Water pump...if everyone can keep their cool!

[Vintage465]

Since my original post got closed down:(, I think I have come up with game plan! I will keep the existing 4048 SureFlo, add a couple feet of 1/2 flexible high pressure hose on the downstream side of the pump to quiet the little rascal. Also thinking I could add a small SureFlo Accumulator Tank to try and smooth out the pulses as we use the faucets on low flow to save water when we are boon docking. Then on the deluxe side of things I think I would like to add a second accumulator tank between my under sink filter and the filter faucet. Does anyone see any issues with installing a second accumulator on the dedicated filter line?

Thanks!

[gmckenzie]

crcr wrote:
It used to wake myself or the DW up when either of us flushed the toilet during the night, but it's so quiet now that I doubt that will be a problem anymore.

For me, this was the biggest advantage of the accumulator tank. Our pump is right next to the bed, so we turn it off at night and still have enough water in the tank for a few flushes.

[crcr]

They're 4 for $40 in the US on Amazon, LOL.

[SoundGuy]

Following up on my most recent post here's those felt pads I found in our local Canadian Tire store, package of 4 on sale for $5.



I glued 2 together with Marine Goop to form a felt bag, open along one edge so I could slip the pump's output hose into the bag. Here's what it looks like as seen from outside the trailer through the hatch for the exterior stove.



And here's what it looks like from inside the camper.



Normally there's a piece of thin panel in front of the pump so I stuck the 2 spare pieces of felt pad between it and the pump. Now the pump is so quiet when running it's essentially inaudible. :B

[SoundGuy]

pauldub wrote:
crcr, it might be a quieter without the zip ties binding the loops together.

crcr wrote:
I did run the pump without the zip ties, then with, and couldn't tell any difference in the volume level of the pump. The zip ties aren't tight, there is a bit of slack there. Without the zip ties, the loops fall all over, and I didn't want that. But I might just add a piece of dash cover carpet between the loops and the back wall.

I found that wrapping the loop of output hose in an old towel also contributed to dampening noise even further. At one our local Canadian Tire stores I recently saw some sort of round cloth padding much like furniture pads that might be even more effective if I could stuff the loop hose into it - gotta remember to check it out next time I'm in the store.

EDIT

Found 'em! Turned out to be Michelin Wheel Felts made of recycled industrial felt, the best part being they're currently on sale for just $4.99 Cdn for a pack of 4. I think I'll "sew" a couple together using nylon cable ties to form a bag I can slip over that 25' loop of hose I have connected to my FW pump output. Bet I'll hardly hear it run at all! :B

[Dutch_12078]

SoundGuy wrote:

crcr wrote:
I added a braided vinyl loop on the output side of the water pump. See pic below. The tubing came in a 10' pack at HD, so I just used the whole 10'. It quieted the pump down by many magnitudes. You can still hear it, but I didn't want it to go silent, so that I would know if the fresh water tank ran dry, etc. It used to wake myself or the DW up when either of us flushed the toilet during the night, but it's so quiet now that I doubt that will be a problem anymore.

Proof is in the pudding - congrats for not listening to the naysayers who claim this is an over-the-top solution to a common problem for all of us - pump noise. As you've proven yourself, adding a coiled length of soft hose to the pump output does work, or as you said yourself - "quieted the pump down by many magnitudes". I wouldn't have expected anything else. 😉

You're right, "Proof is in the pudding..." my short 40" two loops also quieted our pump down by "many magnitudes" where it can only be heard running if there's no background noise such as the TV or music. In the bedroom, it's even harder to hear it.

[crcr]

pauldub wrote:
crcr, it might be a quieter without the zip ties binding the loops together.

Thanks. I did run the pump without the zip ties, then with, and couldn't tell any difference in the volume level of the pump. The zip ties aren't tight, there is a bit of slack there. Without the zip ties, the loops fall all over, and I didn't want that. But I might just add a piece of dash cover carpet between the loops and the back wall.

[pauldub]

crcr, it might be a quieter without the zip ties binding the loops together.

[crcr]

SoundGuy wrote:

crcr wrote:
I added a braided vinyl loop on the output side of the water pump. See pic below. The tubing came in a 10' pack at HD, so I just used the whole 10'. It quieted the pump down by many magnitudes. You can still hear it, but I didn't want it to go silent, so that I would know if the fresh water tank ran dry, etc. It used to wake myself or the DW up when either of us flushed the toilet during the night, but it's so quiet now that I doubt that will be a problem anymore.

