Water heater noise questions & anwers: FAQs set #2:

Q&A on water heater noises, bangs, hisses, gurgles, rumbles Calorifier noise, Geyser noise.

This article series explains how to diagnose and cure noisy water heaters such as popping, hissing, crackling or banging. We describe the different types of sounds heard at a water heater, what they mean, their cause, and their elimination. The sketch at page top is courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

Noise Diagnosis & Repair FAQs for Residential Hot Water Heaters

These questions and answers about water heater noise diagnosis and cure were posted originally at WATER HEATER NOISE - topic home. Be sure to see the advice given there.

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On 2018-03-11 by (mod) - cure for noisy electric water heater

Gardenia -

As you don't describe the noise my best advice is to check out the common noises and their causes at WATER HEATER NOISE

Examples of common noises:

- water heater hissing: the elements may need to be de-scaled

- water heater banging and popping - the water heater itself needs to be de-scaled or have debris flushed from the tank

On 2018-04-17 by Gardenia - Our electric water heater is making a loud noise.

Our electric water heater is making a loud noise. At first, I couldn't locate the noise inside the house until I reached the garage and able to guess that it was from inside the water heater. My husband's home office is located on the other side of the garage wall.

The noise started to diminished but now we are able to expect it to start at 7:33 am lasting 3 minutes on a daily basis. The noise reminded me of when I lived in San Francisco when every Tuesday or Wednesday at noon, a siren would sound off. (that was in the 80s)

We bought this house last August and start finding nuanses here and there. We have an insurance coverage for the first year but the plumbing contacted volunteered to come out to check it however had never encountered this problem.

What or where should I go to find out? How would I check for a response if there is one?

On 2018-03-11 by (mod) - Ringing water heater

Ringing water heater is a new one for me, Lee.

What sort of water heater is this : electric, gas, oil, solar?

Where can you pinpoint the ringing noise?

Often high pitched noises in plumbing systems, including at a water heater, are traced to water velocity induced vibration in the piping. Try slightly closing the inlet valve.

On 2018-03-11 by lee

i have a new smith 40 gallon HWH which has been working great until today i hear a light ringing sound from the unit, there are no leaks visually. everything looks great & i have hot water, what could that. be?

On 2018-03-09 by (mod) - signs that a water heater or geyser expansion tank is needed

Lora

ACE may be spot-on, so thank you ACE.

I would look at the pressure and temperature gauge on the boiler.

If the temperature is over 200F or the pressure close to or over 30PSI than the boiler is overheating and is unsafe.

If the temp and pressure are below that and the relief valve is opening then most-likely the expansion tank is waterlogged and needs to be drained.

It'd be unusual for a boiler to have omitted the expansion tank entirely.

On 2018-03-09 by ACE Heating & Cooling

@tslothrop,
Sounds like you need a expansion tank installed.

On 2018-03-05 by Lora Woodard

Electric hot water heater put in new pipes new pop off valve, have no leaks but the pop off valve is making a loud noise, release the valve noise stops close valve noise is right back turn on water noise stops turn off water the noise starts again, need help to fix it what do I do

On 2018-02-21 by Anonymous

Teresa,

We're glad to help if we can. Reader comments and questions are critical in showing where our information needs to be clarified, expanded, or corrected.

On 2018-02-21 by Teresa

Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it . Your website is awesome!

On 2018-02-21 by (mod) - more on banging noise at water heater

that's not typical in my experience but it does happen and could be an expanding metal component in the heater as it warms up.

The longer-term concern is whether or not that particular piece that is flexing is going to result in a leak in the heater. I really don't know how to determine that.

I think the best approach would be to make a note of the model and serial number of your heater and then give the manufacturer a call. If you need help finding that number let me know

On 2018-02-21 by Teresa

Thank you for your prompt reply. It is a Whirlpool 50 gallon gas water heater.

I’m almost certain the single sound is from the water heater itself. Sounds like from the inside. Only when hot water is turned on.

On 2018-02-21 by (mod) - banging water heater noise

Teresa

It would help if you could tell me what kind of water heater this is, that is electric gas or oil fired. But in any case do you think it's possible that we're hearing a thermal expansion noise?

Very often when metal components such as a flue vent connector on a fuel fired water heater, or even the metal case of an electric water heater, as the heater or other component warms up or cools down we may hear one or more single loud banging like noises.

If the sound occurs when you turn water on or off then you want to search inspectapedia. Com for article titled

Water hammer noise

On 2018-02-21 by Teresa

I should say sounds like when you hit an empty hollow water heater very hard because the noise is so loud that I can hear it upstairs far from the garage where it is situated. Thank you.

Hello, great article! But I still don’t know what is causing my water heater to make noise. We installed a new gas water heater in March 2017. Everything was fine until November when I noticed every time we use hot water, about 1 1/2 minutes later, the water heater itself gives out

a single banging noise that sounds exactly like when u hit a metal spoon against the water heater, almost gong-like. Just once.

My friends said it’s the cold weather causing it to expand. But I’m still worried. I live in Southern California, the weather has been colder than normal. Can you please help? Thank you.

On 2018-02-06 by (mod) - signs that the calorifier needs to be de-scaled

sounds like a scale problem in your water heater. Search inspectapedia for
water heater descaling

WATER HEATER SCALE DE-LIMING PROCEDURE

On 2018-02-04 by tslothrop rumbling noise at water heater / geyser

We have a 10 yr old gas water heater. Recently, we installed a new clothes washer. Since then, whenever the washer initially fills (generally only the first cycle), the water heater makes a rumbling sound.

This is definitely related to the start of the water draw, and not to the heating cycle. We drain the heater monthly, and live in an area with cold lime softening and have very little to no scale buildup anywhere.

