Why does my tap cough and splutter?

[AngelEyes]

I have a slow dripping ceramic mixer tap in my kitchen, as it drips all night long I was wondering does air enter the water pipe?
I live in a bungalow so my hot water tank is on ground level, and my problem is..in the morning I run a bath fine no problems but when I turn on the hot water tap on the basin it coughs and splutters before water comes out, it only does this after running a bath and is fine for the rest of the day. Is this something to do with my dripping kitchen tap or is this some other problem?

 

[WHPES]

Could be air settling out and sitting in a higher section of pipe somewhere.

 

[macplumb]

Could be the venturi effect. When you run the bath taps water rushers past the T on the basin pipework pullin the water down the pipe and creating a vacume. When you shut the bath tap off this locks the vacume in the pipe.
So when you turn on the basin tap air is sucked in quickly before the water is drawn off causing it to splutter.
Or it could just be how the pipes are ran and air finds it's way to those taps

 

[WHPES]

You can't lock a vacuum in a hot pipe when the taps are turned off as the water will keep flowing from the cylinder under gravity to reach equilibrium pressure again.

The venturi effect may draw air into the system if there is a means for it to get in. Nothing to do with vacuums.

 

[REDSAW]

there is although a situation called 'hydralic gradient' which causes the syptom.

 

[WHPES]

It's like the post by the guy who had air going into his shower pump and found it was a cracked nut on the inlet pipe.