# Water Pump Question?



## kywoman (Feb 9, 2006)

It is embarrassing the noise that the water pump makes, and it scares the @$*# out of the dog. What can be done to muffle the noise? shy


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

There are several options and they range from a couple of dollars to maybe a $100 to solve this. Not counting putting in a different style pump that makes much less noise.

The problem is the pump is a positive displacement and with every stroke the discharge pipe jumps. So you need to isolate the pump pulsations from the trailer piping.

The quick way is to get a 10' coil of tubing 1/2" ID and splice it into the discharge of the pump. Do not tie this coil down and let it move freely and it will absorb most of the pulsations.

I installed an accumulator tank to do this and as an added bonus I carry an extra 4 gallons of water and the pump does not cycle every time I turn on the water.


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## schrade (May 5, 2005)

A couple of questions:
1) Correct me if I am wrong, if I am on water hookups then I dont need the pump right right?

2) On my 2003 26RS where is the water pump?


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## kywoman (Feb 9, 2006)

schrade said:


> A couple of questions:
> 1) Correct me if I am wrong, if I am on water hookups then I dont need the pump right right?
> 
> 2) On my 2003 26RS where is the water pump?
> [snapback]117925[/snapback]​


 Mine is located under the sofa in a 21RS.


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## denali_3 (Mar 18, 2004)

I don't have the 26RS (I used to own a Jayco, 23RS and now a Cougar). And, I have found that the water pump is almost always, located near the fresh water tank fill. And, no you don't need the pump when hooked up to water.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Connected to city water you do not need the water pump.

The quickest way to find the pump is to locate the fill on the outside and identify that location on the inside and you will find the pump. Mine is under the dinette seat.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

schrade said:


> Correct me if I am wrong, if I am on water hookups then I dont need the pump right right?


Correct, the pump does not run - and should not be turned on - if you are connected to city water.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Reggie44 (Aug 12, 2005)

I am sure I can confidently argue I may be the worst at mods on the board. That being said even I was able to add the coil of hose tubing to the water pump. I also added a rubber mat under the pump to help absorb more noise. It took me 4 trips to the store about 3 hours of time and about $4. I believe with somebody that has any kind of clue it could be done in less than an hour. The noise was cut by at least 70% and I think that is being conservative. JR


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Reggie44 said:


> I am sure I can confidently argue I may be the worst at mods on the board.
> [snapback]117944[/snapback]​


Right behind me there, pal. I stressed out pretty good when cutting the blinds away from the window knobs.

The next big thing for me is to replace a cracked roof vent lid. Package says "easy installation." Yeah.

Randy


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

The accumulator tank sounds like a really nice idea. DH and I have been discussing it. Does the pump still sound like an airplaane when filling the tank?


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## Reggie44 (Aug 12, 2005)

Hi Randy we might be in the same league. BUT I have been afraid to even do the blind mod as someone will see how bad it is or could turn out. How did you do it? Did you cut yourself? JR


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Lady Di said:


> The accumulator tank sounds like a really nice idea. DH and I have been discussing it. Does the pump still sound like an airplaane when filling the tank?
> [snapback]117966[/snapback]​


This is what mine looks like.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Reggie44 said:


> I am sure I can confidently argue I may be the worst at mods on the board. That being said even I was able to add the coil of hose tubing to the water pump. I also added a rubber mat under the pump to help absorb more noise. It took me 4 trips to the store about 3 hours of time and about $4. I believe with somebody that has any kind of clue it could be done in less than an hour. The noise was cut by at least 70% and I think that is being conservative. JR
> [snapback]117944[/snapback]​


Got a picture???


