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Discussion Forum

Pipes clicking when sprinklers run

jameskim | Posted in General Discussion on April 10, 2007 11:45am

howdy,

i was curious if someone could give me some insight into a clicking noise coming from my water pipes. whenever my lawn sprinklers come on, i get quite a bit of noise resonating from my water pipes (all copper), which is quite annoying if they come on in the morning. i think the interval/frequency of the clicking is somehow proportional to the amount of water flow i allow to my sprinklers, i.e. more water-flow means faster clicking. if i really restrict the flow to the sprinklers, i can get rid of the clicking, but i the pipes still have a really annoying sound of water flowing. anyway to combat these noises?

thanks a bunch!

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Replies

  1. cliffy | Apr 10, 2007 11:56pm | #1

    I think if you cut in a tee near your service entrance and install a hammer arrestor you will lose the clicking. The hammer arrestor is a air cushion that absorbs some of the vibration, especially good if you also have grunts ar bangs when the clothes washer starts.

    More opinions will be along shortly.

    Have a good day

    Cliffy

  2. plumbbill | Apr 11, 2007 01:09am | #2

    Do you have a re-circ on the domestic hot water?

    If so look for a check valve on that line. The pressure drop from the water going to the irrigation system will cause the check valve to chatter & slam shut.

    “When politicians and journalists declare that the science of global warming is settled, they show a regrettable ignorance about how science works.” Nigel Calder,  editor of New Scientist

    1. User avater
      jameskim | Apr 11, 2007 01:15am | #4

      thanks for the suggestions, i might try the hammer arrestor. i don't have a recirculating pump, but come to think of it, it's possible that clicking sound is coming from the vicinity of the hot water heater. is it possible that something in my hot water heater installation is causing the clicking (i replaced it shortly after moving into my house).

      1. rpait | Apr 11, 2007 01:51am | #5

        just dont water your lawn with hot water then, should be fine.

        1. User avater
          jameskim | Apr 11, 2007 01:58am | #6

          funny. no, i don't water my lawn with hot water, but i wonder if there's something about the flexible copper pipe i used to connect the cold water to my water heater is an issue. also, i was browsing the web and ran across the following post about water pressure coming from the street. water comes up next to my garage and immediately T's off to the sprinklers and the other side into the garage. i seem to recall putting one of those pressure check er's on the spigot right at the outside T, and the pressure was quite high (don't remember, can remeasure). should i try to regulate the water pressure more precisely?thanks!here's an excerpt from the search i did:http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=284894"Here's an update on my water hammer problem. Because I noticed it happens to most of my bathroom and kitchen fixtures, I asked my plumber to check the water pressure. It was at 85 psi! I didn't have a regulator installed so I asked him to do it for me.
          It's now set at 45 psi and seems to have eliminated all issues; but created a new one.
          When I have more than 1 fixture in use, e.g. toilet flushing and faucet open, there's a rattling sound coming from the pipe between the water meter and the regulator. They are about 2 linear feet apart at right angles. The sound is continous and heard throughout the house. When I showered upstairs it sounds like a jack hammer is pounding away in the basement.
          I've notifed the plumber and he's not sure what's causing it and how to solve it.
          Any ideas out there? Will a water hammer arrester work for this case?"

  3. BoJangles | Apr 11, 2007 01:13am | #3

    Sometimes it is the water meter making that noise when the flow is high.

    Another good reason to plumb a house with Pex!

  4. JohnSprung | Apr 11, 2007 02:01am | #7

    What kind of sprinkler valves (manual or electric)?  Try running them one at a time and see if there's one or two that cause the problem.  Loose parts or even bad wiring might be it, too.  Go listen for where it seems to be loudest.  Especially, check out the water meter.  I have the same problem, mine's the meter.

     

     

    -- J.S.

     

    1. User avater
      jameskim | Apr 11, 2007 02:24am | #8

      thanks, i'll run a more careful inspection of the source.if i do find the culprit, what's the cure? hammer arrestors? just tightening up something? the speculation is that the pipes just transmit the noise well? would insulation around the pipe help, or are the sound waves traveling through the water?thanks for all the help!

  5. DanH | Apr 11, 2007 04:12am | #9

    It's your water meter.

