Pipes bang with water filter turned on (not run-of-the-mill)

callmebill

callmebill

New Member
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I think I have a not-run-of-the-mill pipe-banging question.

My home has a 1" whole-house water filter installed (I have a 3/4" supply). When the filter element gets to be a couple weeks old, my pipes start banging when I shut off faucets, flush toilets, run clothes/dishwasher, etc. The sound doesn't come from the device that was turned off; it comes from someplace in the cellar (I believe it's in a run across the ceiling, downstream of the filter).

If I leave the filter in bypass mode, then pipes make no noise. Also, when I install a brand-new filter element, the noise goes away for a couple weeks.

I thought of getting a water-hammer arrestor, but I don't know where I would put it, since the noise occurs regardless of which water outlet is being closed.

Hope someone can help! Thanks in advance.

3319275229_6cbba4e76c.jpg
 
The choices are; either replace the cartridge more frequently or use a higher micron rated cartridge, or remove the whole filter because you don't need it to filter invisible 'dirt' anyway, or put it in bypass and leave it there, or add a water hammer arrestor, or live with the hammer and the damage it causes your plumbing and fixtures.
 
Gary Slusser said:
or remove the whole filter because you don't need it to filter invisible 'dirt' anyway, or put it in bypass and leave it there, or add a water hammer arrestor
Click to expand...

The dirt is extremely visible... A pleated filter gets brown awfully fast, and the sediment starts to settle down to the bottom of the filter housing. I prefer to stop it there.

I'm more than happy to put in a hammer arrestor. But this seems to be more of a systemic problem, rather than "Oh, it's the washer; oh, it's the toilet". So I figured someone who has seen this would say, "Put an arrestor at point-x to catch this shock-wave".
 
Last edited:
Did have your water pressure checked?80 PSI is max,get pressure gauge
hook it up to your hose faucet,they are not that costly.If it is over 80PSI
You may need a pressure reducing valve.
 
Your banging is coming from the sudden loss of pressure when you open a faucet. It is a reverse water hammer. Arrestors will do nothing for you!

As stated by others above change your filter more often, get one with larger capacity, switch to a coarser micron rating, or, eliminate the filter.
 
I know this thread is old, 2 years, so I apologize in advance. I have the same filter, main size and problem as the OP, except, the cleaner the filter, the worse the banging. When the filter gets so dirty that it won't filter any longer, the banging is reduced dramatically. But, so much so that my water pressure drops to near nothing.

The options suggested aren't very reassuring considering my town's water is so bad and they are talking 3 years to fix it. I think they said it was manganese and wouldn't hurt anyone. Maybe what you see won't hurt you but when all of your clothes, faucets and sinks/toilets are brown, its disgusting. Any white clothes have to be thrown out after 3 washes. We've adopted a Gothic look at our house - all black clothes. The manufacturer of the filter recomends changing it every 3 months +/-. Here is a photo of a new filter next to a 3 WEEK old filter. Only 3 weeks, not months!

So did the original poster find a solution to his problem? Please say yes. This repeated banging is terrible.

Thanks in advance,
Rick
 

Attachments

  • filter.jpg
    filter.jpg
    69.1 KB · Views: 2,031
I am having the same problem with a Reverse Osmosis filter I have. The filter is needed to clean the water for a reef aquarium. I am interested in what the solutions are to this problem. Whenever I shut off water faucet near the filter I get this repeated banging that damps out over time.
 
Your Answer:

I just purchased this filter (GE????40?) a few days ago and decided to call GE to see if it would provide more water pressure than my existing filter housing. They informed me that they are getting a lot of complaints about reduced pressure and water hammer in WELL SYSTEMS. They strongly recommended I return it and they only recommend the 35f and 20s filter housings on a well system. They said something about a 2 way valve causing the problems on well systems. I called back a second time to confirm with another GE customer service agent. They also said they were working on changing the packaging and instructions to indicate this.
 
