Loud water pump and possible solution?

[Plumber101010]

Travel Trailer 32 ft. Newbie. So loud water pump kicks on every time you open any water source. Being a master repair plumber for 35 years, I cant help but feel adding a small, bladder / resorvoire tank will solve that problem AND give added volume at the few rare times more than one faucet is needed.

Fact, I'm not sure why not used all the time on this type setup? A tank will allow running of water WITHOUT the pump kicking on and off in sync with usage. Plus its nice having a reserve incase water pump or water source goes out.

Seeing as how it's under the sink, only a 1 gallon would fit, but if I remove the shelf, a 5 gallon would fit and that would be just dandy and wonderful. Pump would seldom kick on.

So why am I here if I am a know it all NEWBIE :)))). Well....not sure these little baby pumps can build ANY pressure at all? Hoping someone here would know. They would need around 30 psi, 40-50 perfect.

[fallsrider]

SoundGuy wrote:

An old thread but since it's been revived I'll mention my own solution which was to add 25' of potable water hose to the pump output, resulting in the pump operating so quietly I also added a light so I'd know when it was running.

Silencing the Water Pump - 3 Pics, 1 Video Demonstration

I replaced the hose 3/4" GH connectors with 1/2" FPT but I notice ShurFlo now sells 3/4" GH > 1/2" FTP Wingnut Adapters that would allow using a standard potable water hose for this purpose without having to first replace the connectors with 1/2" FTP.

I think I remember seeing your post somewhere a while back, because the picture looks very familiar. You may be where I got the idea for a sponge, as I used the same kind of sponge you did. I only used about 4' of braided clear hose on the outlet side of my pump, and that made a big difference in sound level. I would never have thought the factory PEX line was transmitting that much noise and vibration.

[SoundGuy]

fallsrider wrote:
I know this is resurrecting an old thread, but I made my own pump silencing kit yesterday and installed it, along with an accumulator tank. I had already mounted the pump on a thick sponge. By adding in braided water line after the pump, the noise dropped substantially. My pump already had braided line from the tank to the pump.

An old thread but since it's been revived I'll mention my own solution which was to add 25' of potable water hose to the pump output, resulting in the pump operating so quietly I also added a light so I'd know when it was running.

Silencing the Water Pump - 3 Pics, 1 Video Demonstration

I replaced the hose 3/4" GH connectors with 1/2" FPT but I notice ShurFlo now sells 3/4" GH > 1/2" FTP Wingnut Adapters that would allow using a standard potable water hose for this purpose without having to first replace the connectors with 1/2" FTP.

[fallsrider]

I know this is resurrecting an old thread, but I made my own pump silencing kit yesterday and installed it, along with an accumulator tank. I had already mounted the pump on a thick sponge. By adding in braided water line after the pump, the noise dropped substantially. My pump already had braided line from the tank to the pump.

Only time will tell how much I like the quieter pump, as we use it while camping. But also, having the pump not cycle quite as much will be a good thing, too.

[wrenchbender]

Do not try to over engineer the solution.For years that was always my problem,just replace the in and out lines from the pump with rubber faucet hose,isolate the pump with foam mounts. An accumulator helps but IMHOP not worth the expence or effort.

[Jetstreamer]

LarryJM wrote:

Jetstreamer wrote:
I have my pump on a rubber "mouse" pad in addition to some braided washing machine hoses which are formed in a loop. Pump runs quiet. It is true like some have said that it is acceptable to have some "quiet" pump noise just to make sure it's working correctly.

I am a big proponent of a pressure tank. Why not have the pump cycle less and be able to run a gallon or two out of the faucet without having the pump going. I have a two gallon model (fits in an egg crate) and I don't think one would need anything bigger unless you had a whole bunch of extra space.

Be careful with the type of pump you run with a pressure tank. Some models have a bypass system on them that reduces flow just before the pump shuts off to ease any pressure bumps. I have found these very hard to adjust to work with my tank.

I run mine at close to 50 psi with no issues.





There aren't any winterizing issues nor will a pressure tank setup necessarily use anymore antifreeze than without a tank. When filling antifreeze you just run the pump, let the tank fill slightly, shut off the pump and then distribute the pink stuff through out the system. When it comes time to drain any liquid out of the pressure tank all that needs to be done is to turn on a tap with the pump off and the air precharge in tank will drain it out.

There is a lot in your post I question...

1. I don't see how with a 2 gal tank you will be able to run a gal or two thru a faucet w/o the pump coming on. You might be able to get like 8 or at most 16oz out of a faucet w/o the pump coming on, but not much more than that.

2. It seems obvious to me that it will take at least as much more antifreeze with a tank that is equal to the tanks volume over a non tank system. You have to fill up that tank if it's located close to the pump before any liquid will get to the lines, etc. Also, since the tank is going to be lower than most of the plumbing/faucets you will always have some water head pressure back on the tank that you have to overcome to get liquid out of the tank so any tank precharge pressure is not going to really help much.

Larry

OK ,I was just generalizing about how much water the tank will allow to discharge without the pump on. I have measured how much water I can get out of my setup without running the pump and it's come to around a gallon. In fact, this was optimized through several tests by varying the precharge pressure.

