chrisprickett Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 I seem to remember this being discuss before, but forget the conclusion. Here's the scenario: Two year old house, city water and sewer. If any of the fixtures are turned on, after no water use for a few hours, air can be heard coming out of the fixture. I could find no supply piping leak (and the meter needle doesn't move when the water's off), and there doesn't seem to be any difference between hot and cold (from the air problem standpoint). Water pressure to the house is on the high side (90 psi), but other than that, nothing else is out of the ordinary. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 I would think that as long as Green Slime does not come out you are in good shape. For some reason I keep on thinking Ghost Busters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 How much air & for how long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Hi Chris, Down in your neighborhood lots of folks have irrigation systems for their lawns, don't they? Aren't they equipped with a kind of aerator device that lets air into the system? If that is the case, is it possible that there could be some kind of cross connection there? Don't really know, I'm just swagging a WAG here. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisprickett Posted September 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Kurt, Sounds kinds like when the water hasn't been used for a while, but not nearly as long. When flushing the toiket, I heard it for about 5 seconds, and about the same when running the tub. Mike, No aerators on the irrigation system. The house has fire sprinklers, but I can't see how that would make a difference. It makes no sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Chris, Did you notice this during an inspection (where it might have ben a fluke, or is it a chronic problem? Sounds like you've covered everything inside the house. I bet the problem is in the street. Have neighbors reported anything similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 At 90 lbs of pressure a few things come to my mind. The first is that air is far more likely to leak past a seal than water. The second is if there are vacuum breakers, it's conceivable that a venturi effect could be taking place and drawing air into the system. The third thing that may be happening is turbulence/cavitation. Lastly, air is easily suspended in water anywhere it has a soild surface to adhere to. Look at any glass of freshly poured water and you'll see air on the sides...for a while. As water moves past the air residing on pipe walls it gathers it all up and the tiny bubbles merge into bigger bubbles that have too much flotation to hang around; they'll rise to the highest point, which in many cases is the faucet. I'd bet on the vacuum breaker theory as the second most likely reality, with the first most likely being that Fabry's full of crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Chad may be on to something; one of the things I first thought of was "are there vacuum breakers anywhere in the line?". This is interesting; I wanna know what's going on. Are there vacuum breakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 If the local water department has worked on the lines around the "hood" there might be some air in the lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisprickett Posted September 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 Sucking air throught the vacuum breaker may be the ticket. I ruled out the water company because the H/O says it's been happening for almost a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevetheplumber919 Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 The bigger question here is why in God's name you'd want to have 90psi running through a house??? Higher pressure = bigger problems. Unless you need to turn your shower into a blasting tank, a pressure regulator should be installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisprickett Posted January 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Originally posted by stevetheplumber919 The bigger question here is why in God's name you'd want to have 90psi running through a house??? Higher pressure = bigger problems. Unless you need to turn your shower into a blasting tank, a pressure regulator should be installed. As SOP, I always recommend a regulator if the pressure is above 80 psi. Lack of a regulator still doesn't explain the air in the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 There's a certain area here where I regularly find 90 - 110 lbs PSI on systems (nearby and downhill from the water associations' main plant). I advise the clients accordingly, but I have yet to find a leak in any of the houses out there (some now approaching 25 years old). I don't know why. Brian G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieb Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 “Sucking air through the vacuum breaker may be the ticket†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Brian, Oftentimes the water dispensers in fridges, clothes washers or dishwashers will fail due to high water-pressure conditions. I've had several clients tell me--after I'd warned them and they did nothing about it--that one of those appliances had begun leaking after they'd moved into their houses. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Hmmm... I haven't heard anything back on any of mine yet, but maybe they didn't bother to call because I did warn 'em. Time will tell, but my hiney is covered. Brian G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 What I have having trouble grasping thru this exchange is what is meant by "hearing air coming out of the fixture". Especially if its a toilet, seems like there'd be a bubblin' goin' on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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