Prevent Water Hammering
March 31st, 2010
Water hammer is a specific plumbing noise. It occurs when you shut off the water suddenly and the fast-moving water rushing through the pipe is brought to a quick halt, creating a sort of shock wave and a hammering noise.
Plumbing that’s properly installed has air chambers or cushions, that compress when the shock wave hits, softening the blow and preventing this hammering. However, if you never had hammering and then it suddenly starts, most likely your plumbing system’s air chambers have become waterlogged.
For curing the water hammering problem, you need to turn off the water supply so that water doesn’t go inside the pipe and for draining the remaining water of the pipe, you could start the attached faucet. Like this all water would be removed and air would enter inside the pipes. This air would restore the air chambers.
The air chamber will not drain properly if it’s clogged with scale or residue from chemicals or minerals in the water. The chamber should always be larger than the supply pipe to prevent such clogging. In case of clogging, you need to remove the cap and clean out the residue.
However, if air chambers are not installed in your home’s plumbing then you need to think about any other alternative to stop water hammering. Due to water hammering, the pipes could burst or there could be failure in fittings. The main reason behind water hammering is high pressure of water so by reducing the pressure it can be prevented. Reduction in water pressure is not always suggested as it could cause the problem of low water flow rate.
If reduction in water pressure solves your problem and do not reduce water flow rate then it is a good solution of your problem. Water pressure can be reduced by setting a pressure-reducing valve or by using a globe valve at the head of the affected pipeline. But while using these alternatives keep in mind the problem of low flow rate.
In case pressure reduction is not possible in your house then you can install air chambers in your home’s plumbing. But if installation of air chamber is also not possible then contact plumbing supply dealer to suggest some alternative.
The next time you hear noises or clatter coming from your home’s plumbing system, try the solutions mentioned above. If you try to solve the problem right away, you can prevent it from becoming more serious.
Tags: Careers
Popularity: 6% [?]
Sphere: Related ContentEntry Filed under: Careers
Trackback this post