'Ticking' rads

Mr Bloat

My wife and I moved into our house about 6 years ago, it's a second hand house about 40 years old. It has gas heating. About a year ago we got the boiler replaced. Now, when we had the old boiler we used to occasionally hear the 'ticking' sound you get when the rads expand and contract with the heating. Since the new boiler went in though, this is happening a lot more frequently and it seems to be much louder too. It doesn't bother me (I work in IT and am usually based in a server room with lots of background noise - I'm used to filtering it out) but it's driving my wife insane and it's even waking the kids up at night!

Today I tried bleeding the rads because I thought maybe the lads who replaced the boiler let air into the system but they were fine. I'm not sure what to do now, would you think I should get in a plumber or is there something I can try myself? Or is it just something we have to put up with? Any suggestions welcome.

Steve

It's not the rads, it's the pipes expanding as they heat up and moving (in small increments) in the joists.
It probably got worse because the new boiler is more efficient and heating the water faster.

One solution is to wrap the copper in felt where it passes through a joist, this would involve lifting floorboards and can be a messy job.

Another solution is to replace the copper with plastic - again it involves lifting floorboards.

Maybe there's a better solution / explanation, I'm no expert but I've read about this problem a few times and it's nearly always been expanding pipes.

Micky Dolenz

More than likely expanding pipe work where they come up through a timber floor that is tight around the pipe.

Have you thermostatic radiator valves fitted? the sound may be caused by the pump forcing water through a valve that is half open.

copper12

If as you say the sound' is coming from the rads.
Are you sure it's from the rads; and not from the pipe work
If it is the rads, then like the lads said' because the new boiler is heating the water quicker' then the rads will expand' with a Farley loud crack' the simplest remedy; is to put some material' on the brackets' that hold the rads to the wall; modern rads come with these grommets' for the brackets'
Or you could turn up the telly;le

Mr Bloat

Thanks for the replies, lads.

I reckon you're all right, it's not the rads as previously thought but the pipes. I'll have a look at where the pipes pass through the floorboards to see if anything can be done there.

Thanks again!