On 2018-02-02 by (mod) - rumbling calorifier

Probably not. But you might be hearing a rumbling sound due to scale in the water heater if your water heater in fact has remained on.

On 2018-02-02 by Cojo

I hear water running through the water heater even though I've turned the main water valve to the house off. Is this possible?

On 2018-01-27 by (mod) - pinging noise in water heater / hot water cylinder

if the noise is not coming from the burner it could be a scale problem

On 2018-01-26 by Johnny

When we start showing the water heater will make a pinging sound

On 2018-01-24 by (mod) - banging noise at hot water pipes

Steve

Search InspectApedia.com for WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE to see the common causes and cures for the noise you describe. Let me know how that works out. Daniel

On 2018-01-23 by Steve

everyday we hear this banging noise like if the pipes are coming apart, it goes off all day, should we turn of the tankless water heater or is there a suggestion that may help?

On 2017-12-19 by (mod) - running water noises

When a water or hot water system makes noise as you describe I suspect water is running somewhere, perhaps from a bad toilet fill valve or an automatic water feeder on a boiler, or a water heater is going into a heating cycle.

On 2017-12-17 by John O.

Nothing happens, I am in a single family home. Everyone is sleeping. The noise
doesn't happen every morning. Totally random. That's the problem.

On 2017-12-16 by (mod) -

If the noise is regular in when it occurs then there is likely to be some event that we want to identify. What happens at 4:30AM in your building?

On 2017-12-16 by John O.

Noise starts at 4:30 am. No timer on the unit. Yes, we have hot water all the time.

On 2017-12-16 by (mod) - why a noise occurs at 4:30 AM?

What is happening at 4:30 AM? Is there a timer turning the heater on? Is there hot water use?

On 2017-12-16 by John O.

Our new electric water heater makes a vibrating sound at 4:30 in the morning. It lasts about 10 minutes. The one we replaced did the same thing, at the same time. Got any ideas? The installer was back last week and reduced the water pressure which he thought might be the problem.

On 2017-12-02 by (mod) - signs of a solar water heater or calorifier leak

Sounds like a leak perhaps caused by water hammer.

On 2017-12-02 by susan

our solar hot water is making a banging noise looks like something is oozing form he top and dripping down cylinder

On 2017-11-26 by (mod) -

Billie,

I agree that you need to do some more careful snooping around when the heat is turning on and when the hot water is being heated. For example if your heat is produced by for Stormare you could be hearing a sound of expanding duct work. Or you could need to descale your water heater.

On 2017-11-12 03:59:58.613927 by Billie j.

Or could it be the heating system?

Just bought a house and now that the heat is on the past 2 nights we hear a bang like something has fallen could that be the gas hot water heater? It is very scary sounding.

On 2017-10-15 12:24:39.308966 by Jeff

I have a gas hot water heater , when it ignites the burner it sounds like it wants to explode ,it goes poof , sometimes pretty loud what would be the cause of that ? It otherwise than that works very well

On 2017-06-13 16:38:28.778460 by (mod) -

Jade Brunet said:
Our water heater has been making weird noises and we are unsure of what the problem may be. It is good to know that buzzing noises at a gas regulator on water heaters or other appliances may be due to bad regulator control. We will definitely be calling a plumber soon to check the regulator and hopefully get rid of the sound.

On 2017-05-24 14:41:20.891259 by (mod) -

Thanks for the great question, Ronald.

Humming sounds from an electric water heater can be caused by turbulence in water inside the heater as water flows around its one or two electric heating elements. Some heater experts suggest trying to slightly tighten the electric heater element in its mount to stop or reduce its vibration. By turning the (loop-shaped) electric heater element in position inside the heater you are changing the direction of water flow across that element as water enters and leaves the heater. That may stop the noise. If it is impossible to rotate the heating element clockwise (rightie-tightie) you can still make an adjustment by loosening the element - turning it counterclockwise. But watch out for leaks. If leaks start you'll need to drain the heater, remove the element, apply new teflon paste or tape to the treads, and position it anew in its mount. At that point, just tighten the element enough that it's secure and not leaking (on re-fill of the heater). Then if the noise is absent, stop there. If the noise is present you'll be able to rotate the element 1/8 of a turn at a time until the noise stops.

Watch out: never turn an electric water heater back ON before making sure that all of the air has been removed from the tank or the element will burn up immediately.

If that has no effect, I'd also try slightly closing the control valve on the heater's cold water inlet side to see if slowing the water flow rate/volume has an effect.

Check those two points and let me know if that works for you, as what you find will help other readers.

On 2017-05-24 07:04:23.351420 by Ronald W T Bull

There appears to be a low humming sound comming from the hot water system

On 2017-05-23 15:28:31.894361 by (mod) -

Typically, Charles, the problem you describe is caused by water heater scale mineral deposits. You can see live links to recommended cures in the article above near its end in the section titled "Cures for Hard Water that Clogs Hot Water Tanks, Tankless Coils, and Plumbing Pipes" or you can Use the search box just above to find our article series on WATER HEATER SCALE REMOVAL.

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Continue reading  at WATER HEATER NOISE - topic home, for electric water heaters or water cylinders, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER HEATER SCALE DE-LIMING PROCEDURE
• WATER HEATER DEBRIS FLUSH
• WATER HEATER WHISTLE NOISE - screaming tankless water heater diagnosis
• HEATING SYSTEM NOISE DIAGNOSIS for a more broad list of noises traced to heating equipment
• WATER HEATER SCALE DE-LIMING PROCEDURE

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER HEATER NOISE FAQs-2 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER HEATERS

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