Radiator noise

towbar

I have 3 radiators that when heating up or cooling down make a loud creaking sound. Don't believe its water noise - pressurised system and pressure is always over 2 bar. They are mounted on stud walls (timber frame) and noise is single almost bang type creaking noises about 2 seconds apart for maybe 30 seconds on heat up and slower on cooling down.

2 are over wooden floors but pipes are not touching floor.

Any ideas?

tommurphy73

Noise is possibly caused by the expansion and contraction of the metal as it heats and cools. This possibly causes some movement on the mounting brackets or where the pipes go into the floor.

Regards
Tom

towbar

Any tips for preventing ? Its loud enough to wake me when heating comes on in morning?

Only happens with some of radiator

Sparkpea

no tips on how to prevent this.. normally happens on most heating systems some expansion of the pipes along the joists etc, being piped in plastic these days helps prevent it slightly but its normally down to the way the installer has piped the system, if its in copper/plastic/pipes ontop of joists/joists drilled/insulation etc.

saying that this noise shouldnt be too loud unless its something else.

is your system always around 2 bar hot or cold? if cold that seems a bit high to me but this shouldnt be causing the noise problem.

edit: do these radiators have thermostic valves that its happening on?

tommurphy73

Difficult to stop these noises. All I can recommend is trying to trace the source of the noise. Maybe it is possible to tighten any brackets or move a pipe away from a floor board but other than that there is not much else you can do.

Regards
Tom

towbar

Thanks for info.

Radiators are piped from a heating manifold as used in underfloor heating. The valves are wax filled so its not valve hammer or anything like that.

Its usually about 1.5 cold and 2.5 hot although it loses about 0.5 bar every month or so - another years work to source that problem!!

Its a bungalow and the pipes are in plastic under the concrete floor but copper for the last bend and to radiator.

It must be the bracket on the wall when it heats - going to try jamming something at back of rad as when I press on the radiator while heating it seems to stop.