Any plumbers out there?

[Joel Goodman]

I have a weird problem with a kitchen faucet. It's a "Central Faucet" wall mounted faucet with separate valves for hot and cold. On the hot side I get a bit of free travel from off before water comes out and then there's a spot where if you stop there sometimes there's a loud vibration -- as long as you go past that point it's fine. Sometimes in use it seems to "reset" itself to the vibration "setting". This never happens if the valve is totally open. The cold side works fine and none of the other faucets in the house have this issue. Is there a cartridge in the faucet that I need to replace? Is this a "water hammer" that needs some other fix? I'm only familiar with single handle faucets so I'm at sea with this. Thanks!

[Rich Stewart]

Maybe the screw that holds the washer is loose and it vibrates when water goes past it?

[Dan Hintz]

I'd want to hear it before making a final decision. Do you have any pipe extensions in the house to take care of water hammer? If the cartridge is loose, turning on one side could lead to a bit of suction on the other side, which could drag in a touch of air... this then vibrates as it fills back up when you turn it on.

[Joel Goodman]

Don't think I have any pipe extensions for water hammer issues -- is it logical that I'd only get hammer on one faucet in the house? Re: the washer - I thought that any recent faucet was cartridge - is that incorrect?

[ray hampton]

you can get the hammer on one faucet, can we get the hammer effect on every faucet in the house at the same time ?

[Dan Hintz]

Water hammer happens along the "sub-circuit" the faucet being used is connected to. If that specific faucet is faulty, then yes, hammer can happen just to it.

That's not to say hammer is your issue, however...

[Gary Max]

I would guess it is some kind of air pocket----it builds up pressure. which makes the noise and shaking????????????

[anthony wall]

change the washer it's probably just worn and the hole in the center enlarged

[Joel Goodman]

Maybe the screw that holds the washer is loose and it vibrates when water goes past it?

It was a loose washer. I wouldn't have thought it could make so much noise -- and only at a specific "setting" of the faucet handle. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Dan Hintz]

It was a loose washer. I wouldn't have thought it could make so much noise -- and only at a specific "setting" of the faucet handle.

Resonance... it has brought many a mighty machine down...

[Lee Schierer]

change the washer it's probably just worn and the hole in the center enlarged

I concur, change the washer and your problem will go away, this is a common problem with a worn washer on hot water tap.. While you have the water off, change the cold washer as well as it will fail next.