    So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
  6. grpphoto | Apr 11, 2007 05:18am | #10

    I get a clicking noise from some of the plumbing in my house as water flows. Fortunately, I've been able to locate some of it. It's always located at a point where some of the plumbing is attached to the framing. For example, there's one drain pipe that starts making a noise every time water flows through it. The pipe is resting on a nail at one point, and as the temperature in the pipe changes, the pipe expands (or contracts) and jerks over the nail. I've been toying with the idea of replacing the nail with another that has a roller on it, but I can't find my round two-it.

    In another area, I made the mistake of securing some straps around copper tubing with screws. That makes a banging noise as the tubing expands or contracts when the water comes on. The sheet rock is up now, so all I can do is hope that the straps wear to the point that it doesn't make noise. I'll use nails next time. Or maybe find a better means of attachment.

    George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

    Edited 4/10/2007 10:20 pm ET by grpphoto



    Edited 4/10/2007 10:20 pm ET by grpphoto

    1. JohnSprung | Apr 13, 2007 10:54pm | #18

      The way to prevent that thermal noise is to wrap a piece of thick felt -- like piano tuners use, thicker than what's used on a pool table -- around the pipe to isolate it from the strap and let it slide.  Letting it wear until it stops making noise isn't such a great thing, because the pipe wears, too, and gets thinner.  

       

      -- J.S.

       

      1. grpphoto | Apr 14, 2007 06:26am | #19

        Sounds like a great idea. Wish I'd thought of it before the sheet rock went up. :-(Next time ....George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

  7. User avater
    shelternerd | Apr 11, 2007 05:43am | #11

    If the Hammer arrester doesn't do the trick try putting a small expansion tank at the cold water inlet tot he water heater. My guess is that you have a heat trap on the outflow of the water heater that is rattling due to the pressure variation created by the sprinklers. There are also check valves (back flow preventers) in high quality freeze proof hose bibbs that can make an annoying clicking noise. (even with PEX piping) Not much to do about that one except run an underground feed to a freeze proof yard hydrant and feed your sprinklers off of that.

    Happy hunting.

    Michael

    ------------------

    "You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."

    1. DanH | Apr 11, 2007 05:58am | #12

      It's the water meter.
      So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

      1. User avater
        shelternerd | Apr 11, 2007 06:05am | #13

        I'm on a well and I get these noises when I water my animals or garden.------------------

        "You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."

        1. DanH | Apr 11, 2007 01:07pm | #14

          Clicking or creaking? Rhythmic click that keeps pace with the flow rate is the water meter (or perhaps a meter in a water softener or some such). Thermal creaking isn't continuous and isn't paced by water flow.
          So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

    2. User avater
      BillHartmann | Apr 11, 2007 08:46pm | #15

      Waterhammer is a caused when high water flow is suddently stopped. It causes a single bang followed by a rattle, rattle as the enertia of the water slams into the closed valve. You will only get one of those per cycle.You have this potential problem with fast acting valve. Most common on clothes washers, but also seen on toilet flush valves and AFAIK lawn sprinkler vavles. A hammer arrestor works best when placed immediately by the valve as it acts a shock absorber.A continous noise with water flow is not waterhammer. What causes it is something in the water flow that can move and affect flow. Most often it caused by a loose washer in an open valve. It can be a machine gun sound, a bang, bang, bang, upto a whistling sound. A hammer arrestor does not really solve that kind of problem. But sometimes it detunes it to enough to keep it from happening. But the problem can be cause by a small rock or debrie in the line.And I am guessing that a PRV that is sticky can cause such a problem. And likewise a meter.In another forum a member was reporting strange noises in the water pipes and they did not always happen to when they where using water.Turns out that there was a PRV on the mainline in the street infront of their house and it was acting up..
      .
      A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

    3. alwaysoverbudget | Apr 13, 2007 03:04am | #16

      so can you tell me  alittle more about having a heat trap on the outflow of my hot water heater , i get this rattle evry time the well clicks off and sound like its in the hw tank.so i'd like to take some of these ideas and try them as it's driving me nuts. thanks larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

      1. User avater
        shelternerd | Apr 13, 2007 06:50am | #17

        Not all tanks have them but I've seen a few with a check valve on the outflow as I recall (i've been installing tankless for many years now) it's a ball that settles in a tube and prevents hot water from rising out of the tank into the pipes unless there is actually demand induced flow. Take the copper line off the tank and look at the threaded 3/4" nipple stick a pencil down in it to see if there is a check valve in there. If so you should be able to replace the nipple with a straight nipple and get rid of the check valve. Good luck with it. ------------------

        "You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."

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