rhelster
New Member
First time poster, sorry if I'm doing something I shouldn't. First, some context:
2 months ago, I called my water company because I had a humming noise near my water meter when I would run water. The noise started very soft and was getting progressively louder as time passed. I was told it was my pressure reducing valve going bad and that the pressure coming from the street was 150 PSI. Ok. Called a plumber who came and replaced my PRV.
The noise went away for a few days and then returned at a much lower pitch. Plumber came back and 'tightened' something, problem solved again. The noise was completely gone for about 3 weeks and then came back with a vengeance. The noise was louder than ever and I could physically feel fixtures vibrating while water was running. I called the plumber back again. He came while I was at work and my wife was home. My wife said he was at the house for about 10 minutes and the noise was gone. When I spoke to him and asked what he did, he said he manually cycled the toilet valves a few times and that there was probably sediment trapped in the line somewhere.
When I got home, the noise was indeed gone, but flushing the toilet sounded like a rocket launch. I immediately bought a pressure valve, and sure enough, the pressure in my house was 140 psi. It is unclear to me if something indeed 'broke loose' that was somehow reducing the pressure, or if the plumber just turned the pressure up until the noise went away. I figured out how to adjust the pressure back down at the PRV and the noise returned.
Current state: When I run water at the kitchen sink, I can hear the noise when I turn the water on and again when I turn the water off. When turning the water off, the pitch of the noise changes toward the end. I hear it for about 3 seconds and the last .5 sec is a higher pitch. When running water from a 'low flow' fixture, like filtered water from my fridge, I hear the noise the whole time. My questions are as follows:
1. Any ideas on what is causing this? I have a new PRV and the noise persists.
2. Should I call the same plumber back for a 4th visit at no charge since the issue isn't fixed or should I just contact a new plumber? I am concerned by the brevity of his visits and the general lack of troubleshooting that has occurred.
Other info: House was built in 1935. Pipes are black iron coming into the house, copper throughout the house.
2 months ago, I called my water company because I had a humming noise near my water meter when I would run water. The noise started very soft and was getting progressively louder as time passed. I was told it was my pressure reducing valve going bad and that the pressure coming from the street was 150 PSI. Ok. Called a plumber who came and replaced my PRV.
The noise went away for a few days and then returned at a much lower pitch. Plumber came back and 'tightened' something, problem solved again. The noise was completely gone for about 3 weeks and then came back with a vengeance. The noise was louder than ever and I could physically feel fixtures vibrating while water was running. I called the plumber back again. He came while I was at work and my wife was home. My wife said he was at the house for about 10 minutes and the noise was gone. When I spoke to him and asked what he did, he said he manually cycled the toilet valves a few times and that there was probably sediment trapped in the line somewhere.
When I got home, the noise was indeed gone, but flushing the toilet sounded like a rocket launch. I immediately bought a pressure valve, and sure enough, the pressure in my house was 140 psi. It is unclear to me if something indeed 'broke loose' that was somehow reducing the pressure, or if the plumber just turned the pressure up until the noise went away. I figured out how to adjust the pressure back down at the PRV and the noise returned.
Current state: When I run water at the kitchen sink, I can hear the noise when I turn the water on and again when I turn the water off. When turning the water off, the pitch of the noise changes toward the end. I hear it for about 3 seconds and the last .5 sec is a higher pitch. When running water from a 'low flow' fixture, like filtered water from my fridge, I hear the noise the whole time. My questions are as follows:
1. Any ideas on what is causing this? I have a new PRV and the noise persists.
2. Should I call the same plumber back for a 4th visit at no charge since the issue isn't fixed or should I just contact a new plumber? I am concerned by the brevity of his visits and the general lack of troubleshooting that has occurred.
Other info: House was built in 1935. Pipes are black iron coming into the house, copper throughout the house.
