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Popping noise in home, help needed desperately!

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Any advice or quote would be greatly appreciated! 

There is a loud popping noise that has been heard in my house for two months. The noise comes from the bottom corner of the kitchen, where the first floor toilet drain pipe goes under the kitchen floor then out of the house. There are some  electric wires nearby that can be seen close to the pipe. The wall nearby also have some mains sockets.   The noises happen randomly. But is so loud that we can sometimes feel the kitchen floor and sworktop  vibrate. Even the lights are flickering.

We have not noticed any connection between the noise and the water use or central heating use, according to a log that we kept for a week.


We thought it was a plumbing problem and have tried the following:
- new boiler installed and heating system was flushed
- installed a water hammer arrester
- bled all the radiators
- drained all the water pipes and refilled them, 3 times
- insulated all the pipes that can be seen
- had three plumber visits, but the noise did not happen during their visits so there's no useful advice given

What could be the cause of this noise? Could it be something other than the plumbing?

What professionals should I ask for help?

Or,any professional here can help please PM me.
Thank you for reading.

thanks again

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“Popping” sounds electrical.  Lights flickering suggests it is electrical.  Vermin chewing cables?  Water leak getting into a junction box?  Bad connection in sockets or a junction box causing sparking and charring of the insulation?  Does it occur when you have an appliance on that takes a heavy electrical load such as a shower or hob which may have a poor connection or not be on the correct grade of cable?

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is it all the time? you could turn the electric off and see if it still happens, would at least let you know if it an electrical issue.

 

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14 hours ago, ttparsons said:

“Popping” sounds electrical.  Lights flickering suggests it is electrical.  Vermin chewing cables?  Water leak getting into a junction box?  Bad connection in sockets or a junction box causing sparking and charring of the insulation?  Does it occur when you have an appliance on that takes a heavy electrical load such as a shower or hob which may have a poor connection or not be on the correct grade of cable?

Thank you for your detailed reply. We have been thinking of water pipes.

We will keep a close eye on this to find out if this is the case. 

Thank you again 

4 hours ago, neeeeeeeeeek said:

is it all the time? you could turn the electric off and see if it still happens, would at least let you know if it an electrical issue.

 

Thank you very much.

It happens randomly, even in  the midnight. We  will give it a try tonight. 

Edited by Full Moon

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Surely if it was electrical you'd be tripping/blowing your fusebox fuse(s) every time it popped?

I have no idea what it could be though!!

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Could  be the compressor on the fridge rattling when it shuts down after reaching it's set temperature!

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3 hours ago, zaci said:

Could  be the compressor on the fridge rattling when it shuts down after reaching it's set temperature!

A problem with fridge, electric immersion heater, security light or other device that switches on and off randomly is a good thought.

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Thank you ssharple, zaci, ttparsons .

Got a electrician and tested the sockets nearby and a socket  in another room. No problems. It's safe to using  all the sockets.

The problem has been continued for over 2 months. The fuse box has not blown even once. The electrician's only advice is: dig into the kitchen floor where the pipe and   wire go  to physically see if there is any fault with the pipe or electricity wire. Surely, this is the last solution before Christmas.

Strange enough, it seems settle down a bit.  The  popping happens much lesser from last Saturday ----No more than  3 Popping noise could be heard.

 

Keep  an eye on fridge for a week to see if  it is related to the noise.

I'll post the progress and big thank you for your advice.

 

Wishing everyone here a merry Christmas!

Wishing me peaceful  Christmas.

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I had a similar problem and it was electrical twin and earth cables trapped by a new kitchen unit, chafing and shorting out but didn't blow any fuses or trip out.  Have fun!

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On 12/12/2018 at 4:44 PM, Vulcan52 said:

I had a similar problem and it was electrical twin and earth cables trapped by a new kitchen unit, chafing and shorting out but didn't blow any fuses or trip out.  Have fun!

Thank you very much, Vulcan52. I'll talk to a electrician about this. 

I saw the spark when the kichen is dark.

A friend come on Saturday.  He gradually  pulled the sparkling wire out. It was live but broken and  burnt.  It has been removed from the socket. Should be another part still under kichen floor and seems live because the popping noise still coming from the same spot. 

All the sockets, including the one burnt part connected to working fine. 

 Just foundout with my friend's help that the electrical wiring is a mess.

 Is it safe to leave the problem after Christmas?

The electrician charged£ 65 and the only advice is : we must taken off cuboard and open the floor board to let him physically see the wire. 

Most of the kitchen floor is tilled. The noise comes from underneath the kichen floor where not tilled and kitchen cuboard sits on. 

Thanks for all advices.

 

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8 minutes ago, Full Moon said:

Is it safe to leave the problem after Christmas?

If you are sure which circuit breaker the damaged wiring is on, switch it off now! You are lucky that this hasn't caused a fire and your electrician tugging away at the wire may have moved it to a position where it may now be more likely to ignite something else.

 

Find out what else is on that circuit and if you need it to be on (like a fridge for example) power it from an extension lead from another socket until you can fix the problem.

 

If you have a live, shorting wire under a floor YOU MUST ISOLATE IT NOW! It will probably be labelled something like 'Downstairs sockets' or 'Downstairs ring' (I'm assuming your kitchen is downstairs). If you are lucky you may have two (or more) downstairs 13 amp ring circuits which will leave you some power downstairs.

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Quote

Thank you so much for your quick reply.

the wiring seems to be a cowboy job.  One kitchen socket is connected with lights and living room socket

You are right , the kitchen is downstairs.

wish i can find it and get it isolated.

 

If you have a live, shorting wire under a floor YOU MUST ISOLATE IT NOW! It will probably be labelled something like 'Downstairs sockets' or 'Downstairs ring' (I'm assuming your kitchen is downstairs). If you are lucky you may have two (or more) downstairs 13 amp ring circuits which will leave you some power downstairs.

 

Edited by Full Moon
add information

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