Water pump makes a lot of noise

[maggie blair]

Could someone tell me if the water pump is supposed to make a lot of noise when I turn on the faucet? It sounds rough.

Thanks so much!

Maggie

[Kirk W]

While I wouldn't say that it is supposed to make noise, doing so is quite normal, especially with the way that many RV builders install them. The pump actually makes very little noise but it does generate vibrations and those vibrations become noise if transmitted via some rigid materials. Your pump is probably connected directly to some semi rigid water lines that transmit the vibrations and amplify them and those lines usually contact wall boards and paneling that then resonates the sound. A sound dampening kit such as this one from Amazon will usually go a long way to solve the problem. Something else that will also help to smooth out the sound and to cause less pump chattering is to install an accumulator which is also available from Amazon.

[maggie blair]

While I wouldn't say that it is supposed to make noise, doing so is quite normal, especially with the way that many RV builders install them. The pump actually makes very little noise but it does generate vibrations and those vibrations become noise if transmitted via some rigid materials. Your pump is probably connected directly to some semi rigid water lines that transmit the vibrations and amplify them and those lines usually contact wall boards and paneling that then resonates the sound. A sound dampening kit such as this one from Amazon will usually go a long way to solve the problem. Something else that will also help to smooth out the sound and to cause less pump chattering is to install an accumulator which is also available from Amazon.

Thanks so much. I won't be able to install those myself but I will check into ordering those things and having an RV place install the parts.

Thanks again!

[skp51443]

You might also look for an RV repair guy that will come to your site to do the install, might prove cheaper. You could also get them to work on any other small problems and services on the same visit and save a bit more.

[rexandrose]

Maggie,

 

The accumulator will solve some of the noise as will flexible hoses on each side of the pump. By flexible hoses I'm talking about high pressure hoses like you would find on a washing machine. I used the stainless steel encased ones.

 

I second what Stanley suggested. Also, sometimes RV shops will not install parts you supply or will charge you more to install them. Just saying. Shop around, I am a big supporter of independent mobile RV techs.

 

Rex and Rose.

[Smitty77_7]

https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/Pumps.htm

 

 

You might also check out the Aquajet series, and talk with the all things filters and pumps knowledge of the RV Water Filter Store:)!

 

We don't have easy space for accumulator, and our 2016 mod's lists includes changing over to the 5 chamber and higher water flow Aquajet.

 

This stops the noise, and also allows a shower and kitchen washing at the sometime. And reading the site, you can also augment poor park water pressure...

 

Sure not as inexpensive as the flexible hoses, but also does more.

 

Best of luck to you,

Smitty

[Dutch_12078]

Sometimes just adding some slip on foam pipe insulation to the pump piping is enough dampening to make the pump noise tolerable.

[RBH]

Sometimes just adding some slip on foam pipe insulation to the pump piping is enough dampening to make the pump noise tolerable.

 

 

A lot of the time a pex line (the tubing that carries the water) will be lying on a hard surface somewhere and that amplifies the sound. Putting the slip-on foam insulating stuff can really help if this is the case. I used it on every run throughout the trailer. I have also found that isolating the pump instead of screwing it down solid to the surface helps. In my case the pump is attached to a vertical wall and I simply used longer screws to "suspend" the pump so it doesn't touch the wall. Some variation of this could be used on horizontal surfaces. I have ended up with a water pump that is barely noticeable when running.

[trailertraveler]

Does your pump pulse (start and stop repeatedly) when the faucet is not open very far? If not, you probably have a variable speed pump. If that is the case, an accumulator tank may not do much as its main advantage is to smooth out the flow and prevent a constant speed pump from cycling on and off repeatedly at low flows.

 

If the pump is mounted on the floor, placing a rubber pad (similar to a computer mouse pad) between it and the floor can help reduce vibration noise. As already mentioned, foam pipe insulation is great for reducing the noise created by the vibration of the water pipes.

[itsabouttime]

There is another possibility. My rig already has a small accumulator tank, about a pint size. Recently the pump has not been cycling as it should, rattling on and off rapidly. With an air compressor, I added air to the tank. Now the pump cycles normally and runs smoothly. Lesson learned.

Russ

[Kirk W]

There is another possibility. My rig already has a small accumulator tank, about a pint size. Recently the pump has not been cycling as it should, rattling on and off rapidly. With an air compressor, I added air to the tank. Now the pump cycles normally and runs smoothly. Lesson learned.

That is a good point if you have an accumulator. All of them come with instructions about how to preload them with air pressure before you turn on the water system. Most call for about 20# of air inside of the tank before any water is put into them but it does vary by the brand and size of accumulator. The pressure tank on our well, which is really just a very large accumulator, states that it should be charged to 2 psi more than what our well pump turns on at. The key is to have the pump start before the accumulator is completely empty but still leave some space for air at the top when the pump turns off.

 

I doubt that Maggi has an accumulator since the model of RV that she has does not come with one.