When you open a faucet, something is reducing the system's pressure so drastically, that when you close the faucet, the resultant recovery of pressure occurs so quickly that it causes the hammer. When the filter is dirty, the water flow is retarded so the recovery take longer, thus reducing, or eliminating, the hammer. It is similar to what happens when you have a very long water service line and open a faucet quickly. The water's inertia causes the pressure to drop to zero momentarily, and the water flow "stops", then the water overcomes its inertia and starts to flow. It impacts the stationary water in the system causing "reverse water hammer".
 
Cindy, my apologies for not posting this earlier. I had also called GE and they said the filter I owned had a check valve which was causing the problem and suggested the same replacement. Nowhere on the box or in the packaging was any mention of the check valve. They would not swap out my unit with the non-check valve unit and told me to go back to where I purchased it - Home Depot.

Since I had the unit over a year I figured HD would do nothing but they happily swapped out the unit and refunded me the difference. They too were unaware of the check valve issue. I never had the loss of pressure issue, only the hammering, but I'm on town water.

Rick
 
Hey, RaisingSkell. We're neighbors! I live in Sharon.

Anyway, OP speaking a couple years later. I've just been living with the miserable banging noise. After re-googling it I stumbled upon this thread again. It looks like the GE w40-something filters may be partly to blame. I'm going to replace it with the 35 over the weekend.
 
Hey Bill,

Small world! I switched to the GXWX35F and no more banging - its a beautiful thing. Two less attractive features about the GXWH35F are no shut-off/by-pass option and the casing is not clear. Since your system, like mine, has a shut-off its not a problem. I had an old clear casing from a previously screwed up install so I swapped it and it fits perfectly. If you return the original filter maybe they'll let you swap the canister so you could keep the clear one. My water is so bad I could never rely on the recommended schedule so seeing it really helps.

Good luck,
Rick
 
Well, internet, it took 3 years but my pipes have finally stopped banging. On the advice of this thread, I put in the GXWH35F (which as far as I can tell is identical to the old xx40, except without the built-in valvery), and the noise has gone away.

I see a little black rubber thing that may be a check-valve in head of the xx40. I was tempted to just pull that out and see if that was the culprit... but I didn't.

So anyway, everything is good. And now I have a spare xx40 filter housing (which I may use for target practice due to the grief it's given me). And all those damn sioux chief water hammer arrestors...

Oh, and no need to remark on the scorch marks on my insulation... I'm well aware :)

6896446908_c0d39f2f59_c_d.jpg
 
You could have eliminated one of those ball valves. Two ball valves (one on the supply line running to the filter, and one bypass) would have been sufficient.
 
My home water system experienced this same pipe-bangling problem immediately after I installed the GE GXWH40L whole house water filter - the one with a clear bowl and a check valve that's supposed to prevent backflow to make changing the filter easier...no surprise it doesn't work, and oh by the way, that check valve is the cause of 'banging pipes' every time you shut off water at the tap, the toilet, dishwasher.....everything that uses water! I've been dealing with the pipe banging issue for years - I found that by attaching a garden hose to an outside faucet and leaving the faucet open, the banging stopped. Same results when you switch off the filter and put it in bypass mode. So today, while changing the filter, I cut out that little black rubber piece behind the slotted outlet at the top-center of the filter housing. I used a sharp utility knife to cut thru the plastic slots. Nothing too neat, just cut out enough to pull out that little black rubber piece. Installed the new filter...moved the shutoff handle to filter mode, and voila...no more pipe banging!!! Guaranteed to work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Buzzing noise in shower valve
Replies
0
Views
150
eigentone
E
Mooch91
Indoor check valve BANGS at pump start
Replies
9
Views
1K
Reach4
Reach4
A
Help, I'm stumped! Water Heater and potential leak under slab.
Replies
0
Views
205
anthonyc19
A
Q
Persistent Banging Noise After New Recirculating Pump Installation – Need Help Troubleshooting
Replies
14
Views
5K
quito_mont
Q
kitsune
Potential water hammer issue?
Replies
6
Views
7K
Bannerman
Bannerman
Back
Top