The loudest radiators in the world

[heres2thehole]

I have recently moved into a new house which has gas fired central heating, and a Potterton boiler, which has been regullarly serviced albeits about 20 years old.
Whenever the boilers on, whether for heat or water, the radiators start to click. Now I mean REALLY CLICK. They sound like theres a clock, possibly Big Ben, hidden in the system somewhere. When the boiler shuts down the clicking continues for a short while and then ceases.
I've checked the valves and they seem to be the right way round.

It's fair to say this is driving me absolutely bonkers. Any ideas?

 

[heres2thehole]

One more thing I forget..
The clicking seems to come and go as it fancies when the boiler is on.

Cheers

 

[doitall]

Easy

The radiator have little plastic spacers to avoid metal to metal contact.

Yours are missing probably due to decorating.

The other cause is where the pipes are touching plasterboard or wood.

Why the rads get hot in the heating mode will be the motorized valve

 

[heres2thehole]

I can't see the noise, which halts conversation, is down to some missing spacers, as the noise seems to alternate between the different downstairs rads and the noise itself comes and goes. The rads remain hot throughout though.
All a mystery.........

 

[JohnD]

you're not willing to try it then?

turn off one rad and see if it then stops ticking.

If no, it could be the pipes expanding and contracting and rubbing against he joists. For this you would have to take up the floor, ease the gaps, and wrap with bits of felt.

BTW, the little plastic "U" silencers were not available 20 years ago.

 

[doitall]

They did where I come from John

Perhaps its the rats eating the hep2o pipe

Don't know why I bother

 

[JohnD]

Have they got thermostatic valves?

If so, what happens if you turn them up a bit, or down a bit, on a rad while it's ticking?

 

[heres2thehole]

I turned off the rads when the boiler was running and it made no difference, the ticking was still going, likewise when I alter the thermostats on them
Its like the ticking is from elsewhere in the system and then it's getting amplified through the radiators, and for some reason its just the downstairs ones, and some are worse than others. The ticking is just like the ticking, albeit very load, from a clock, and its regular, about a tick a second, it doesn't get any faster or slower, its always the same speed.

 

[JohnD]

what happens when you change the pump speed?

 

[heres2thehole]

If I put the pump on max then the noise starts up within a few seconds and is extremely noisy. If I then turn the pump down to minimum the noise then eases before finally stopping. After about 10 minutes, with the pump on min, the noise starts up again but only for a short time. This then continues like this with the noise happening, easing and stopping, only to start up again a short time later.

Steve

 

[doitall]

We have told you what the problem is

Spacers on rad brks.

Pipes too tight in the joists.

Hole to tight where the pipes come through the floor to the rads.

Pipes touching plasterboard where they pass through the ceiling.

Boxing in touching pipes.

As the pipes get hot they expand and click, as they get cold they click again.

It shouldn't take more than 10mins to trace it.

 

[Gasguru]

Run the heating with the boiler stat turned off ie get the pump to run but no heat from the boiler..perhaps the noise is rattling pump valves/rad valves.