Water Hammer Problems How To Fix

[Mr Green]

My mother has a new house recently built this year and one of the outside taps fixed to the house wall gives loud thump, bang when being used.
I understand there is name for this problem called water hammer.
I thought this was only a problem with old plumbing not new.
Are there any cheap simple ways to fix this water hammer problem?

[Builder Bob]

The problem usually occurs because the water pipes that run through your ceiling or along the outside of the walls have either not been fixed firmly enough to the house structure or the fixing mechanism has become detached or broken.

Some household appliances dependent on electricity operated valves, such as dishwashers and washing machines, or single lever taps, may sometimes cause water hammer. Other causes of water hammer could be:



Air in pipes;
Plumbing design faults;
Wrong type of taps used for particular fittings;
Restrictions in flow caused by kinks or corrosion in pipe;
Automatic valves on sprinkler systems;
Mains pressure or gravity hot water services;
Faulty float control valves in toilet cisterns;
Starting and stopping of pumps;
Poorly secured pipes;
Split tap washers.


Water hammer can cause pipes to burst if a weakness exists in your internal pipe work, however this very rare.


There are several things you can do to overcome most water hammer problems:


Try to shut taps off slowly.
Check the piping to determine if it is not fitted properly to the building structure and fit or repair saddles where necessary.
Fit water hammer reducing washers to the taps that are causing the problem (ensure you use correct washers for hot and cold taps).
Install a water hammer reduction valve. Some homes may need more than one and may require a plumber to fit them.

[Whitsundays]

I to have an annoying tap that hammers badly , luckily it's out side and I hardly use it.
But every time I do turn it on I say to myself I need to fix that one day!

[Blow fly]

Mr Green go down to your local Bunnings or hardware and pick yourself up "Hydroseal Anti-Hammer " O-Ring Tap Valves.
They work great and with a little spring that requires no need to over tighten the tap to turn it off. The spring pushes the valve closed with very little pressure needed on the tap handle itself.

This spring allows for the gradual opening and closing of the tap.

[Agents no]

I used that exact tap valver system for my hammer problem and never had a problem since.
You just reminded me of it.

[Matthew_William]

You can cure water hammer by turning off the water behind the waterlogged chamber, opening the offending faucet and permitting the faucet to drain thoroughly. Once all the water drains from the chamber, air will fill it again and restore the cushion. If the air chamber is located below the outlet, you may have to drain the main supply lines to allow the chamber to fill with air again.
The air chamber will not drain properly if it's clogged with scale or residue from chemicals or minerals in the water. The chamber always should be larger than the supply pipe to preclude such clogging. Since the chamber is simply a capped length of pipe, however, all you have to do to clear it is remove the cap and clean out the residue.