[Dutch_12078]

A lot of the time a pex line (the tubing that carries the water) will be lying on a hard surface somewhere and that amplifies the sound. Putting the slip-on foam insulating stuff can really help if this is the case. I used it on every run throughout the trailer. I have also found that isolating the pump instead of screwing it down solid to the surface helps. In my case the pump is attached to a vertical wall and I simply used longer screws to "suspend" the pump so it doesn't touch the wall. Some variation of this could be used on horizontal surfaces. I have ended up with a water pump that is barely noticeable when running.

 

A non-RV'ing engineer at Georgie Boy thought the perfect place for the water pump in our Landau was in a cabinet right next to the bed! I pulled the pump and replumbed a little to move the pump down into the wet bay. It's mounted on four layers of foam from a worn out mouse pad, with flexible hose loop connections to the PEX. Now we can barely tell when it's running. I also foam wrapped all of the piping that I could access, especially the long hot water run from the heater to the bathroom. That helps a lot in maintaining the temperature during the mid-shower delay between wetting down and rinsing the soap off during Navy showers.

[lappir]

While I wouldn't say that it is supposed to make noise, doing so is quite normal, especially with the way that many RV builders install them. The pump actually makes very little noise but it does generate vibrations and those vibrations become noise if transmitted via some rigid materials. Your pump is probably connected directly to some semi rigid water lines that transmit the vibrations and amplify them and those lines usually contact wall boards and paneling that then resonates the sound. A sound dampening kit such as this one from Amazon will usually go a long way to solve the problem. Something else that will also help to smooth out the sound and to cause less pump chattering is to install an accumulator which is also available from Amazon.

Kirk do you have experience with either of these products? I also note there are larger (2gallon) accumulators for just a few dollars more. If space isn't an issue I would think going with the larger would make sense. Would I be wrong? The only time my pump doesn't cycle every 20 to 30 seconds is when I am taking a shower or flushing the commode. All my other faucets apparently are "water saving" and don't allow enough flow to keep the pump running. The constant pulsing is what bothers me the most.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but I am in a location of High water pressure. Have put my inline reducer in but now have just measly flow from the shower, so the pump is on to provide a more normal flow. Is there a better way to control the pressure, or do they all just diminish the flow?

 

Rod

[Kirk W]

Kirk do you have experience with either of these products? I also note there are larger (2gallon) accumulators for just a few dollars more. If space isn't an issue I would think going with the larger would make sense. Would I be wrong?

I have done both but when I did so the sound kit was not around so I made up my own hoses. I just searched to find some of those sold for connecting plumbing to fixtures which were the proper thread and used those. The kit would make it far less difficult. On the accumulator, that is the same one as I have used an while I had good results, I do agree that a larger one would be even better. Space was the reason that I chose the small one and I just mounted it to the wall next to the water pump. I then connected it to the pump discharge with a flexible hose and then to the water supply line from the pump with another.

 

Is there a better way to control the pressure, or do they all just diminish the flow?

The problem that you are having is one of volume and the lowest priced RV pressure regulators have a very small water passage and so cause a restriction in flow when demand is high, such as a shower. What you need is one of the high volume regulators with a larger water passage. Pretty much any of the regulators from this link will do the job and there are now high volume regulators available that are not adjustable. When I first began to use one, the only such regulators were "whole house" regulators from plumbing supply companies but today there are alternatives. On our fulltime motorhome, I used one like the third one down but today on our part-time travel trailer we use the on at the top of this list.

[skp51443]

We had both a large and small accumulator on our fiver. The small one was hooked directly to the pump outlet where it could absorb most of the water flow pulsation caused by the pump and followed by a loop of flexible hose to absorb as much vibration as possible. It did an excellent job of that but as others have said it did not make a big difference in the pump cycles as it only provided about a cup of water before the pump came on again. We remounted the pump on an old typewriter pad (remember them?) but today you'd probably be good with a knee-pad or other water-proof (NOT open foam) type pad as a cushion.

 

We added a large accumulator in the basement to reduce pump cycling, no need for it to be close to the pump for that purpose. It provided about 1/2 gallon of water before the pump kicked on and really cut down on cycling the pump motor on and off.

[lappir]

Thank you gentlemen for your quick replies and answers.

 

Rod

[Dutch_12078]

Instead of the Camco hose kit, I used two 40" shower hoses to make my isolation loops. The hoses are much more flexible than the Camco hoses, and the cost is about the same.

[mscans]

I had a 2005 Georgieboy that had the same problem. finally annoyed me enough that I tackled it. after tracing the sound, it appeared to be coming from under the galley sink, not near the pump area.

 

Turns out that one of the water lines had been pushed into contact with the cabinet. Simply pushed the tube away from the wall and the noise went away. happy, easy fix.

[maggie blair]

Thanks so much for everybody's responses. Everyone on this site is so helpful and I'm so grateful for that.