Plumbing Question - Foghorn

[Chocaholic]

Recently bought a house built in 2002 with copper plumbing. On occasion when water is running you will hear (what my wife calls) a foghorn “hum” that stops when the water is turned off.

Any ideas what causes this? Reason for concern or to contribute to the local plumbing cartel.

[Tervuren]

I was trying to figure this one out from the title alone...

Failed.

[cabmandone]

You're on a well right?

Originally Posted by Tervuren

I was trying to figure this one out from the title alone...

Failed.

Some folks call it the "porcelain trombone"... Maybe Mike should stop eating at the local Mexican restaurant

[oldE]

What you're hearing is a resonance occurring when a length of pipe is induced to vibrate from the turbulence of water passing through. You might be able to reduce or eliminate it by installing extra pipe hangers or foam pads on long runs to dampen the vibrations.

Best
Les

[cabmandone]

^^^
I've noticed this on my well system when the pump kicks on and the system is building pressure while water is being used.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by cabmando

You're on a well right?



Some folks call it the "porcelain trombone"... Maybe Mike should stop eating at the local Mexican restaurant

No...not on a well. Will reserve comment regarding Mexican food! Seems to happen when running water from several areas. Quite loud behind the wall where the washer/dryer are installed. I could actually feel the vibration when touching the washer spigot. Appreciate the comments. Doesn’t sound like it’s worth ripping out drywall to fix.

[A930Rocket]

Maybe you could drill a small hole and spray in foam every so often to brace the water lines?

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Maybe you could drill a small hole and spray in foam every so often to brace the water lines?

If I knew exactly where the pipes run inside the wall it would be worth a shot. Coincidentally we just had a new washer and dryer installed. Possible coincidence?

[GH85Carrera]

At the last place I rented, if the toiled was flushed upstairs, there was a relativity loud or foghorn sound as the toilet tank refilled. That place was what forced me to buy a house a year before I really could afford it. I was done renting.

[LWJ]

I have this in a shower. If the flow is too high, it makes sound. The pipe hangers are tight. I did a Mickey Mouse fix and reduced flow at the shower valve. An improvement. But not a fix.

This drove me nuts.

[masraum]

[craigster59]

Won't solve your problem but if you want to kill 4 minutes and see how pipes are "relined" it's a cool video....

[dad911]

If it’s ‘city water’ do you have an expansion tank on the system?

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Doesn’t sound like it’s worth ripping out drywall to fix.

That vibration is probably causing stress on the soldered joints.
(just sayin..)

The pipe will usually run up next to a stud.
Screw in a rubber "U" clamp and add light wood spacers both sides if needed. No metal-metal.
A simple drywall patch will save a lot of grief later on.

[look 171]

Check your water pressure. Maybe too high?

[john70t]

May need to install a few of these....they keep the vibration down.
(over time the seals fail and they fill up with water)

https://southendplumbingllc.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-water-hammer-arrestors/

[E38Driver]

Check your PRV. Pressure regulating valve. If you don't know what that is google it and look for yours. It should be where the water comes into your house. Try adjusting the pressure up by one turn on the adjusting screw and see if the noise goes away. I had the same issue at my house and after increasing the pressure one turn the noise disappeared.

Dave

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by john70t

May need to install a few of these....they keep the vibration down.
(over time the seals fail and they fill up with water)

https://southendplumbingllc.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-water-hammer-arrestors/

Good idea that I had forgotten about. We install them at the washer, dryer‘s and the dishwashers. Anything that’s got a quick opening/closing valve.

[look 171]

From what the op described, hammer arrestor will not help. Water pressure. Get a simple pressure tester at hardware store for 20 bucks and that should read about 65 lbs of pressure.

[Chocaholic]

An interesting update…but one that will require a day or two to confirm. We’ve only lived here one week. The house has an irrigation system that had the water valve closed (from last winter). Last Wednesday I opened the valve so I could water the lawn. It seemed to me that we had not heard the foghorn prior to that. So, this afternoon I closed that valve. So far, no foghorn. Will give it a couple days to confirm.

Since I am not a “lawn overachiever”…I may use the system during drought periods but not routinely. Not a big deal to pop the cover and open the valve when needed. Time will tell. Of course, no idea why that would cause the hum.