The hot water faucet is Sputtering heavily. I tried opening up all faucets in the house and let the water run for more than 10 minutes, but the Sputtering continues. This is in the upper level bathroom and only the hot water faucet is Sputtering.
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1Can you post the make/model of your faucet? Or take a photo. It may help others brain storm.– ziptronApr 1, 2021 at 1:05
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Do you have any water filtering or pump-driven post processing on the hot water but not the cold water?– blargApr 1, 2021 at 11:23
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2How about a video so we can see and hear the symptoms?– jay613Apr 3, 2021 at 19:59
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4 Answers
Movement in the hot water supply line below the sink may be touching the shutoff valve thus creating a resonant effect. Try partially closing the hot water shutoff valve to determine if it's modified angle stops the sputtering.
If this stops the sputtering, dampen movement in the hot water supply line or block anything that could touch the shutoff valve when it's completely open.
Isolate the problem.
- Turn off all faucets.
- Turn off the stop valve on the hot water at the faucet you care about.
- Unscrew the faucet connector from the stop valve. Put a pot or something to deflect the water and a large bucket below it (or get a flexible connector and route it to a bucket or something). Make sure you have someone near the main water shutoff.
- Turn on the stop valve. Does it sputter? Bursty? Have air in it? If not, you know the problem is in the faucet, not the pipes leading to the faucet.
- put the system back together and check the faucet. Does it have a flow restrictor? an aerator? remove them, and test again
- Does the flow get smoother if you partially close the stop valve or if you open it more?
- Try plugging in another faucet. Does that solve the problem?
- Disassemble the faucet. You might well find solder balls or other things in the lines that are partially blocking the valve and creating turbulence.
If you have separate faucets for hot and cold water, the screw that holds the hot water faucet washer may have come loose, allowing the washer to move around, vibrate and cause turbulence. You might call this "sputtering".
If this is what happened, it's a pretty easy fix. Turn off the hot water supply below the sink. After removing the faucet handle, use a wrench to loosen and remove the valve stem. See this picture.
If the washer and screw are on the end of the valve stem and the screw is tight, sorry, that was not the problem.
If the screw is loose, tighten it and re-assemble.
If the washer and/or the screw are missing, they fell off and they are in the valve body. Fish them out if you can, or (after closing or plugging the drain) slightly open the hot water supply valve below the sink as you hold your hand over the valve body to catch the washer and screw when water starts shooting out from the valve body. Don't get burned. Re-install the washer and tighten the screw.
If the washer appears worn, this is a good time to replace it before re-assembling the faucet.
Photo credit: thespruce.com
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@FreeMan Please follow the link in the second paragraph. I couldn't find a useful public-domain photo to embed, so I provided a link to a good photo.– MTAApr 6, 2021 at 16:52
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Ah, gotcha! Sorry, I skimmed, saw the credit at the end, but no embedded pic and thought you missed something. Since you include a link directly to the source, there's not really much point is the "credit" at the end, 'tis a bit redundant.– FreeManApr 6, 2021 at 17:44
The air should have bleed off when you had the Hot water running for 10 minutes.Since it hasn't removed all the air in the Hot water line it could be an indication that air is entering which means there is a leak .
An easy way to verify there is a leak in your water supply system is to make sure all faucets and valves are closed. Go to your water meter and observe the dial face. If it is an analogue-type meter there should be a smaller (sometimes triangular shaped) dial on the face. If it is spinning there is a leak in the plumbing. A digital meter will show a leak if the last digits are increasing.
You may want to trace the Hot water pipes starting at the tank and if accessible look for signs of water leaks.
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There is no way a "leak" could let "IN" air. Leaks let water OUT, not air IN. If this is the only faucet in the house doing it, it's probably a bad aerator on the faucet. Mar 7, 2021 at 14:20
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sorry, but I disagree. when water is removed from a closed system a vacuum is created. When the valve is opened air is pulled in.– ojaitMar 7, 2021 at 18:22
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1Sorry but I just had to comment. The OP said nothing about about "removing water from a closed system" . Yes that can happen which is why when a public water system loses pressure, it's possible for contaminants to be sucked in thru leaks, which is why a "boil water" advisory is issued after a loss of pressure. But that's not the case here. Mar 7, 2021 at 20:35
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No need to apologize. I'm sorry you misunderstood my comment. I'll try to make it easier to understand. If there is a small leak in a plumbing system like a hot water line (lets pretend the leak is in between the tank and the sink faucet) once the faucet is opened the flowing water in the pipe is going to pull in air from the opening which will pushed out with the flowing water at the faucet. If you ever replaced a water heater you'd know that you have to open a faucet while the tank is filling to bleed the air that entered when the line was opened.– ojaitMar 8, 2021 at 0:55
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2A hole in a pipe will not let air into the pipe unless pressure of the internal water goes to zero. Whether water is running or not, there is internal water pressure in the pipe and no air will be sucked into it. The reason you open a faucet while you drain a system is to allow air to fill a depressurized water system.– ziptronApr 1, 2021 at 0:58