Water Pump noise

[Bait guy]

Our water pump works fine, but only thing I don't care for is the loud noise it emits while using it. Do all these sound like this? I tried to tighten the mounting screws a bit with no avail. Maybe its a thing we must live with.

[John&Vicki]

I don't have any experience with water pumps on Airstreams. But when mounting fuel pumps on old cars we always make sure to use rubber buffers to lessen vibration.

Poppy

[Jammer]

Hiya... just east of you in Nfld... anyway, be sure that the last couple of feet of line that connect to the water pump outlet are rubber or flexible plastic. That will absorb much of the sound. There are kits available if yours is not set up that way. The pump should be shock mounted with rubber feet, if these are missing it will be loud.

I have lined part of the compartment where the pump sits with sound-absorbing acoustic foam which helps a little. When doing that it's important to be sure there's enough airflow to keep the pump from overheating.

Hope some of that helps.

[TinShack]

They are noisy but since they are on demand only make noise when you run water. Can't tell if yours is more noisy than normal without hearing it though. There are steps you can take to help deaden the noise such as making sure it's installed on a thick solid surface and not a thin wall, and adding some thick felt-like padding between the pump and mounting surface. Also installing an accumulator tank can help.
Another solution would be to install a variable speed pump. I hear those are quieter, although I don't think they recommend installing an accumulator tank when using one.
All things to look into. Hope you find a good solution. Let us know what you do!

[Jim Foster]

The pump pulses as it pumps. That pulse causes the output pressure to vary. See that the output hose is not laying against anything that it may be bouncing against as it pulses. Many times that is where pump noise is coming from.
I have added a length of hose long enough to make a loop without kinking just out of the pump. This will take up some of that pulsing, much like an accumulator tank.

Works well for me on both trailers.

Oh, both of our Airstreams have SureFlo Whisper King pumps which are so silent that they can hardly be heard except for what I outlined above.

[Mexray]

Wow, you've hit one of my pet peeves with RV's we've owned/used over the years...

Why RV manufacturers haven't addressed this issue better is beyond me..!

Many mount the water pump to any convenient surface, usually a cabinet panel that act like a sound board or drum head to amplify the sound to an obnoxious level..!

Even a small amount of 'engineering' devoted to this system would result in much less noise;

1. flexible hose on input & outputs of pump - perhaps with a 'loop' - with hose clamps to a SOLID surface...
2. flexible 'feet' for the pump, designed with sound deadening in mind...
3. mount pump to a SOLID surface that will NOT transfer sound to nearby panels, etc...
4. variable pressure pumps that operate at different speeds based on demand will keep noise to a minimum for small flows...
5. allow enough space for the pump installation so that hoses won't rub or bang against nearby panels when pulsing...

Initial design of the water pump system for noise isolation from the start of manufacture - instead of the 'bandaide' approach of sticking the pump in some leftover space - would go a long way to cure this matter ..

We had an older truck camper that sounded like a motor that was about to throw a 'rod' when the water pump came on...

This issue reminds me of a train trip we took, back in the mid 1908's from Mazatlan, MX up to Guaymas, MX, an overnight ride... We were on the '1st class' train that consisted of old Pullman coaches from the 1920's & 30's...we had assigned seats that were directly above the diesel engine mounted on the undercarriage, that was used to power the air conditioning...

We noticed a slight 'vibration' as the trip began, and began to think it was getting louder a we progressed - was it just us, or was this just 'Mexico'...we noticed a couple of crew members outside our windows pointing and discussing something during a stop...

Our slight vibration was increasingly becoming a rear 'thumper' of a noise ALL NIGHT LONG... the train was full, so we didn't have anywhere else to sit...When we were about 30 mins from our destination, we heard a loug 'bang' as the engine finally threw a rod through the block and the ensuing silence was GOLDEN...! Oil was still dripping from the engine under there, as we got off the train that morning - what a trip - glad we had our own cooler with beer & tequila to ease the pain...!

[ventport]

As mentioned, make a loupe of flexible hose on each side of the pump. Do it on both the intake and pressure side. Mine was real loud until I put the 2 hose loupes in, and added an accumulator. Now it is real quiet.

[Minno]

Water pump noise also comes from the pipes it's connected to, especially if there is not a flexible line between the pump and water lines on both the inlet and outlet of the pump. Also, cheaper pumps tend to be noisier than the expensive ones.

Do not over-tighten the screws that mount the pump. They should only be snug to the rubber feet that hold the pump. Tightening them will cause the noise to increase as you're compressing the rubber feet and not allowing them to absorb the vibrations of the pump. As also already mentioned, an accumulator will help as well.

Our experience with a variable speed water pump is that it did run quieter, but would not provide a good water flow through the shower head due to back pressure from the long plumbing run to the shower, and a low flow shower head. Just something to aware of.

Chris

[Mjheldtia]

The pump itself is very quite, but as noted above it does vibrate. The vibration transmits to the water lines and from the water lines to structures in your trailer. I purchased a piece of 1/2" foam pipe insulation like you would use in your house. Cut that insulation into pieces and place it on the water lines coming to and from your water pump anywhere those lines touch anything solid in the trailer. For me that was opening the door to the pump and placing the insulation on those two lines to the places I could reach through that opening. Get that foam between the pipe and whatever it touches. This significantly reduced my water pump noise. I can still hear the pump run but it doesn't wake me up at night.