Secondly, I have enclosed a diagram showing the inside of a typical pressure tank. The first drawing shows what the tank and flexible diaphragm will look like when's it empty; ie, when the pump is off and a tap is opened. The precharge is going to push most of the water out.

So wouldn't it follow that while winterizing, the same holds true for antifreeze? Couldn't you pump a little bit in the system, shut off the pump then go around opening taps to allow the antifreeze to flow from the tank through the lines? Wouldn't that empty the pressure tank?
Let me know if I'm missing something...

[LarryJM]

Jetstreamer wrote:
I have my pump on a rubber "mouse" pad in addition to some braided washing machine hoses which are formed in a loop. Pump runs quiet. It is true like some have said that it is acceptable to have some "quiet" pump noise just to make sure it's working correctly.

I am a big proponent of a pressure tank. Why not have the pump cycle less and be able to run a gallon or two out of the faucet without having the pump going. I have a two gallon model (fits in an egg crate) and I don't think one would need anything bigger unless you had a whole bunch of extra space.

Be careful with the type of pump you run with a pressure tank. Some models have a bypass system on them that reduces flow just before the pump shuts off to ease any pressure bumps. I have found these very hard to adjust to work with my tank.

I run mine at close to 50 psi with no issues.

There aren't any winterizing issues nor will a pressure tank setup necessarily use anymore antifreeze than without a tank. When filling antifreeze you just run the pump, let the tank fill slightly, shut off the pump and then distribute the pink stuff through out the system. When it comes time to drain any liquid out of the pressure tank all that needs to be done is to turn on a tap with the pump off and the air precharge in tank will drain it out.

There is a lot in your post I question...

1. I don't see how with a 2 gal tank you will be able to run a gal or two thru a faucet w/o the pump coming on. You might be able to get like 8 or at most 16oz out of a faucet w/o the pump coming on, but not much more than that.

2. It seems obvious to me that it will take at least as much more antifreeze with a tank that is equal to the tanks volume over a non tank system. You have to fill up that tank if it's located close to the pump before any liquid will get to the lines, etc. Also, since the tank is going to be lower than most of the plumbing/faucets you will always have some water head pressure back on the tank that you have to overcome to get liquid out of the tank so any tank precharge pressure is not going to really help much.

Larry

[atreis]

When my pump stopped working I replaced it with a FloJet VSD (Amazon) pump. While not completely silent, it's really close. Far quieter than the OEM pump ever was.

[Jetstreamer]

I have my pump on a rubber "mouse" pad in addition to some braided washing machine hoses which are formed in a loop. Pump runs quiet. It is true like some have said that it is acceptable to have some "quiet" pump noise just to make sure it's working correctly.

I am a big proponent of a pressure tank. Why not have the pump cycle less and be able to run a gallon or two out of the faucet without having the pump going. I have a two gallon model (fits in an egg crate) and I don't think one would need anything bigger unless you had a whole bunch of extra space.

Be careful with the type of pump you run with a pressure tank. Some models have a bypass system on them that reduces flow just before the pump shuts off to ease any pressure bumps. I have found these very hard to adjust to work with my tank.

I run mine at close to 50 psi with no issues.

There aren't any winterizing issues nor will a pressure tank setup necessarily use anymore antifreeze than without a tank. When filling antifreeze you just run the pump, let the tank fill slightly, shut off the pump and then distribute the pink stuff through out the system. When it comes time to drain any liquid out of the pressure tank all that needs to be done is to turn on a tap with the pump off and the air precharge in tank will drain it out.

[fallsrider]

I have read that after making all the changes to piping, foam under the pump, etc., throw an old heavy beach towel on top of the pump. This will further reduce noise. I haven't tried any of these yet, so I can't vouch for it.

[Lantley]

In a weird way I've come to like the pump noise. I want to know when water is running if I am drawing water from the fresh tank. THe noise creates any easy way for me to monitor the water usage especially with kids.
More than once the pump noise has alerted me that a faucet was not completely shut off. There are benefits to the noise. I've grown use to the noise and would never try to totally silence my pump.

[kevden]

On our old TT I had to replace a bad pump. I mounted it on a foam pad and used a braided hose from home depot on the outlet side, and put pipe insulation between the cabinet and the flexible pipe. That quieted it down significantly. I do like to hear it a little, otherwise it may run continuous if the tank is dry or if there is a leak. I have not done this mod to our current TT yet.

[Plumber101010]

Thanks. All great advice. One thing not mentioned is that the tank ALSO delivers a more consistent and uniformed pressure. It is a place for the pressure to build up. But, I will say, these pump don't seem to have the issues that well pumps do, with that roller coaster effect of pressure, so may be moot.

In any case, it seems this is more common knowledge than I thought. DANG IT. And here I was trying to impress all the old timers with some great, newbie insight, just to find out its OLD NEWS!

[prichardson]

A reservoir tank will reduce the amount of cycling. The best help for the noise is to mount the pump on rubber and on a surface that is solid and not hollow underneath. Also use a short length of hose between the pump and the rest of the plumbing.

[RN]

I was thinking about trying this. Shurflo Pump Silencing Kit.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WN5F96/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=22LH4P5LVG18Q&coli...