kenmore 26902690 causing water pipe hammering?

[Stan Theman]

Hi all,
I've had a problem with water hammering in the hot water pipes for about six months now. It only occurs when our Kenmore 26902690 washing machine is using the hot water line. It happens about 70% of the time. We built the house eight years ago, and haven't had problems up until recently. The machine is about 9 years old now and is otherwise completely functional.

Here's what I've tried:
* I've replaced the Mini-Rester twice with
no luck. It's located on the faucet
behind the washer.

* I switched the water lines on the washer.
I wasn't able to duplicate the problem but
I didn't leave it hooked up for a long time.

* I now use the hot water by placing the line
in the machine and turning it on manually.
Not the best solution.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Stan

[HayZee518]

Evidently the mini restor doesn't afford a high enough air column for your application. Shut off and drain the line and install about an 18 inch piece of copper with a cap on it. When the hot water solenoid shuts off, the air cushion in the capped off pipe should be sufficient to arrest the surge.

[Stan Theman]

quote:Originally posted by HayZee518

Evidently the mini restor doesn't afford a high enough air column for your application. Shut off and drain the line and install about an 18 inch piece of copper with a cap on it. When the hot water solenoid shuts off, the air cushion in the capped off pipe should be sufficient to arrest the surge.

Thanks Hayzee. Since this has worked without any changes over the last seven or eight years, is there something in the system that could be deteriorating? Just curious what your thoughts may be. I'm doing some plumbing in the basement this week, so I'll add that to the project list.
Thanks again.

[LazyPup]

Somwhere in the house there should be whole house water hammer arrestors. If the house is 9 years old there is a chance that the air in those has been absorbed into the water and greatly diminished their ability to handle the problem.

Step one would be to recharge the air in the whole house arrestors.
1.shut the main water supply valve off.
2. Open a faucett at the lowest point in the system to drain the lines (Laundry sink in basement or an outside hose bibb.
3.Open both a hot and cold faucett at a high point in the system to vent air into the lines while draining. (Best point is the bathroom lavatory sink in the bathroom of the highest floor which has plumbing.)
4, When the water stops draining out, close the faucett at the drain point and open the water main to refill the distribution system.
5. Watch the water flow at the faucetts at the high point. It will hiss air, then sputter a lot of water. When it has a full flow of water turn the faucetts off.

At this point the whole house hammer arrestors will be recharged with air. You will now need to go to each faucett in the house and vent off any excess air until you get full flow.

Flush the toilets also. They may sputter a bit when filling begings but it will stop fairly quickly and no problem.

Take both ends of the washing machine "hot water" hose off and examine both the ends of the hose and the port into the washing machine water valve. Many hoses and water valves have a screen attached to the hose washer, Chech the screens to make sure they are not obstructed with scale or debris.

If these steps have not resolved the problem it is an internal problem in the washing machine fill valve. Solution-Replace the water valve on the washing machine. (This is a simple DIY repair.)

[Stan Theman]

quote:Originally posted by LazyPup
If these steps have not resolved the problem it is an internal problem in the washing machine fill valve. Solution-Replace the water valve on the washing machine. (This is a simple DIY repair.)

That's where my thought process was leading me before HazyLee pointed out that a Mini-Rester may no longer be up to the task. Would that be unusual for the valve to do that? I guess if the solenoid is getting flaky, it could be 'stuttering.' I've replaced the ice machine/water valve on my Whirlpool refridgerator, so it's within my skill set.
Thanks, LP.

[LazyPup]

Years ago we could buy a rebuild kit for those valve but now they glue them shut so you cant rebuild em.

Inside the valve there is a little steel armature with a pointed needle valve that fits into a seat on a rubber gasket. The actual water opening is only about the diameter of a pencil lead or smaller so the get gummed up with scale or debris and start causing the chattering effect.

The hardest part of changing the valve is getting the top of your washing machine open.