Proof is in the pudding - congrats for not listening to the naysayers who claim this is an over-the-top solution to a common problem for all of us - pump noise. As you've proven yourself, adding a coiled length of soft hose to the pump output does work, or as you said yourself - "quieted the pump down by many magnitudes". I wouldn't have expected anything else. 😉

Yes indeed, SoundGuy, the mod was very effective!

[SoundGuy]

crcr wrote:
I added a braided vinyl loop on the output side of the water pump. See pic below. The tubing came in a 10' pack at HD, so I just used the whole 10'. It quieted the pump down by many magnitudes. You can still hear it, but I didn't want it to go silent, so that I would know if the fresh water tank ran dry, etc. It used to wake myself or the DW up when either of us flushed the toilet during the night, but it's so quiet now that I doubt that will be a problem anymore.

Proof is in the pudding - congrats for not listening to the naysayers who claim this is an over-the-top solution to a common problem for all of us - pump noise. As you've proven yourself, adding a coiled length of soft hose to the pump output does work, or as you said yourself - "quieted the pump down by many magnitudes". I wouldn't have expected anything else. 😉

[crcr]

I added a braided vinyl loop on the output side of the water pump. See pic below. The tubing came in a 10' pack at HD, so I just used the whole 10'. It quieted the pump down by many magnitudes. You can still hear it, but I didn't want it to go silent, so that I would know if the fresh water tank ran dry, etc. It used to wake myself or the DW up when either of us flushed the toilet during the night, but it's so quiet now that I doubt that will be a problem anymore.

Thanks to SoundGuy and Lynnmor for your advice freely offered! It was very helpful for this project.

[crcr]

Lynnmor wrote:

crcr wrote:


Roger that, thanks. Basically, my Pex tubing is 5/8" O.D. Does that mean it is 1/2" I.D.? And is the 1/2" CTS fitting designed for 1/2" I.D. pipe, not 1/2" O.D. pipe?

Trade pipe sizes are language all their own. Actual size can be considerably different. The fitting should work.

Thanks! I stopped today at a local RV parts house. They had some of these Pex compression fittings, but not Pex to barb hose connection. However, I took my digital caliper along and though they were marked 1/2", they are in fact designed for 5/8" O.D. pipe. I would have bought there, but they didn't have the correct fitting I needed, so when I got home, I ordered two of them. so will resume the "pump silencing project" once the fittings arrive at my door.

[Lynnmor]

crcr wrote:


Roger that, thanks. Basically, my Pex tubing is 5/8" O.D. Does that mean it is 1/2" I.D.? And is the 1/2" CTS fitting designed for 1/2" I.D. pipe, not 1/2" O.D. pipe?

Trade pipe sizes are language all their own. Actual size can be considerably different. The fitting should work.

[crcr]

Lynnmor wrote:

crcr wrote:

Sea-Tech 013513-1008 Hose Barb Fitting, 1/2" CTS x 1/2" HB

The Pex tubing going in and out of my water pump has an O.D. measurement of 0.62", which is just .005 under 5/8". Question: would the above fitting be the correct compression fitting for this diameter Pex tubing? And from the description is that indeed a 1/2" barb?

Looks good to me. The CTS is for copper and PEX tubing and the HB is for hose barb. That .005" is probably just manufacturing tolerance.

Roger that, thanks. Basically, my Pex tubing is 5/8" O.D. Does that mean it is 1/2" I.D.? And is the 1/2" CTS fitting designed for 1/2" I.D. pipe, not 1/2" O.D. pipe?

[Lynnmor]

crcr wrote:

Sea-Tech 013513-1008 Hose Barb Fitting, 1/2" CTS x 1/2" HB

The Pex tubing going in and out of my water pump has an O.D. measurement of 0.62", which is just .005 under 5/8". Question: would the above fitting be the correct compression fitting for this diameter Pex tubing? And from the description is that indeed a 1/2" barb?

Looks good to me. The CTS is for copper and PEX tubing and the HB is for hose barb. That .005" is probably just manufacturing tolerance.