# Noisy Waterpump



## Wisconsin-Knight (Mar 10, 2011)

I thought I was through with mods after venting the stove hood to the outside, adding heat to bathroom, adding aluminum plate to front, adding backup lights, replacing the rails in the rear slide and installing a jack under the bed, installing a switch that lets me switch to outside extension cord for the electric water heater, not to mention adding a fantastic fan and replacing the power cord to the tow vehicle and power inlet cord. It seems I also removed the TV cabinet and installed a flat screen on a wall mounted arm and removed the upper cot from the front to give us more room for a wicker "dresser" when the bottom cot is folded up.

Then we found ourselves camping for the weekend in a park that didn't provide water. When I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night I probably woke the whole campground with our loud water pump that turned on when I flushed and again when I washed my hands. After reading other people's experiences, I decided to add a pressure tank. The consensus seemed to be that I needed something larger than the little accumulators sold at the RV stores. I purchased a vertical pressure tank on Amazon and when I found I wouldn't have room to install it vertically, I called the company to see if I could run it on it's side. The answer was no. I then canceled that purchase and ordered a 5 gallon horizontal tank from Amazon, manufactured by Genie. ($73.00) Since it is a little large to fit under the couch, I removed the couch and placed 2x4's under each end to raise the couch 1.5 inches. The tank wouldn't fit through the access door for the area under the couch either.

I researched purchasing vibration dampening mounts for the pump and found them to be prohibitively expensive. I then cut 3 inch sections of foam pipe insulation and bolted these to the pump feet. I cut sections of the foam at the parting line and opened them up to place under the pieces attached to the pump. I used contact cement to keep them in place and then put screws with fender washers through the sections of insulation to attach the pump to the floor. When I turned on the pump, it was whisper silent. The noise had been caused by hardening of the rubber mounts on the pump. Rubber hardens in a few years and my OB is a 2005 model. I probably don't need the pressure tank since the pump is now silenced, but when I get it installed, I should be able to flush the toilet about 20 times before the pump turns on as there will be about 2.5 gallons available prior to pump operation.

What I am reporting is that pump noise is probably coming from hardened rubber mounts under the pump and that placing the pump on the polyethylene foam used for pipe insulation made my pump as silent as the small electric heater I was using in the trailer. Water hammer may not be the problem, but my pressure tank will eliminate that when it gets here. Lets hope the couch goes back on as easy as it came off! The polyethylene foam will not harden over time like rubber. There is plenty of room under the slide to raise the couch a couple inches and my Golden Doodle will probably not even notice.

Rowland


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Wisconsin-Knight said:


> I thought I was through with mods after venting the stove hood to the outside, adding heat to bathroom, adding aluminum plate to front, adding backup lights, replacing the rails in the rear slide and installing a jack under the bed, installing a switch that lets me switch to outside extension cord for the electric water heater, not to mention adding a fantastic fan and replacing the power cord to the tow vehicle and power inlet cord.
> 
> Then we found ourselves camping for the weekend in a park that didn't provide water. When I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night I probably woke the whole campground with our loud water pump that turned on when I flushed and again when I washed my hands. After reading other people's experiences, I decided to add a pressure tank. The consensus seemed to be that I needed something larger than the little accumulators sold at the RV stores. I purchased a verticle pressure tank on Amazon and when I found I wouldn't have room to install it vertically, I called the company to see if I could run it on it's side. The answer was no. I then canceled that purchase and ordered a 5 gallon horizontal tank from Amazon, manufactured by Genie. ($73.00) Since it is a little large to fit under the couch, I removed the couch and placed 2x4's under each end to raise the couch 1.5 inches. The tank wouldn't fit through the access door for the area under the couch either.
> 
> ...


You pretty much discovered all the ways to silence a noisy water pump! Could have saved a few bucks and some time on the accumulator by going to Home Depot or Lowe's and getting a five gallon water heater expansion tank. When you get the tank, set the air pressure at 22-24 psi and see how it goes. You may have to do a little fine-tuning. I still need to re-install ours in the new 301BQ, and that will hopefully be the end of mods for a while. We don't dry camp much anymore, but we're getting a lot of water hammer from the toilet, and it's effing loud in the middle of the night. I'm not sure if the accumulator tank will help with that, but it's worth a try, and I already have the tank. I don't think you'll get 20 flushes though, maybe more like 3 or 4 before the pressure drops and the pump kicks on.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

Great job Rowland! This is actually on my list of mods. I have already scoped out a 7 gallon, horizontally mounted tank at Lowes. Need to measure and see if it will fit in the compartment under the bunks in our 301BQ. My son goes to the bathroom every night and the pump wakes me up every time. I hope teh tank will help to put an end to that. We also dry camp most of the time and I oculd use the extra 7 or so gallons of water.