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

schrade said:


> A couple of questions:
> 1) Correct me if I am wrong, if I am on water hookups then I dont need the pump right right?
> 
> 2) On my 2003 26RS where is the water pump?
> [snapback]117925[/snapback]​


on my 26RS the pump is under the fridge behind the white panel

Don


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## Reggie44 (Aug 12, 2005)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Reggie44 said:
> 
> 
> > I am sure I can confidently argue I may be the worst at mods on the board. That being said even I was able to add the coil of hose tubing to the water pump. I also added a rubber mat under the pump to help absorb more noise. It took me 4 trips to the store about 3 hours of time and about $4. I believe with somebody that has any kind of clue it could be done in less than an hour. The noise was cut by at least 70% and I think that is being conservative. JR
> ...


Hi Jim, I could take a picture (maybe). Three problems, the trailer is at the dealers but I am hoping to pick it up on Wednesday, 2nd the picture may be hard to take as I had to remove the sofa to install (I might be able to take something with the sofa in place). 3rd I do not know how to post pictures, I could email any to you if you like. JR


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## GenesRUs (Oct 11, 2004)

I tried everything to make our pump quieter. I placed the pump on pontoons of soft plastic tubing. I added the coil of hose at the pump discharge. I wrapped every piece of tubing throughout the camper with foam pipe insulation - especially where the pipes passed through panels, walls and flooring. Its quieter, but it still makes more noise than I think it should - especially since I went to so much effort to make it quiet.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I'm thinking CamperAndy's accumulator tank is the best overall solution.

Andy...do you have a specific model number I can look up?


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Lady Di said:


> The accumulator tank sounds like a really nice idea. DH and I have been discussing it. Does the pump still sound like an airplaane when filling the tank?
> [snapback]117966[/snapback]​


The accumulator tank is a great mod, one that you will not regret







. I did 2 things to help with the noice.

1 - added an accumulator
2 - Lined the pump storage area with SM board.

SM board comes in blue or pink and is water proof. SM board is exterrior insulation made out of styrofoam type material. This stuff is cheap and can be cut with a knife.

Thor


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Those of you that have added the acc. tanks...

how much water can you get out of the tap before the pump kicks in? I'd like to at least be able to get a couple flushes of the toilet out of it cuz that pump kicking on in the middle of the night.

I've found I can get one flush just from the pressure in the lines (of course, it's 15-20 feet from the pump to the toilet in my rig







) so I have to believe even the smallest accumulator should do the trick for me.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

It depends on what size tank you install. 2 or 5 gal tanks will fit into the Outback.

You should get at least 6 midnight potty runs out of a tank. This is the main reason why I installed one.

Thor


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Andy,

From your picture it looks like there is only a single line into your surge tank (I assumed there would be a line in and another out), is that correct? If so, did you need to install a check valve at the pump to keep water from backflowing into the fresh water tank?

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> Andy,
> 
> From your picture it looks like there is only a single line into your surge tank (I assumed there would be a line in and another out), is that correct? If so, did you need to install a check valve at the pump to keep water from backflowing into the fresh water tank?
> 
> ...


The pump discharge already has a check valve to prevent back flow.

The accumulator has a diaphragm in it and it is charged to 20 psi. The pump puts out about 30 psi. So it runs until the diaphragm is compressed to 30 psi then the pump shuts down. The accumulator then supplies water to the trailer through he same line that filled it until it gets down to about 22 psi and the pump kicks back on.


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## Travelers (Apr 6, 2006)

It would be nice not to have the water pump turn on at night. But, what happens if the accumulator runs out in the middle of the night? Does it spend the next 5 minutes filling up again? Do you have to run it empty prior to going to bed so it fills up?
Thanks,
Lee


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## kjp1969 (Apr 25, 2004)

Travelers said:


> It would be nice not to have the water pump turn on at night. But, what happens if the accumulator runs out in the middle of the night? Does it spend the next 5 minutes filling up again? Do you have to run it empty prior to going to bed so it fills up?
> Thanks,
> Lee
> [snapback]119534[/snapback]​


How long it takes to fill depends on the size of the tank. My 3 gal tank takes around 45 seconds to fill from empty. It will easily last all night for a family of 4.
Kevin P.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Travelers said:


> It would be nice not to have the water pump turn on at night. But, what happens if the accumulator runs out in the middle of the night? Does it spend the next 5 minutes filling up again? Do you have to run it empty prior to going to bed so it fills up?
> Thanks,
> Lee
> [snapback]119534[/snapback]​


That is the beauty of it. It makes the pump that quite that even if it is running it is not a pain. It will run for about 60 seconds on my installation before the tank is full.


