Noisy Water pump and pipes. Water Hammer

CH

Chirpz

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
221
Location
Battle Ground, WA
Wow! My water pump is noisy in our FF 189FBR. It sounds like someone operating a roto-hammer boring through thick plywood with a dull bit. We thought our old trailer was loud but this noise is overbearing.

Today I decided it was time to dive into it and here are my first observations and 1st attempt at a fix.

I propped up the bed so I could squeeze my head into that small space and watch what was going on back there. Turned on the water and noticed that the pump itself was not all that noisy, it was the pipes rattling and banging with each pulse of the pump.

Right off I noticed that the hot and cold pipes near the water heater are plumbed carelessly. It looks like it was done by a novice or by someone in a big hurry. The pipes not only touch the framing of the bed but they also touch each other at a corner....so naturally, they sort of bang together and also against the wood.

I found an old kitchen hot pad and stuffed it between the pipes and folded it around the hot pipe so that it is between the pipes and the wood. Turned on the faucet....instant relief! Well, not completely but way better.

Then I noticed it was clicking and vibrating in other places too. The other places were too hard to reach for padding so I decided to try some spray foam... you know... Great Stuff! Off to Ace Hardware for a can.

I emptied every lower cabinet and opened every cubbie hole and sprayed foam under and around every pipe that looked like it could vibrate. I was very liberal in my application of the foam and it isn't very neat to look upon. Fortunately, all the pipes are out of site all of the time. I could not test job today...gotta leave it time to dry. So tomorrow I will have the verdict. I did NOT spray foam over any removable connectors, so you can still disconnect pipes where that attach to something with a threaded fitting.

I may need to look around for a different type of pump, may be one that does not operate on a pulsing principle. Any ideas?
 
My pump rattled a bit, so I bought one of those small hard rubber door jams and put it just beneath the pump--problem solved (for the most part!)
 
I'm not sure, but something still may be going on with your pump. My piping on my 2010 FBR also is together and I've never heard what you are describing. Do you have an accumulator tank on your system?
 
twinster2 said:
I'm not sure, but something still may be going on with your pump. My piping on my 2010 FBR also is together and I've never heard what you are describing. Do you have an accumulator tank on your system?
Click to expand...

What is an accumulator.... I must not have one.... pipe leads right out of the pump and then directly to the system. There are no other tanks or gadgets that I can see.
 
Here is a pic of my installed accumulator tank.
 

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My 07 FF x210 also has a fairly loud pump! Don't have any "hammering" tho. My wife claims to be embarrassed over the pump noise. I'll probably end up getting an accumulator but I think that will only quiet things for short draws of water. If you're taking a shower, you're going to hear the pump, accumulator or not!
I think that I will be taking some sound insulation measures to muffle the pump. It's not a huge issue for us as we preferentially seek out campgrounds that have "city" water hook-ups.
RipVan
 
After the foam dried from making my goofy repair to the plumbing, I gave it a good test today. The noise level is greatly reduced. I think it is down to just the noise the the pump itself makes.

I foamed every pipe that seemed to be moving enough to bang against something. We will try it a while before making any more changes.
 
Thanks for the info! Our pump isn't as loud as yours from the sound of it, but it's loud enough. I think I'll try the spray foam idea.
 
Chirpz said:
After the foam dried from making my goofy repair to the plumbing, I gave it a good test today. The noise level is greatly reduced. I think it is down to just the noise the the pump itself makes.

I foamed every pipe that seemed to be moving enough to bang against something. We will try it a while before making any more changes.
Click to expand...

Chirpz- How is your pressure when the pump is running? Mine is not great, maybe 20-25 psi. Wish it was up to 35 psi so that the shower would be decent, but alas, that is not the case. Maybe, someday I will buy a better pump, but for now, I will live with what I have.
 
twinster2 said:
Chirpz- How is your pressure when the pump is running? Mine is not great, maybe 20-25 psi. Wish it was up to 35 psi so that the shower would be decent, but alas, that is not the case. Maybe, someday I will buy a better pump, but for now, I will live with what I have.
Click to expand...

Our pressure is about like out old trailer. It is adequate but not that great. I have not tried to measure it. The kitchen is fine, about right really...since it is closer to the pump. The bathroom is somewhat less and can be annoying if you are in a hurry to fill the sink.

For the shower (which we rarely use) I purchased a new high pressure, water conserving, shower head that has made my shower great again. I you haven't made that change I highly recommend it. I have a thread about it somewhere. I have a hard time finding my own threads on this forum. If the shower stall were big enough to turn around in, I would use it every night....except when boondocking.

Here is a link to the shower head that we purchased. There was nothing wrong with our old one except that it used more water and had less pressure.

https://goo.gl/1FfsDI
 
Last edited:
Michigantraveler said:
Excellent photo!! We all need one. Did it help a lot??
Click to expand...

The pump does not run all the time and the pressure is more constant. However, I think if my pump put out more pressure, say in the 30-40 psi range, it would be even better. Instead, my pump is only operating at about 25 psi, so I only have about 15 psi in the bladder of the accumulate tank. Normally, the bladder should be around 25 psi. Also, for those interested in doing it, make sure your tank is vertical when added to your water line. Although they say it can be mounted in any position, for weatherization and sterilization purposes, verticle mounting is the best.
 
twinster2 said:
The pump does not run all the time and the pressure is more constant. However, I think if my pump put out more pressure, say in the 30-40 psi range, it would be even better. Instead, my pump is only operating at about 25 psi, so I only have about 15 psi in the bladder of the accumulate tank. Normally, the bladder should be around 25 psi. Also, for those interested in doing it, make sure your tank is vertical when added to your water line. Although they say it can be mounted in any position, for weatherization and sterilization purposes, verticle mounting is the best.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this informative post. It's not cut and dried it seems.
 
I ordered the Shurflo accumulator this past weekend and it showed up on my doorstep today! Less than $35 on Amazon.com. Comes with a "female to female" connector piece but I may have to get a "T" connector and a plug. We'll see when I get back under the bed to hook things up. Things are a bit tight where the pump sits and I can't recall the positioning of the pump RE: the inflow and outflow connections. There may be some rearranging. If I remember to do so, I take some pics and post them. That may be helpful only to those with an x210 FF. I'm thinking that the pump configurations are as numerous as the different layouts of campers.
RipVan
 
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