Water Hammer Only at Night?

We have a problem with water hammer (where the steam heating system has water in the pipes that bangs around and sounds like someone is hitting the pipes with a hammer). The strange thing is that it happens only in the late night/early morning, not during the day). I assume it has something to do with the temperature of the pipes in that they cool down more at night as the boiler is on less. Any suggestions on how to eliminate this and why it only happens at night?

ermagod

in Heating 11 years and 8 months ago

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Master Plvmber | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Yes, you’re right that it probably has to do with those high and low cycles that people insist of having even though they’re not a good thing for a steam heating system to have to contend with. You need to eliminate the standing water from the system piping. Nothing else is going to cure your noise problem.

ermagod | 11 years and 8 months ago

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The water level in the boiler is fine (first thing we checked) but also, that doesn’t help to explain why it only happens at night. Thanks for the suggestion however.

bedstuytownhouse | 11 years and 8 months ago

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You probably need to drain the water out of the boiler.

ellenlourie | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Steam heating system should not have water where steam should be. Call company specializing in steam heating systems repairs.