Loud water pump — what to do?

[WhereStream]

The water pump on our freshwater tank (2017 19-foot International) is loud and kinda disturbing, hammering away sometimes. Really raises Cain.

In the past, we've not used the water tank, just hooking up to city water at campsites, but on a recent trip out West we had several campgrounds that had power but not water. So, the tank filled the breach, but, as we discovered, in a noisy fashion.

What can be done to quiet down the pump racket?

[Bill M.]

Make sure there are no leaks or drips. Pump should only run when you are actually running water. Make sure the suction line is full and that there are no air leaks in it and that the filter is full. Remount the pump. Put in flex lines to the pump that allow some room: if all that doesn’t work replace the pump and keep that one for a spare.

[GetawA-S]

Lots of previous postings on other threads. If it comes on sporadically and harshes your mellow, check fr leals. Next step is to install an accumulator tank. Or turn it off when not in use.
If it’s loud and never good company, focus on the mounts to prevent the trailer floor from serving as a sounding board. There’s also a speed controller available that keeps it from running flat out, and thus is quieter, but that’s a very elegant solution for someone who seldom uses the pump.
Happy camping!

[SYC2Vette]

This maybe.....

[crispyboy]

The pump in my trailer is very quiet after I made some adjustments.
- mount the pump on some dense closed cell foam material
- flexible line from the pump to an accumulator
- insulate any pipe near the pump that may be laying against a hard surface
- clamp down any loose pipes
- make sure all air is out of the lines

[SuperTrouper]

Hi Wherestream,

What Bill said above plus run all the taps hot and cold to get air out of the line, add an accumulator like in this thread https://www.airforums.com/forums/f16...ml#post1249051 and if you replace the pump replace it with a Shurflow revolution which is much quieter than the old ones https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Happy silent water pumping! - Brad

[Kamiak]

Water pumps are not silent, but hammering suggests an air leak on the suction side, or failure of the pump to prime. The latter could be due to prolonged non-use, or a pin hole in the diaphragm. Before knocking holes in walls, or tearing out water lines, try the following: Turn on ALL water faucets at once, including kitchen, bath, shower and toilet. Let them run for several seconds, then turn off one at a time. If this doesn't address your problem, replace the pump diaphragm. It's an easy, inexpensive fix. Then run the first recommendation again to prime the pump. If that doesn't help, you may have a leak between the pump and the water tank, but if so, there would likely be some evidence of a small watereak at a joint.

I hope this helps.

[Old PJ]

I just completed this solution 3 days ago. I used the items from post #4. My pump was getting louder, so assumed beginning to fail. A new shurflo a65 pump, the same as the oem in my 2017 25FC, the accumulator, and 30inch flex tubing sold by shurflo as the "silencing kit". I reused most of the pex fittings, about 14inches of new pex, and some lathe screws. After reviewing all of the forum threads I could find, the hardest part was getting the courage to make the first cut in my pex. The accumulator fit in the access door under the wardrobe and the flex tubing just threads onto the winterizing kit before the pump and the pump itself downstream. removing heating duct and door made it much easier to get in there. it is so quiet now, I can barely tell the pump is running over the sound of the water running into the kitchen sink. It took less than 2 hours from making that first scary cut.

[CMHM]

My 2P: in our case it wasn't the pump, but the two pipes traveling vertically up to the shower. They are very close to each other and start vibrating / rattling. You can add a bit of foam around them so that they cant touch.

[Mollysdad]

My 2017 is quiet enough that you have to listen for it.
Make sure the pump is mounted on shock pads that can allow some flex.
Then make sure the pipes aren't banging on something else while the pump runs. They do have a lot of vibration because the pump is pulling a diaphragm back and forth.

[Wayne&Sam]

When my pump was making a lot of noise I found the shelf it was mounted on was loose. A couple of extra screws and the noise was reasonable.

[jcanavera]

Another thing I found on my Classic was that the filter had a thin coating of debris on it. It finally culminated to a total blockage which I finally corrected with a filter replacement. Funny thing was just at first glance looking at the filter gave no obvious indication of a impending problem.

What I did find however is that once the filter was replaced, the pump got much quieter. I guess over the years I didn't realize the pumps noise level was slowly rising as it was working harder.

Jack

[DAVSCH]

I’ve got a 2019 22’ Sport. I thought I had a pump making bad noise. It wasn’t. When I stuck my head in the hole the pump is in and ran it drawing from the tank I discovered it was the water lines running next to the grey and black tanks. A little duct tape to keep them from wobbling while the pump ran and everything is nice and quiet. I know there’s a better answer than duct tape, but it’s been two years since the fix and it’s still nice and quiet.

[oldenavy]

had the same problem. Installed flex lines on inlet & outlet That fixed the noise. If you read the owners manual to the pump, it specifically states not to connect it directly to rigid piping, which is exactly what AS does at the factory.

[guskmg]

There are oem pumps and there are aftermarket pumps for more money. The more expensive pumps are quieter and pump more water as demand increases. I added a Flojet 04404-143, a Shure Silent kit and cushioned mounts and now can barely hear the pump run.
guskmg

[WhereStream]

Thanks for all the tips.

Very interesting. I never would have thought of most, perhaps any, of these.

I'm going to make sure I have all the air out of the lines, per Kamiak's suggestion above, then take a good look at while it is hammering away to see if it is one of the lines banging against something.

The pump doesn't run all the time, just when you turn on a spigot; then it sounds like a Riverdance show.