Ever heard loud sounds coming from your water heater?
Sometimes your heater will make whistling noises, beeps, or even clicking. These noises mean different things. Read on to find out what they mean and how to solve them.
1. Beeping
When your heater makes a *beep* or *squeak* sounds just like in the video below, this usually means that your incoming water pressure is too high.
Recording of intermittent beeping
The valve controls pressure from both the heater and the water pipes. In most Singapore homes, water pressure is about 2.0 to 2.5 bars. If it goes above 3 bars (which is rare), the valve may start making noise.
The solution: Lower the water pressure.
Contact Town Council or MCST to adjust the incoming water pressure. High pressure can damage your other water appliances over time.
2. Whistling
If you hear whistling from your heater like in the video below, your relief valve may be faulty.
Recording of continuous whistling
When your relief valve is faulty, it can no longer hold the water pressure properly. It might even leak a lot of water, like a small tap.
The solution: To fix this, replace the faulty relief valve. It's a simple fix.
What is a relief valve?
A relief valve helps release water from the tank to stop pressure from building up. This protects the tank from bursting.
The valve lets out pressure by dripping clean water. To keep the drips out of the way, a tube is sometimes attached to direct the water to a drain.
At all times, the valve must not be blocked.
Relief valve sounds at odd times
If the relief valve makes loud noises only at certain times, the issue is likely high water pressure.
Some people hear sounds late at night or in the afternoon, like at midnight or 3pm.
This is because water pressure in your home is highest at these hours.
12am: hardly any one showering, zzz.
3pm: most people are not at home
Water pressure is not constant, it changes with the number of people in the flat or condo.
What are peak hours?
Morning rush hour: 7–9am
Evening wind down: 7–9pm
Most of us like to take showers in this time range.
Because many people are using water, pressure in the whole block tends to be lower.
How does PUB control our water pressure?
We can't control water pressure on our own. Instead, PUB controls our water pressure.
Their system helps to lower water flow, reduce leaks, and make plumbing fixtures last longer. They do this by installing water tanks and pressure-reducing valves at different points in our estate.
This is what a pressure reducing valve looks like:
