I need an investigatory plumber for this one!

Blimey.

I think a vibrating washing machine would sound very distinctive, and they only tend to make an annoying noise when on spin. So you could expect a thrummmm which increases in speed, lasts for around 1 minute (? no idea...) and then dies down. That sort of thing.

I'd have thought if would be obvious if it were that.

 

They need an email from your plumber? Eh?!

Good grief.

If you are on good speaking terms with your neighbs, show them the 'exploding cylinder' video and tell them they should really be contacting their landlord pdq...

I guess, ideally, it should be the actual flat occupiers of the dripping tanks who should be making the moves.

I wonder if persuading them that they are losing water that they are paying for would help focus their minds...?

 

Ok, this sounds serious .

I was going to suggest environmental health, but I see you've tried this .

Not sure what else to suggest - it looks as tho' it's going to have to be something serious like you contacting their landlords and 'putting them on notice' that the disturbance is affecting your health. Perhaps a doctor's note might help (I'm just thinking aloud, really, 'cos I don;t know...)

I suggest you phone or visit your local CAB and ask advice there. It's clearly gone on too long...

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

I'd have thought that a dripping unvented (pressurised) cylinder should be checked out asap.

I suspect it's simply down to an expansion vessel that needs attention, but it could be due to a faulty immersion thermostat that's allowing the water to boil...

(If we don't hear back from you in a week, we'll assume you've been launched to the moon...)

 

It is astonishing that more than one flat makes the same sound - the PRVs on more than one hot water cylinder make leak and make similar noises.

I wouldn't even expect these valves to do that - they are usually silent. There must be something about the route the pipes take - perhaps through a hollow floor area where the sound is amplified or summat.

Sadly, I don't think the cold weather will have any adverse effect on the boilers...

 

I had a block of flats that had water hammer when the booster pumps changed over

 

Hi

How many flats in your block?

 

Ok just read back,

It seems someone has a expansion relief valve faulty, a very violent banging,

You need to ask for an annual inspection to all plots.

These valves are to warn you of a serious fault

 

They aren't leaking pipes they are discharge from a safety valve

 

It's 'normal' water, most likely from the unvented hot cylinders.

The 'stuff' is limescale salts from the water 'hardness' - the water (presumably hot) evaporates as it leaves the pipe ends and leaves the dissolved salts behind.

The green rust is verdigris from the copper pipes.

Something occurred to me , tho'. You say that the noise starts with a 'knock' at a fairly precise and regular 8 minutes past midnight? I'd been assuming that this was the PRV being forced open by rising pressure inside the cylinders due to them being heated up by immersion heaters.

However, I don't think it can be. If it were, then the pressure would only rise to PRV-opening point after the immersions were on for a considerable time, but there's surely no way that the water gets to that 'PRV' temp at the exact same time each night! I mean, if the owner had used more hot water than usual that day, then it would take longer that night for the temp to rise to the point where the pressure increased to pop open the valve.

So, surely the 'knock' is directly due to something that is on a timer?

I wonder if G&W was on to something when he said 'pumps'? Perhaps there's a mains booster pump that fills a storage tank of some sort somewhere?

What the hell else can it be? What a mystery.

Rache, have you had anyone in to hear/feel this vibration? If it is anything like as bad as you say, then this is a significant environmental health issue, so surely you can force the council to act - and they can then 'oblige' the building's owners to sort it?

Get some advice from the CAB

 

I've thougth about this a lot. Whne you say there are "leaking pipes" outside I presume you mean an open -ended pipe rather than a leak from a joint - in which case this (as has been said) is an "overflow" from a pressure relief valve.

However I think that is all a red herring in terms of the vibrations you are experiencing, but as also said, those "leaks" must be sorted out pronto. It is an urgent safety issue.

I now think your vibrations are caused by a central heating pump (the one which drives hot water around your radiators and through your unvented tank), from the boiler- either your pump or a neighbour's. The fact that it occurs at specific times means that that pump is on a timer - not unusual to be activated at night if people are away from the house all day. Futhermore, the pumps themselves are ususally quite silent in operation but it is perfectly feasible for the pump vibrations to be transmitted through pipework remotely from the pump iteself,and set up the vibrations you describe.

if this has been something that has developed over recent times, (rather than from your first day in the flat) this would also be explained by a timer having been re-set to give the effects and times you describe.

This could be easily checked - check your's and your neighbours timer/programmers and force them to activate the pump (there will be "off" and "continuuos" settings on the programmer) - abnd listen out for vibrations.

diymostthings

 

My money at the moment is on a pump as well, tho' not a central heating one. Why would that come on at 8 minutes past midnight? Why isn;t it running when it would be required - all evening and mornings?