SOLVED: Water pipe in basement vibrating when first floor toilet flushed.

SOLVED: I had a cold water pipe vibrating in the basement as a result of flushing the toilet on the first floor. The pipes in the basement were vibrating and making a loud humming sound that could be heard throughout the house. The humming sound started as the water in the toilet was about 90% full and the water valve started to close. As the water valve was closing, the valve started to vibrate and the vibration was broadcast all over the basement. As soon as the valve closed completely, the humming stopped. We bent the rod to the float ball and that cured the problem. Amazingly simple fix.

Reply to
Arnie Goetchius
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Wow. Not the way I would have fixed it.

I just would have built an out-house in the back yard and used that instead of the terlet.

Reply to
philo 

"Arnie Goetchius" <

So the valve shutoff point coincided with the top of the overflow pipe? Bending the rod lowered the shutoff point to get it to work but why did it change over time. Perhaps the float has a very small leak and is increasing the weight of the float causing it to 'sink' a bit and raising the water level shutoff point. phil k.

Reply to
Phil Kangas

That's possible. The main thing is that I was looking in the basement where the pipes were vibrating instead of going right to the source which was the toilet. If it happens again, I just replace the whole water valve assembly. At least I now know to look at the toilet to isolate the problem.

Reply to
Arnie Goetchius

Hi, I replaced all float valve in all our toilets.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Sounds to me like the washer is loose on the screw inside the toilet ballcock. But newer types dont have washers. If it screws up again, I'd just replace the whole ballcock unit, unless you want to rip it apart and look for loose screws or ???

Sink Faucets, outside spigots, (or any faucets / valves) with loose washers will also make pipes vibrate.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

It did happen again and I hit it with a hammer and that cured for the time being. If it continues, I'll follow your suggestion. Maybe use a Fluidmaster?

Reply to
Arnie Goetchius

Faucets with loose washers can make noise, but most often it's when the faucet is nearly closed so that the movement of the washer can shut off and allow water flow repeatedly very rapidly. What happens is that water flows along the screw hole to pressurize the area behind the washer causing the washer to move forward and cover the seat, thereby stopping flow through the valve. But, that water supply pressure on the large area side (behind the washer) quickly drops as the water leaks out around the washer and the pressure on the small area side pushes the washer back again. It's the same thing that happens with the rubber diaphragm, but using the washer as the diaphragm instead.

But, if this is happening as your toilet finishes it's fill cycle after a flush, it's very likely to be that the rubber diaphragm in the fill valve is worn out. If it was a water shut off valve making that noise, it would be making that noise all the time the water is flowing through the shut off valve; not just at the end of the fill cycle when the toilet tank fill valve is also closing.

If it were me, I'd replace the rubber diaphragm in the toilet fill valve. If you don't know how to so that, you can also replace the entire fill valve. If you do, I think most people in here would recommend the Fluidmaster 400A fill valve, or any Fluidmaster fill valve because of it's reliability. I think all Fluidmaster fill valves use the same rubber diaphragm and operate the same way.

Reply to
nestork

Home Depot has a DANCO Ball Cock Repair Kit which includes the diaphragm and I may give that a try first before using the Fluidmaster. What with the amount of guests coming here over the next week, I will wait until the holidays are over so, in case of failure, I won't have to install a temporary "terlet" in the back yard. :-)

Reply to
Arnie Goetchius

Sounds like a plan.

You should be aware that even though all toilet fill valves work on the same pressure/area principle I described in a previous post, each fill valve manufacturer will use a different style of rubber diaphragm, so you can't use one manufacturer's rubber diaphragm to repair a different manufacturer's toilet fill valve.

So, make sure that this Danco repair kit is meant to repair your style of fill valve. Otherwise the parts in it won't fit. You might want to buy both that Danco repair kit and a new toilet fill valve so that if the Danco parts don't fit, you can opt for Plan B and replace the entire fill valve. These are mechanical parts, so you should be able to return them if they haven't been installed.

Reply to
nestork

Hi, IMO, for few more dollars new fill valve can be had. Why mess with old unit?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Well, it happened again so I did some more investigating. When I was working on it, I noticed that when I took the lid off and flushed the toilet, there was no vibration. If I put the lid back on, the vibration returned.

Looking at the flush mechanism, I observed an adjusting screw that might be coming in contact with the lid. See photo with arrow pointing to screw at

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I turned the screw 180 deg clockwise which lowered it slightly and now, no more vibration!! I'll let it go for a week or two before I finally decide that the problem has been solved and that there are no unintended consequences from tightening the screw.

Reply to
Arnie Goetchius

You probably have changed/lowered the level of the water in the tank a slight amount by turning that screw, just double check.

Reply to
hrhofmann

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