A few seconds after using the hot taps (kitchen sink and bathroom basin), a loud whining starts in the pipes. The bathroom floor actually vibrates. The noise decreases or disappears if I a) flush the loo, b) turn the cold bath tap on full, or c) pump the ball-cock in the feed and expansion tank several times up and down. Sometimes the whining noise changes to a deep, humming buzz, which is also stopped by pumping the ball-cock. The plumber has fitted a new multi-purpose ball valve which is supposed to cope with high or low pressure (we have high). He also changed the washers in the bath and kitchen sink taps. He is very reluctant to come back and address the problem but it's driving us nuts! My DIY book suggests a temporary bodge by hanging a yoghurt pot on the ball-cock arm but I wouldn't be very happy with that over the longer term.
Have you had a water meter fitted in the last two years? If so this will be the cause of the problem as they have a non return valve fitted. The best solution is to fit a shock arrester should cure the hammer issues
No, we don't have a water meter. Should I still have a shock arrester? I don't even know what one looks like but presumab;y the plumber would know?
The ball valve on the expansion tank appears to have packed up altogether and water is gushing (and I mean GUSHING) from the overflow. Have turned off the stopcock and extinguished the fire to the back-boiler, and called the plumber (who hasn't turned up -no surprise there!). I have looked on various 'help' websites which all give conflicting advice. Some say the whining could be water hammer caused by a faulty ball valve. Others say it could be the mixer tap in the kitchen downstairs not being balanced (no, it doesn't have a check valve but it's specified as 'dual flow'). Other websites cite a faulty coil in the hot water water cylinder, or faulty tap washers (they have been replaced recently), or air in the pipes, or loose pipes, etc. etc. I am absolutely at my wits' end. We have no national helplines such as Homeserve or emergency plumbers (and I mean NONE) in rural Wales.
Two long posts and the answer lies in the last two words How recently were the tap washers replaced and did the problem start before or after? If you have high pressure generally, install a pressure reducing valve on the incoming mains to bring it down to something sensible e.g 2.5 - 3bar and whilst your at it install a water hammer arrester at the same time (on the customer side of the pressure reducing valve)
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