Continuous clicking from apartment heating system

[benstommes]

Coming from within the wall, there's a relatively loud (and sometimes quite annoying) constant clicking sound at even, though gradually changing intervals. If I turn the heat up, the clicking starts immediately with a fraction of a second between each click. Usually that lasts for a few seconds and gradually slows down to a few seconds between each click. Of course, it keeps doing this in cycles and doesn't let up much between cycles. I'm not sure what type of heating system it is, but there are baseboards, and when I turn the heat up, it sounds like water or something starts circulating. Any idea what's causing this and if it's normal?

[yourname]

probably normal. it is the pipe expanding as it heats up, then contracting as it cools. Each click is a little fin moving past the bracket it sets on. If you take the fronts of of the baseboard and look at it, you can probably find somewhere where it is sticking badly and maybe move that bracket around. maybe a slip of cardboard between the two will alleviate it somewhat.

[benstommes]

Well, it sounds like it's coming from inside the wall, near the ceiling, so I don't think there's really anything I can open up.

[benstommes]

Scratch that, it sounds like it's actually coming from inside the ceiling.

[holyfuck]

CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY Then call the FBI and the president.

You have a BOMB in your house. It's the work of terrorists.

----------------- holy f*ck ---------------

[mdauria]

My old apartment was natural gas heat. The ignitor used to click a bunch of times 4-5 followed by a wooooooof (gas igniting, very reassuring noise). The one day the heat wouldn't work, the clicking just kept going and going (no wooooooooof).

[Todd H.]

This is a wild guess as I've never had baseboard boiler heat, but perhaps you've got a boiler behind the wall that heats water that recirculates to baseboard registers.

The clicking may be an electronic ignitor to light the gas burner of the boiler when heat is called for. If the ignitor continuously is clicking, perhaps the thermocouple is bad and preventing the gas from flowing to light the burner and have the ignitor stop. Or, if you actually are getting heat, maybe whatever controls the ignitor is bad.

At any rate, call your apt management and report the issue--it's not normal.

Newer gas ranges and gas grills have electronic ignitors that sound similar. The only other thing that could cause such a noise perhaps is metal expansion or something weird. I had an older water heater that'd make all sorts of crazy sounds. However in this case, that it starts right when you crank on the heat makes it sound rather ignitor like.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

[yourname]

If you can get to the other side of the [wall ceiling] it is probably the pipes binding in the holes in studs/joists/rafters.

[benstommes]

It doesn't seem like I can get to the source.

Maybe I just need to get someone to come look at it...

[David Nebenzahl]

Todd H. spake thus:

If he (I assume he's a he) thinks it might be the click of an electronic-ignition spark, it should be pretty easy to tell: unlike the clicking sounds emitted by pipes, etc., as they expand and contract with heat, the electronic ignition clicks will be absolutely regular. The other clicks won't, but will instead be more randomly timed.