DAN


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## Wisconsin-Knight (Mar 10, 2011)

TwoElkhounds said:


> Great job Rowland! This is actually on my list of mods. I have already scoped out a 7 gallon, horizontally mounted tank at Lowes. Need to measure and see if it will fit in the compartment under the bunks in our 301BQ. My son goes to the bathroom every night and the pump wakes me up every time. I hope teh tank will help to put an end to that. We also dry camp most of the time and I oculd use the extra 7 or so gallons of water.
> 
> DAN


Dan, good to hear from you again! The amount of water you get from the pressure tank is half the volume of the tank, a 7 gallon tank will give you about 3.5 gallons. Regarding the hot water heater expansion tank, that is what I had purchased initially for half the price of the horizontal tank, but it wouldn't fit if I had to mount it vertically and the company that manufactured it told me it wouldn't work horizontally. They told me that a hot water heater expansion tank was not going to work as well as a pressure tank designed for a well system. I am not sure if that is the truth, but I got free shipping on the horizontal tank and that made it only about $20.00 more expensive. I wasn't going to experiment to save that little amount. There is an ISO 61 specification that applies to the well tanks, that protects their use for drinking water. I am not sure that applies to hot water expansion tanks. The tank I purchased was 12 inches high, 11 inches wide and 18 inches long. I don't expect 20 flushes, but a half dozen or so would be nice. One person reports that when he is on the road between campgrounds the tank holds enough water for all his needs without the pump turning on. That must include a pot of coffee!

Rowland


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## Wisconsin-Knight (Mar 10, 2011)

Insomniak,

Not to beat a dead dog, but I live 30-40 miles from the nearest Home Depot or Lowes. That adds another $15 to anything I get there. The moral is don't retire in the boondocks!

Rowland


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Wisconsin-Knight said:


> Great job Rowland! This is actually on my list of mods. I have already scoped out a 7 gallon, horizontally mounted tank at Lowes. Need to measure and see if it will fit in the compartment under the bunks in our 301BQ. My son goes to the bathroom every night and the pump wakes me up every time. I hope teh tank will help to put an end to that. We also dry camp most of the time and I oculd use the extra 7 or so gallons of water.
> 
> DAN


Dan, good to hear from you again! The amount of water you get from the pressure tank is half the volume of the tank, a 7 gallon tank will give you about 3.5 gallons. Regarding the hot water heater expansion tank, that is what I had purchased initially for half the price of the horizontal tank, but it wouldn't fit if I had to mount it vertically and the company that manufactured it told me it wouldn't work horizontally. They told me that a hot water heater expansion tank was not going to work as well as a pressure tank designed for a well system. I am not sure if that is the truth, but I got free shipping on the horizontal tank and that made it only about $20.00 more expensive. I wasn't going to experiment to save that little amount. There is an ISO 61 specification that applies to the well tanks, that protects their use for drinking water. I am not sure that applies to hot water expansion tanks. The tank I purchased was 12 inches high, 11 inches wide and 18 inches long. I don't expect 20 flushes, but a half dozen or so would be nice. One person reports that when he is on the road between campgrounds the tank holds enough water for all his needs without the pump turning on. That must include a pot of coffee!

Rowland
[/quote]
If I remember correctly, my first couple of mods with expansion tanks had them mounted horizontally, and they worked pretty well. A bit more difficult to get all the air out of the water lines though. The last couple I've mounted with the air valve on the bottom, and the water connection on top. This orientation seems to work better, and you can get more water in the tank. With a five gallon tank, I think I measured about 2-3 gallons of water actually in the tank. I guess that translates into "a bunch" of flushes, brushing teeth or whatever. One of the biggest benefits of an expansion tank though is evening out the water flow in the shower and eliminating rapid cycling of the water pump. Since I've lived in the big city almost all of my life, I'd love to retire to the boonies! Makes sense to do research and shopping on-line too.


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## Wisconsin-Knight (Mar 10, 2011)

Insomniac,

I hadn't considered the air flow problem, that is what it is all about. I served a hitch in an air national guard air refueling squadron hydraulic shop. That's why I figured a water heater expansion tank would be the same as any other accumulator. Evidently the bladder design is a bit different for the horizontal tanks, at least that is what the manufacturer stated.

Regarding living in the boonies, it has its pluses and minuses. I do most of my shopping on line, as witnessed by my purchase of the tank from Amazon. I also have a water filter for the inlet of the pump coming on the same order which is going to arrive today.

We got about 4 inches of snow yesterday, the Golden Doodle didn't want to go outside yesterday even to go to the bathroom, but she did. Today, she barked to get out and immediately laid down in the snow on her back and made snow angels! Talk about adjustment! In seven weeks, we leave for Tampa for a couple months, I'm afraid I am not adjusting as well as the Golden Doodle!

Rowland


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## typz2slo (Jul 31, 2009)

Our water pump noise came from the hard plastic discharge lines. The vibration from the pump would rattle lines several feet from the pump and they were almost impossible to get to. We added 3' of flexible hose to the disharge and suction of the pump to isolate the vibration. The flex hose absorbs it and the hard lines no longer move. Its quiet but we havent installed the accumulator to add a little extra capacity and pressure between pump cycles.


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## Wisconsin-Knight (Mar 10, 2011)

typz2slo said:


> Our water pump noise came from the hard plastic discharge lines. The vibration from the pump would rattle lines several feet from the pump and they were almost impossible to get to. We added 3' of flexible hose to the disharge and suction of the pump to isolate the vibration. The flex hose absorbs it and the hard lines no longer move. Its quiet but we havent installed the accumulator to add a little extra capacity and pressure between pump cycles.


Typz2slo,

My recent post regarding adding a water pressure tank shows a flexible hose from the pump to the tank. I think that will help isolate pump noise.
I suspect a lot of people never use the water pump, otherwise Keystone would probably be wise to install a flexible line at the pump outlet.

Rowland


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