Loud rattling in the radiator
I’ve posted on here before with wonderful results so I’m back again for some heating help. I have a rattling radiator that is consistently loud for 20 minutes to an hour at a time. The air vent has been replaced, the radiator is pitched back towards the pipe, and there isn’t a shut-off valve to…
I’ve posted on here before with wonderful results so I’m back again for some heating help.
I have a rattling radiator that is consistently loud for 20 minutes to an hour at a time. The air vent has been replaced, the radiator is pitched back towards the pipe, and there isn’t a shut-off valve to open. It started 2 weeks ago after 3 months of quiet heating.
Here’s a link to a video of the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtU2gqoZW9w
Does anyone have any insight as to what this is? Is it just air trapped in the pipes? How can this be fixed? The radiator does not have a bleed valve.
Thanks for your help.
modsquad, i was thinking along the same lines, although im not sure i agree with you on the last statement. the size of the vent could also be an issue now that the boiler is runing at a higher preassure. there is a couple of potential causes which are difficult to figure not seeing the whole picture.
I suspect the raised pressure has exacerbated the inefficiency of the single pipe system. The initial steam has condensed, turned to water and is unable to return easily to the boiler given there is more steam arriving, through the same pipe, at a higher pressure. The rattling, as opposed to outright banging is due to the fact that the water is at least hot. Am I wrong?
is there one or two pipes coming from the radiator? is the noise at the radiator or coming maybe from one of the pipes below, sound travels very well along the pipes…. does it sound like smebody hitting the radiator or pipe with a hammer? or is it a different noise?
I am suprised that there is no valve. Can you pin the start of this to the time that the landlord increased the pressure? Suspect.
What increasing the pressure does to a system is out of my league as I have never raised pressure on a boiler and would never do it, not even on my own house. There are a couple of heating pros that pipe in here once in a while inc someone called Master Plumber. I’d bet he’ll have the answer.
Steve
most noises/rattling inside heating pipes and radiators is caused by water trapped in the readiator or a pipe thats not pitched correctly, the water is unable to drain back to the boiler and fights with the rising steam. chances are that the adjustment at the boiler made this condition worse. not sure at what preassure the boiler is running but i will bet it is too high. i will try to locate my steam bible and figure it out….
It is steam heat. The noise starts after the radiator is already hot…so middle through the end. There is no valve at all.
To quote my landlord, “we did recently slightly raise the cut out pressure of the system to maximize steam propagation to the top floor during a heating cycle.”
I am located on the 3rd floor of a 4 floor building.
Hope this helps.
Thank you.
i have not seen the video. is there no valve at all or it’s just missing the handle? does the noise happen at the beginning of the heating cycle, middle or end? has anything changed in the heating system,pipes other radiators? and i assume it is steam heat?
Thanks Steve but the radiator doesn’t have a turn off valve. Any other thoughts?
The sound sounds as though it is loudest right near the turn off valve. I am wondering if the valve stem is loose or missing its packing allowing it to rattle around. I would check the stem by turning it. the stem should not really have any play in it and should feel snug as you open and close it – try opening and closing a known good valve and see what it feels like, then turn the stem on the rattling valve. If that stem is loose, it is suspect.
Also, with steam valves, it is always better to have them all the way on or all the way off – no in between. The valves tend to wear and leak when they are partly opened.
If does not sound like water in the rad as that usually sounds like there is a little man in there with a steel mallet.
Steve
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