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## Travelers (Apr 6, 2006)

Now I see the light! I forgot that with an accumulator the whole system is quietier! How much does the 5 gallon draw down to? 1 gallon? .5 gallon? Where did you buy it at? I've read that anything past 2 gallon may not be that bennificial.
Thanks.
Lee


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Travelers said:


> Now I see the light! I forgot that with an accumulator the whole system is quietier! How much does the 5 gallon draw down to? 1 gallon? .5 gallon? Where did you buy it at? I've read that anything past 2 gallon may not be that bennificial.
> Thanks.
> Lee
> [snapback]119569[/snapback]​


That all depends on what beneficial means. It adds water capacity, it increases the time between pump cycles but any thing above .5 gallon does not additionally reduce noise.

So if you *just *want to reduce noise get a .5 gallon.

If you want to add capacity and reduce noise get a five gallon.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

An added trick is that I ensure that the acc. is full prior to bedtime. This ensures max potty use before the pump turns on.

I also do this while travelling. Fill the tank and turn off the pump.

As stated above install a Tee after the pump and you do not have to install a check valve. You can control the pressure with the small screw on the pump.

Thor


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## photosal (Nov 16, 2004)

Hi,
Just an update on a question I posted .

I found this fixit in Trailer Life. I am placing it on the thread , as a photo is worth
a thousand words. I followd the directions as explained.

It works great!!! I will say that it reduced the noise at least 75%. The DW is now saying " YOU DA MAN " which makes me feel great. You don't get many of those in life so I will enjoy it. .John Strother gets all the credit!!!! The only other thing I did was place 1/2 in of foam rubber under the lines because they lay on the floor

The whole thing cost me less then $4 and less than an hour of my time, well worth
it.

photosal


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Does your water pump sound constantly when water is running or does it sort of have a rggh, rggh, rggh -- chugging along sound?


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Thanks for posting the article, photosal.









An easy solution, to an annoying problem!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Hi folks,

New to this forum, but not so new to trailering. The water pump is one of the most commonly discussed "annoyances" I've ever seen. An accumulator and pump change was the first mod I did when we bought our little 21 foot trailer (the one we want to replace with an Outback, LOL).

One thing nobody seems to have mentioned here is that not only does the accumulator give you extra capacity and time between the pump running, it also evens out the flow. If you have that whirrr-whirrr pulsating flow, especially if the water isn't turned on very high, the tank will really help with that.

I used a 5 gallon water heater expansion tank from Home Depot and with assorted fittings, it probably cost me $35-40. I also wrapped the water lines with flexible rubber pipe insulation. Made a huge difference!!


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

I have that whirr whirr noise. It's actually more like a grrwww grwww sound but it's close. I wondered if that's normal or if it should be more of a constant whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Insomniak said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> New to this forum, but not so new to trailering. The water pump is one of the most commonly discussed "annoyances" I've ever seen. An accumulator and pump change was the first mod I did when we bought our little 21 foot trailer (the one we want to replace with an Outback, LOL).
> 
> ...


Great tips, Insomniak. Thanks for sharing!








I alway love seeing a new member bring fresh wisdom and thinking to the community. Keep 'em coming!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## edt (Jan 30, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> schrade said:
> 
> 
> > Correct me if I am wrong, if I am on water hookups then I dont need the pump right right?
> ...


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Where do I get one of these tanks? RV store? Online? Plumbing store??


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Where do I get one of these tanks? RV store? Online? Plumbing store??


Jim,

I just saw some at Home Depot this weekend.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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