Bad Pipe Noise

[q100guy]

After hearing my toilet hiss for about a year I finally installed a new Fluidmaster Fill Valve and Flapper Repair Kit. This stopped the hissing sound but another sound soon started. First it was just a little humming sound in the pipes below the bathroom. The sound then became a fog horn and is now a fog horn along with large vibrations in the pipes below in the basement. It is so loud now that it actually hurts your ears if you stay in the bathroom after flushing. The sound starts the moment the toilet begins to refill itself, during the flush there is no sound. Plus if you turn on the sink while the toilet is filling up it increases the volume of the horn sound and vibrations from the pipes. You would think the pipes are about to fall out of the basement rafters the way they sound.

While inspecting the pipes downstairs I noticed a spout/overflow in the elbow of a pipe was dripping clean water in front of the hot water heater. I put a 5 gallon bucket under it and collected over 2 gallons in one night. After that night I messed with the silver valve on top of the hot water heater which caused about a minute of continuous clean water to spray out of the spout/overflow. After this release of water the dripping has almost totally stopped.

Any ideas on how I can fix this? It is becoming so bad my neighbor asked about the sounds he has been hearing from my house when outside.

In the pictures you can see what I am calling the “spout/overflow” in front of the hot water heater and the silver valve I released on the hot water heater. Sorry for the non technical descriptions in this post, I am not familiar with plumbing by any means.

Thank you for your time and help!

 

[johnjh2o]

Are you on city water? If so do you have a pressure reducing valve? The sound you are hearing may be coming from the PRV. That can also be the cause of the T&P valve leaking on the water heater. If the PRV failed the excess pressure will cause the T&P valve to open.

John

 

[IFIXH20]

The vibration/hammer problem could also be from the shutoff valve at the toilet. The shutoff valve bibb washer could be loose. You may have disturd the bibb washer when you worked on the toilet. Just a small add-on to what John has said.

 

[jetswet]

Do you have a older style compression shut off valve or a quarter turn shut off by the toilet?

 

[desertwater]

Since the toilet has been fixed of the hissing, sounds like you are getting excessive pressure build up called thermal expansion from the water heater. I would replace or install a thermal expansion tank on your hot water heater, that should solve the temperature and pressure relief valve to stop dripping. As far as the hammer noise that could be from the newer fill valve that closes a lot more abruptly then the old one causing a hammer throughout the pipes. They make a hammer arrester anglestop you could put on inplace of the old one. Im sure someone else could explain this better.

 

[q100guy]

Thank you all for your responses!

John - I am on county water and I do have a pressure reducing valve. I think the county will come out and test the pressure for me to see if that is the issue.

Jetswet - Looks like I have the older style compression shut off valve.

 

[q100guy]

Updated: I installed a hammer arrester today, but that did not stop the noise. I do have a thermal expansion tank on my hot water heater, however it is over 12 years old so maybe replacing it is the next step to prevent leaking on the pressure relief valve.

 

[jetswet]

I would change the shut off maybe it's not opened all the way and stripped, or maybe the fluid master is again bad.

 

[q100guy]

PROBLEM IS SOLVED!!
Thanks to all the responses I was able to determine that the pressure reducing valve was the issue. I replaced the PRV today and all noise has stopped 100%. Thanks!!!

 

[phishfood]

Thanks for posting how your problem was resolved.