Humming noise - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

y0manda · 01-22-2008, 12:51 AM

I remodeled a bathroom that used to be a laundry room, after building the homeowner a garage all the laundry was moved into the garage. While doing a customer a "favor" by building him a cabinet in the bathroom I ran a screw right the the middle of the hot water pipe that was coming down from a noritz water heater I installed in the attic. anyways. I shut off the water, cut the pipe opened up all the faucets in the house, blew air into the lines to get the water level down from the pipe. Cleaned the crap off the copper for a good hour and after 3 times of trying to get a stupid coupler on w/o a leak i finally got the pipe to take the solder. The H.O. just called me and is complaining of a strange humming noise he claims when using the hot water, he said the noise is comming from the location I just fixed. He said that the noise sounds like an airplane flying over the house, not knocking. The only thing I can think of is when I connected the two pipes together I may have pulled the pipes together too tightly. could this be a possibility?
THanks.
Mike

**ChrWright** · 01-22-2008, 12:56 AM

Water hammer?

y0manda · 01-22-2008, 01:16 AM

the way he described it was a humming noise not a banging noise.

thom · 01-22-2008, 01:26 AM

The way I understand it there was a humming problem in the oval office about 12 years ago. Maybe you should ask Bubba how that worked out.

On a more serious note, did you ream the pipe ends prior to installing the coupler? The hum could be turbulence in the pipe from an unreamed connection.

y0manda · 01-22-2008, 01:56 AM

Had no room couldn't even cut it with a pipe cutter, had to use a sawzal. The location of this fix was probably in the worst possible place it could of happen.

JamesNLA · 01-22-2008, 04:02 AM

It's most likley the pipe expanding from heating up. Make sure the heater is set to around 120. Can I see some pics of your Noritz install? Is it possible you have a spring check installed backwards on a recirc line. I have seen that make a buzzing noise, but it's not constant. What is the distance from the heater to this apparent location of noise?

JamesNLA · 01-22-2008, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by y0manda

Had no room couldn't even cut it with a pipe cutter, had to use a sawzal. The location of this fix was probably in the worst possible place it could of happen.

Well you might just have to MAKE room. Now I have seen alot of hack togethers, but none that have hummed or buzzed from the turbulant water. That just makes it more noisey and micro air bubbles in the water. Because it's a tight spot means you neet to remove more than just the pierced spot of copper. 6-12" in either direction to make solid reamed connections.

When I was an apprentice I was helping a new plumber on a new build. I didn't know anything back than other than got to the truck for this or that...etc... inspector came for rough and asked him to take a connection apart. He did and the inspector saw it was not reamed. He went to the other side of the house and had him pull another fitting apart, not reamed. Inspector said I'll give you one more, your choice. That fitting was not reamed. Failed him. He had to pull apart every fitting and ream them all out. It finally passed, and he was fired that day. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Ream the chit out of every connection every single time....inspection or not.