Loud Water Pump

[5er707]

I have a 2013 Heartland Prowler 31TPS FW. It has been out a total of 5 times. We have gone dry camping once and all other had at least water and electricity.

Last time we took it out, I had the rig hooked up to water and had the water pump. The water pump was running really loud and shaking/vibrating. This has never happened before. Now this is where I don't let my ego/pride get in the way, I didn't realize you are not supposed to have the pump on when you are connected to city water.

Is there a possibility that I have completely ruined my pump or just loosened it up from its mounting? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Bobbo]

We call them accumulator tanks. If buying one at the hardware store, they won't know what an accumulator tank is, but if you ask for an expansion tank, they will take you straight to them.

This is the 2 gallon tank I have:



My installation:



The white stripe around it is a Velcro strap to hold it in place. You can also see the bypass valve I use to bypass it when winterizing, and the shutoff valve I use to flush antifreeze through that line.

[Dick_B]

X2 to always using the FW tank.

[Dave_H_M]

I looked for one clue that I either did not find or over looked it.

Have you ever run the pump prior and was satisfied with the amount of noise it made, ie is this a new issue that did not happen before.

Sometimes when mine hammers, that is remedied by purging all the pressure lines of air by running the water thru them. :h

[MTPockets1]

louiskathy wrote:

mlts22 wrote:
The first thing I'd add to a water pump is an accumulator tank. This allows for water pressure to be maintained without the pump having to cycle on and off.

That, or a variable speed pump which only needs to run as fast as the water demand happens.

Either of those will solve the pump noise, assuming the pump, and the pipes are mounted with proper shock/vibration mounts.

That's exactly what my hubby added to our TC... but I'm not sure "accumulator" was the name. (and I just asked him and he can't come up with the name either.) But it sure worked to solve the noise problem.

Accumulator is correct. We've always added one. There are a couple different styles available. We use the stainless steel tank I get from West Marine.

[louiskathy]

mlts22 wrote:
The first thing I'd add to a water pump is an accumulator tank. This allows for water pressure to be maintained without the pump having to cycle on and off.

That, or a variable speed pump which only needs to run as fast as the water demand happens.

Either of those will solve the pump noise, assuming the pump, and the pipes are mounted with proper shock/vibration mounts.

That's exactly what my hubby added to our TC... but I'm not sure "accumulator" was the name. (and I just asked him and he can't come up with the name either.) But it sure worked to solve the noise problem.

[RV_wanderer]

I guess I'm different from most folks because I never hook up to city water but I run off the fresh water tank instead. I have vaious reasons for doing so. I like to hear the pump. It lets me know if there is any leakage in the pressurized water system. If I here it run occasionally with all faucets turned off it could indicate a leak but in most cases it turns out that a spigot somewhere wasn't turned off tightly enough

[mlts22]

The first thing I'd add to a water pump is an accumulator tank. This allows for water pressure to be maintained without the pump having to cycle on and off.

That, or a variable speed pump which only needs to run as fast as the water demand happens.

Either of those will solve the pump noise, assuming the pump, and the pipes are mounted with proper shock/vibration mounts.

[old_guy]

on this new TT of mine the pump is very noisy and I used a big sheet of foam. put some under the pump all around the hoses and under and behind the accumulator tank, still noisy as all get out. used longer flex hose too, still noisy. I will have to study on this a while longer. I don;t have any idea why they can't make a quiet pump to start with.

[louiskathy]

Our water pump in the TC was louder than the one in the class A. Hubby added something to it that fixed the issue. The water pump doesn't seem to work so hard to pump the water anymore. No, I don't know what it was. Sorry,about that. But I did want you to know you can do something about the loud noise.

[schlep1967]

I had one line coming up to the bathroom sink that vibrated noisily when the pump ran. Just stuck a sponge between the pipe and the cabinet. Stopped the cavitation/amplification of the noise. Open up cabinets and reach in and hold onto the water lines in there. As soon as you grab the right one the noise will go away.

[docnascar]

Yup, folks have used foam to mount the pump on if it drives you nuts. Here's one idea.

[5er707]

I guess I left out some info.

I had a full water tank also. The pump did turn off after I turned off the faucets. It has run smoothly before and very quiet.

Where should I be looking for my water pump? It sounds like it's under the shower. Is the pump attached to the trailer frame and somewhere else?

[Clay_L]

I often run my pump when connected to city water in places (usually on a well) where the water pressures drop so low that I don't have enough pressure to suit me when I am showering. It doesn't hurt the pump at all. As city water pressure drops the pump comes on and will pump from the fresh water tank until the pressure comes back up above the pumps set point.

Noise is often due to the water pipes/tubes vibrating against the structure. Sometimes it can be fixed by mounting the pump on a thick pad and using flexible lines to and from the pump.
Winnebago did all of that but somewhere between the pump and the bathroom faucets the line vibrates and causes more noise than I like. I have just learned to live with it.

[docnascar]

Having the city water connected and the pump on is ok, if you have water in the freshwater tank.

This happened to me. We were connected to the city water and no water in the FW tank. The wife turned the pump on while I was out walking the dogs and it ran for a good while as it could not pressurize using water from the FW tank. I came back and heard the pump on and immediately turned it off. A few day's later I was able to add water in the FW tank and turned the pump on. It did take it longer to charge the system but it does work. I'm surprised it didn't burn up.

Easy enough to tell if it burned up. Just put some water in your FW tank and with no city connection, turn on the pump. Does it pressurize the system and does the pump turn off automatically? If you turn a faucet on does it provide water ok?