Hi all, the kitchen pipes under the floor have recently started hammering when the water is shut off quickly. We have been here since 1999, house was built in 1967, and the problem just started. I thought that somewhere in the house there was an air filled sphere to cushion the shock and that it had gotten filled with water. So I shut off the water and drained the house for an hour or so. This fixed the problem for a day or two but now it is hammering just as much as before. Any help troubleshooting? There is a crawlspace for access to the kitchen pipes.
Question for a plumber: hammering pipes
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Mandelon
Coffee makes me poop.
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Maybe a clamp has come loose? Check that first.
Typically the pipes can move when the water movement is shut off suddenly.
Do you have a torch and know how to sweat pipe? If not you could probably use some Shark fittings, but I am not a big fan of them....I just don't trust em.
One solution to help with the water hammer is to add a cushion of air, like the sphere you mention.
If you can get under the house, and the main problem is the kitchen, add a leg of pipe after the elbow where the pipes run up for the kitchen supply.
Take off the 90 and put on a tee, then add 24" of pipe on the side of the tee.
There are lots of commercially available cushions, like the sphere you mention.
Typically the pipes can move when the water movement is shut off suddenly.
Do you have a torch and know how to sweat pipe? If not you could probably use some Shark fittings, but I am not a big fan of them....I just don't trust em.
One solution to help with the water hammer is to add a cushion of air, like the sphere you mention.
If you can get under the house, and the main problem is the kitchen, add a leg of pipe after the elbow where the pipes run up for the kitchen supply.
Take off the 90 and put on a tee, then add 24" of pipe on the side of the tee.
There are lots of commercially available cushions, like the sphere you mention.
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The brass looking hangers they nail into the joists to hang the pipes came loose in my house years ago...pretty easy to find....follow the hammering sound...
Thanks for the advice, I will try the clamps first, cheapest and easiest solution! I can sweat copper pipe so if I have to I can add a shock absorber. Maybe I will staple some insulation to the underside of the joists while I am down there.....
