Caravan water pump noise

Submitted: Monday, Mar 28, 2011 at 21:23

ThreadID: 85279 Views:9261 Replies:6 FollowUps:2

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Kiwis Ross & Cushla

Can someone tell me please why caravan water pumps are always so noisey when operating,why cant someone invent a quite one.Just bought a Jayco Heritage 2001,having traded in our first caravan ,a Jayco Westport 18,went right around Aust and up the centre with it with no problems,great little van ,now we have gone a bit bigger for a bit of comfort as we have jobs now in Singleton NSW,the Heritage we bought even has a slide out....luxury,anyway when the toilet operates it runs throught the water pump and is quite noisey,is that normal?

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Reply By: dieseltojo - Monday, Mar 28, 2011 at 22:57

Monday, Mar 28, 2011 at 22:57

Hi Ross,

Water pumps have a quick acting pressure relief valve and work on 50 psi. This can cause severe vibration if fixed to some different types of bases. Remove the screws and put a piece of rubber like from an old mud flap under it and screw it back down. Also the pipes to and from the pump can be installed too short and tight. This can also cause the effect you mention. A nice free loop of pipe causes less pulsing to be transmitted through the floor.

AnswerID: 449527

Reply By: DOEY- Monday, Mar 28, 2011 at 23:24

Monday, Mar 28, 2011 at 23:24

Hi Guys

we have seen some caravans with the inline Whale brand pumps, we fitted one to our camper trailer and is suspended away from the chassis on a bracket, we can hardly hear it. We have a friend who has one on his van and is very noisy, only because it is mounted hard up against the floor underneath and the vibrations resonate a noisy humming noise.
I dont know about what pumps come standard on vans but maybe a bit of foam insulation between the pump and the van may limit some noisy vibrations.

Worth a thought.

doey

AnswerID: 449529

Follow Up By: Uncle-Laurie - Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 05:25

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 05:25

Yes the whale's are definitely quieter.We had one on our CT and now I've put one in the van as well.

cheers Unc

FollowupID: 721897

Reply By: Member - Rod N (QLD) - Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 06:26

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 06:26

There was a discussion about noisy water pumps on the Caravaners Forum In it there is a link to an article in Caravan and Motorhome Books which talks about mounting of pumps and pipes.

AnswerID: 449542

Reply By: Ray - Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 08:39

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 08:39

I believe noisy pumps are not a bad thing. They won't encourage you to waste water.

AnswerID: 449548

Follow Up By: HGMonaro - Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 10:04

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 10:04

that may be true Ray, but I hate running ours late at night... it makes a racket! Will have to investigate the mounting options. Ours is a Sureflo and the silly connections (1/4 turn thingy) always come loose and leak... which means the pump wants to prime itself every few minutes. We turn it off which shuts it up but it's a bit of a pain.

Cheers, Nige

FollowupID: 721911

Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 17:48

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 at 17:48

Yep - our Flojet was very noisy, as mounted by the van maker - they work on a fast, strong pulsing action - the vibration produced drums in the wall that the pump is mounted on, PLUS the pulsing action is transmitted along the water lines too (causing vibration in whatever those lines are fixed too as well). Ours was mounted to a thin ply cupboard wall - much like a guitar body !! While leaving the plumbing and power connections as is, I moved the pump into a foam lined box on the cupboard floor - and sat the box on foam too - much quieter as a result. The pump will happily run either horizontally and vertically mounted (and they can run dry too). In my case, rubber padding under the pump made no difference.

AnswerID: 449615