Can sprinklers make toe tapping pipes?
Once upon most mornings dreary, while I ponder weak and weary,
Over a fresh and tasty cup of coffee poured,
While I waken, nearly napping, suddenly there comes a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my houses floor.
`’Tis the sprinklers?’ I ponder, `tapping at my houses floor? –
Tis this, and nothing more?’
Apologies to Poe.
The setup – house feed from the street plumbing is teed off for irrigation outside the front of the house where it comes out of the ground. 1/4 turn ball valves for both house shutoff and for irrigation at the tee. House is plumbed in copper, there is a hose bib on a tee above the house shutoff where the plumbing goes into the house. Irrigation transitions from copper to PVC, with a run of a few feet to the front valves and around the corner of the house to the valves for the back. Sprinkler valves are electric rain bird 3/4 inch with vacuum breakers.
When the sprinklers are running there is a faint tapping that I am assuming is in the plumbing since it is coming from the floor, where the pipes run in the crawlspace. Downstream of there, the plumbing distributes to the tankless in the attic and branches off for cold water distribution to the rest of the house and the outdoor faucets.
I can’t for the life of me figure out if this is some sort of water hammer effect or a flapper on the vacuum breakers flapping, or if I even need to worry about this? Is this going to cause any damage from the pulsing that is causing the tapping? Would cutting in a small pressure tank or something like that alleviate the noise?
Any thoughts from those who are better versed in this stuff than me are appreciated.
—
“Though I don’t think” added Deep Thought “that you’re going to like it.”
Replies
Mine has been doing something like that for 33 years with no ill effects - just a faint, rhythmic tapping sound. I thought it might be something in the water meter, but I've never been sufficiently curious to find out.
Hear the sprinklers wet the grass
bright green grass
Show the world your bright green blades and class!
How the dew drops twinkle, twinkle, twinkle,
In the sunny light of dawn!
While jets that oversprinkle
And your driveway seems to twinkle
'bout as much as does your lawn;
Going thump thump thump,
While you and mistress hump,
To the water hammer from the pipe, pipes pipes,
Pipes, pipes, pipes-
Just to keep that $#%^& grass from turning brown.
Mine does it as well. Not sure why. At first I thought it was the pulse? sprinklers.
But my drip irrigation does it as well. Maybe the water meter?
Funny, I don't hear it with any other water use in the house.
Will Rogers
Yes, there is air in the sprinkler lines (somewhere) and pressure surges set up a harmonic rhythm. Bleed the sprinklers (putrid water) and get some more air out to change the harmonic.
Thanks - have to look into it, but I'm not sure with the vacuum breakers on the valves that I can get all the air out of the sprinkler pipes.jose c.
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"Though I don't think" added Deep Thought "that you're going to like it."
Hold the phone, I am assuming you have a "wet system"; what vacuum breaks?
These valves here: http://store.rainbird.com/shopexd.asp?id=503vacuum breaker required for backflow prevention. I had thought about putting in a single vacuum breaker at the start of the system with buried in line valves, but talking with my father and the interesting fun he has had with digging up the in line valves we buried in his yard a couple of decades ago convinced me that this was a better way to go from a long term maintenance perspective.jose c.
--
"Though I don't think" added Deep Thought "that you're going to like it."
Don't bury the valves without a surface access valve box.Better yet, locate all the valves in a single large valve box near the water connection. Saves lots of headaches trying to locate the scattered single buried valves.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
We did place the valves in boxes, but without unions he had to dig up around the box when the original valves went obsolete and had to be replaced.jose c.
--
"Though I don't think" added Deep Thought "that you're going to like it."
Reconsider buying those anti-siphon valves. If they are buried below ground in a box, they have to be higher than the highest head (when valve is popped up) on that zone. Unless your house is on a hill and the valves are downhill you lose the antisiphon ability. From that link above:"Anti-Siphon valves should always be installed at least 6” above the highest head on the valve line".A single backflow preventive device at the water source that feeds the regular valves is easier to mount higher than the highest head.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
I've got much the same sound when my sprinklers run and my set up is similar to yours, 3/4 poly entry pipe from city, transitioned 3/4 copper main to shutoff ball valve and T to house. I live in northern Cal and I often wonder what causes it but it's not very loud either. I always assume that it's either the meter mechanism or it's some upstream pump used by the utility. I'm guessing it's sound from the meter but I'll be monitoring this to see if any "real" answer comes around.
Some water meters can make a tapping sound which gets louder with high volume of flow. Irrigation sprinklers can have a much higher flow rate than anything else in the house. The sound carries thru the pipes and the water.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
The thing is that I don't notice it when we are running water at rates through the hose bibs. It is something to look at - if I get obsessive enough about it I can get the stethoscope and go listen to the meter when the sprinklers are running to test the meter theory.jose c.
--
"Though I don't think" added Deep Thought "that you're going to like it."