly loud CLANG. It scares the heck out of me. The landlord says this is unfixable. I find this really hard to believe. He claims a few plumbers have come over. Also to note, if I close the valve off, the knock still happens. A similar noise seems to happen later in the evening when I believe he lowers the heat. For some reason, they don’t like to give heat during the night. Any assistance or ideas on a course of action. My relationship with him is friendly, and I’d like to keep it that way of course.
First, thanks so much for everyone’s reply. My landlord has told me he has checked the water level, and everything looks good from that perspective. My hands are tied in terms of having someone look closer, since the boiler is in his living space.
Does the idea from poster at 1:24 AM,the Super in NYC work? I see one pipe coming up from the floor below, but I don’t quite understand what you mean by putting a level on the radiator and using quarters and nickels. Can you tell me a little more about this idea? I’m sleeping in the living room right now because that radiator doesn’t clang!
J
Banging is caused by water sitting in the steam mains in the basement or within the radiators themselves.
If you have a 1 pipe system, that is, the radiator only has one pipe into it on one side and an air vent on the other side, put a level on the radiator and make sure it’s tilted back towards the pipe just a bit. A couple of quarters or nickels make nice spacers.
Careful, as radiators are very heavy, and pipes are very old. Don’t try to lift the thing more than it takes to slide the coins under the feet.
I usually use a piece of 2 * 4, slid either between the legs or up against the bottom to lift them, but, again, only slightly.
If you have a 2 pipe system, then it becomes more complicated, involving steam traps, and worse.
As for the water in the steam pipes, that can only be solved by a competent heating professional, such as Gateway, AKA Master Plumber, (Note: John is a friend, but is so because he’s shown me the path to proper heating, and he’s honest), who has a feature piece on the home page.
There can also be issues with the cleanliness of the boiler, the piping (header) at the boiler and 100 other issues. A true heating professional will be able to solve the problems, and probably save the landlord fuel dollars too.
And, I know this will start some flames, but plumbers and oil companies are not necessarily heating professionals, no matter how good they are at other disciplines within their field. But, that being said, there are also a lot of good plumber/heating pros too.
Suggest you check out heatinghelp.com if you haven’t already…
A happily steam heated super in NYC…
The loud clang it NYC’s way of letting you know you exist….it will eventually be like the sound of birds chirping in the morning….a way to let you know that you have heat and all is right with the world….sorry.
Really I have the same problem and I am the landlord….hopefully 7:11 has the answer…I’m callin the plumber on Tuesday. Let your landlord know about this post and hopefully he/she will do the same. Good luck and good morning.
You have to be the rudest, surliest twerp 7:48 PM to respond to an honest question in the fashion that you did… uncalled for.
By law in NYC the heat goes on between 6am and 10pm when the outside temperature falls below 55 and between 10pm and 6am when the heat falls below 40 outside. That’s why it seems to you that the “landlord turn the heat off at night”.
Banging is caused by water in the pipes of a steam system. In old buildings, it can be nearly impossible to eliminate the banging. It’s impossible that your radiators are banging when they’re turned off, but you will hear anyother radiator in your apartment line banging as well since the pipes are connected.
I suggest you go out and protest against rent stabilization and rent control. If landlords made more money, economic incentive would justify installing new heating systems like those found in upscale new construction.
Since landlords in NYC have many tenants who pay almost no rent, there’s no economic justification to update anything. The current system allows landlords a 1/40th major capital improvement rent increase which is not enough to entice most landlords to spend the big bucks.
Unfortunately, if the banging really bothers you, I suggest you check Craigslist and rent an apartment in a new building.
That used to happen with my steam boiler. then Joe from AAL plumbing came over and adjusted the automatic water fill. It seems if the water level is too high water travels up into the pipes and bursts into steam in the pipe instead of in the boiler. Now that the water level is set lower it never happens. His number is 718-788-1860