Pipes Making Noise

Hi Jo,

"I have seen the recommendation on this forum and others saying "Back in the 60's we were required to to put shock absorbers,(air chambers) on all bath lavatorys and kitchen sinks. Over time water and condensate........
Does this apply to a house built in the 90's?"

Air chambers have been mandated by code in ALL buildings for over 40 years.

What kind of water system do you have? Pump? City water? Let me know, Tom

We are on a well. I did forget to mention that I am watering more than ever trying to keep a lawn and garden green.
Thanks for a quick reply.

Deep or shallow well pump?
Dies the pump come on and off a lot? Do the air chambers first and see if that doesn't help the "bang", (BANGS are not good for your pipes). Let mt copy the instructions again for you.
Back in the 60's we were required to to put shock absorbers,(air chambers) on all bath lavatorys and kitchen sinks. Over time water and condensate built up in them and they must be recharged. First turn off the house at the main house shut off valve. Then open hot and cold faucets at the farthest bathroom to prevent air lock.(This is importent.) You will find under each fixture little brass or chrome valves. These are called angle stops. With a small pail held under the angle stop to catch the run off look under the handle of the stop and you will see a nut with the stem running through it. This is called the bonnet packing nut. Put your wrench on it and back it off counterclockwise. Now open the stop and remove the stem and washer assembly, The stop will begain to drain. When it has quit draining reassemble the stop and move on to the next one. Do this on each one of your angle stops. There will be six of them in a two bath house. When you are done, close off the faucets you have opened, turn on the water to the house, and give yourself a pat on the back.
You have just recharged your air chambers and saved yourself a hefty service call bill. Let me know Tom

Not sure on the well pump question. Our well is 160ft, about 100ft away from the holding take (and pump?), and in our carport outside. Since it is outside, I don't hear it turn on and off unless I happen to be out in the carport loading the car or something.
As far as "This is called the bonnet packing nut. Put your wrench on it and back it off counterclockwise. Now open the stop and remove the stem and washer assembly" I always just thought those were valves under the sink and nothing more. I guess that means just take them all apart and put them back together again.
Thanks again

I just went outside and listened to the tank and it "clicked on" and then a hissing sound with about the same freqency as the clunking sound. However, being that I was outside, I could not correlate it with clunking sound inside the house. By the way, the water is currently running outside.
Thanks again

Let me know what happens when you recharge the air chambers.

Cheers, Tom

Could it be that when the well pump kicks in the sudden boost in water pressure is moving a pipe in the crawspace enough to cause this sound?

Shunned opened up a new possibility. It could very well be that the initial surge of the pump would cause water hammer if the air chambers were water logged and needed recharging. Good thinking, outside the box, by shunned.
10 times in 45 minutes without opening or closing a valve would seem to indicate a leak that's causing the pump to cycle on and off. While recharging the air chambers may take the "bang" away shunned might just have gone directly to the cause. To test for a leak turn the pump off at the breaker box and, without running any water monitor the pressure gage. It should remain steady. If it drops then you have a leak in the pressure side of the system or a faulty check valve in the suction side that allows the pump to lose pressure and kick on and off. Good luck and let us know. Tom

OK, thank you for info so far, but I have new information:
After crawling around under the house for 15 min. Listening for the noise, I could not find a pipe making noise but instead, sounded like it was coming from where the Well Mate is or as we call it "the pump room" is. This is about 10 feet from the house where then the copper piping leaves the Well Mate, goes into cement, and then comes out into the crawl space.
So I sat quietly in the pump room for 5 mintues and listened. About 45 seconds after I hear the Well Mate "kick on" I hear the noise from the Well Mate-- at least I think it is coming from there. It just goes "blump, blump" for lack of a better word. I listened a few more times and same thing. My wife was inside and verified it was the same sound we are hearing in the house.
Does this change anything?
I sort of recharged the well chambers. I turned off the water at the Well Mate and then opened lots of faucets, espcially the lowest and farthest ones away. This didn't help.
Good new is all of this. While crawling under the far end of the house, I found live power for outdoor lighting or outlets. Now I FINALLY know where that light switch in the laundry room goes to!
Oh yea, I can't monitor the pressure gauge because it does not appear to be working. It is always reading zero.