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SC_camper's avatar
SC_camper
Explorer
Aug 28, 2016

12v water pump hammering

We have only used our water tank and 12 volt pump once in 2 years, always have city water hookup. Upcoming trip has no water at site so I wanted to sanitize tank and lines. Yesterday I filled the water tank with water and some bleach. Turned on the pump, ran all the faucets, shower ect. Everything worked normal. This morning I drained the tank, lines and water heater. Then started filling back up. Turned the pump on after 5 minutes or so, I had water out of the faucet but it was pulsating and vibrating the lines. After checking tank monitor and seeing it was still on E, I noticed my water hose had a kink and tank had low water level. Un-kinked hose and let the tank fill.

I let the faucets run, hot and cold, until Im getting no more air. Now the pump is hammering and the water lines are vibrating and banging. While looking at the pump, I noticed it now has a small drip where the two halves of the body come together. But only when water pump is running. I hooked up city water connection and have no vibration or leak. Is there anything else I can do or check before I replace the pump?
Is it worth trying to get a rebuild kit or gasket for a WFCO Artis PDS1RV25 pump? PPL has them for $50 but we rarely use it.
  • SC camper wrote:
    Going out now to check for leaks at the pump and will run the 12v pump again and see what happens.


    If you're not getting a steady flow of water but don't see any apparent leaks I'd disconnect the pump from the FW holding tank and see if it will prime properly from a jug of water. If it does you have an issue with the feed from the tank, if not you have a leak elsewhere.
  • SoundGuy wrote:
    SC camper wrote:
    I can see the water coming out of the faucet pulsating too.

    What happened between yesterday and today to cause the problem?


    Air in the system ... and it sure shouldn't take anywhere near 5 minutes as you described in your first post to get the pump to prime, purge any air out of the system, and deliver a steady stream of water.


    The 5 minutes is the time I had waited for the fresh water tank to take water. I found my garden hose had a kink and wasn't adding much water. When I was first running the pump, the fresh water tank had low water. I have tried again with full tank.

    Ive had the city water hooked up for a while now. Going out now to check for leaks at the pump and will run the 12v pump again and see what happens.
  • SC camper wrote:
    I can see the water coming out of the faucet pulsating too.

    What happened between yesterday and today to cause the problem?


    Air in the system ... and it sure shouldn't take anywhere near 5 minutes as you described in your first post to get the pump to prime, purge any air out of the system, and deliver a steady stream of water.
  • The pump outlet has a foot of flexible hose in a loop shape. The inlet has a flexible hose going through the floor.

    I can see the water coming out of the faucet pulsating too.

    What happened between yesterday and today to cause the problem?
  • The hammering is usually caused by an inflexible line between the pump output and the house water lines. We fix this by replacing that line with something flexible, like a household sink line.

    As for the leak, that may mean the pump is failing, but a new one won't stop the hammering.

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