We have been suffering from an intermittent, low frequency noise for some months now. The sound is similar to what a diesel engine on the street outside would sound like - a very low, oscillating ‘hum’ and slight vibration. It varies in volume, sometimes seems to pulse – like a pump - and can often be loud and irritating enough to wake us in the middle of the night. We are unable to locate the source, as the sound appears throughout the house and feels as if it’s coming from all around – making us think it could be pipes or the electrical system (although we’ve switched off the electricity and can still hear the hum). It is louder in the loft, where the boiler is located. When it is particularly windy, however, the sound can kick-in extremely loudly and is clearly emanating from the boiler (and becomes less noisy again when the boiler is switched off). I wonder whether this is a result of some sort of back draft into the boiler flue, which is through the gable end wall, though I’ve been told by a plumber that this isn’t possible. The boiler is a Baxi Platinum 40 HE A and was installed in December 2013 – the plumber says he can see nothing wrong with it. We first heard the noise around the time it was installed. I am a lay-person when it comes to plumbing and our plumber is baffled – especially as the noise can occur even when the heating is off (it’s worse or certainly more noticeable in the middle of the night). It is usually no louder at the boiler than in the rest of the loft, except when a gust of wind seems to cause something to happen in the boiler itself. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, because it’s so annoying and is stopping us sleep and has got to a point where we’re considering moving house to escape it! Thanks!
Unidentifiable Noise - Any ideas?!
- Thread starter WhitleyMal
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First thought is the flue fan, but if switching off power does not stop it, I guess it could be some sort of effect of the wind on the flue working like blowing across the top of a bottle.
Is wind direction a factor?
Is wind direction a factor?
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What is the pressure reading on the gauge? If the filling link has been left open very slightly by mistake then the system could get to 3 bar and the PRV dump a little water, sometimes the PRV can vibrate causing a slight noise even with the power off....Though I would have expected your installer to have noticed something when he visited
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Hi, thanks for your reply. Not sure if wind direction is a factor. It by no means only happens when there's a high wind. Not sure why this would be audible throughout the house, mind you. It seems like its something that gets inside the pipework..?!
Hi, Thanks for your reply. The pressure is not high (around 1.5 bar I think)
Hi, the plumber wasn't able to hear it (neither could we when he was here). We don't tend to hear it during the day. Don't know whether it's because of the general ambient noise in the daytime or whether it only happens at night. Both my partner and myself hear it, (so we're not imagining it!)
It doesn't stop when either the electricity or water go off. We've not left either off for any length of time, however, so perhaps it could be worth leaving the water off over night...
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