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Old 11-18-2011, 03:24 PM   #1
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water vibration/noise

I put this question on the rvforum.net site but thought I might get a wider audience if I also put it here.

The normal problems - easy to solve. Identify the problem, determine the fix and do so. The weird problems, not so fast.
While using the onboard water we are experiencing a hammering sound any time we use the water pump. Sometimes loud, sometimes not. I have determined that the sound/vibration is coming from the small line under the kitchen sink that goes from the main feed line to the small sink faucet that has the filter attached underneath the countertop. When the main faucet is opened you can see that small line vibrate vigorously. This line will vibrate any time any of the faucets in the coach are used including the shower and toilet. When we are connected to and using an outside water source the vibration/noise does not occur. Has anyone else experienced this problem or are there any plumbers out there who might be able to shed light on the problem? My first thought is that it is something to do with the water pump but what do I know. I have not contacted any of the typical points such as Winnebago as we are enroute to Florida. I will deal with it after we settle in our winter location.
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Old 11-18-2011, 03:58 PM   #2
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What you have is cavitation. But you already know this. Cavitation is caused by heat, air, contaminants or problem with the water line it self. Since you are not have this problem while on shore water, I would expect that you are sucking air into the water lines up stream or at the pump, causing your problem. Your kitchen sink is the first highest point in your water line and acting as a damper. I could be all wet on this but that is the first place I would check.
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Old 11-19-2011, 09:49 AM   #3
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I installed an in-line ShureFlow small surge tank(terminology??) next to the water pump and it seems to even out the water flow. Once thing it does is provide instant water at the tap and if you are only using a small amount, the pump may not even come on for it. I found it at Camping World. You might look it up and see what it is designed to do. In other mohos, I have had to trace water lines and re-secure them with hold down clamps as they would tend to vibrate. Good luck, sir.
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Old 11-19-2011, 01:21 PM   #4
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Thanks OneRVer for the comment. I had thought about that but if there is a way for air to enter from the pump or beyond wouldn't there be a leak when using off board water with 40+ psi? Naturally the water line from the pump to the sink area is almost impossible to get to making inspection of the line difficult. In any case that is one more thing to take into account.
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Old 11-19-2011, 02:36 PM   #5
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Yes that is true about the air and water leak unless the shore water and the pump is isolated by a check valve. I also thought of one more thing that will cause cavitation is a bad propeller in the pump. Wish I was there to help you trouble shoot. I like working problems like this. Especially when it belongs to someone else. Please let me know what you find. -Steve
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Old 11-19-2011, 02:49 PM   #6
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You're getting vibration from the demand pump rattling the pipes thru the water it's pumping due to the semi-rigid connections of the inlet/outlet water lines at the pump.

Simple fix. Shure-Flo sells a Pump Silencing Kit for about $20. It's 2 loops of hose which connect directly at the pump and takes the rattles out, giving more flex to the lines when the pump operates.
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Old 11-19-2011, 03:53 PM   #7
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May also want to check the tap valve and make sure you have a clean opening into the water filter line from main water line.
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Old 11-19-2011, 08:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Navy Flier View Post
I put this question on the rvforum.net site but thought I might get a wider audience if I also put it here.

The normal problems - easy to solve. Identify the problem, determine the fix and do so. The weird problems, not so fast.
While using the onboard water we are experiencing a hammering sound any time we use the water pump. Sometimes loud, sometimes not. I have determined that the sound/vibration is coming from the small line under the kitchen sink that goes from the main feed line to the small sink faucet that has the filter attached underneath the countertop. When the main faucet is opened you can see that small line vibrate vigorously. This line will vibrate any time any of the faucets in the coach are used including the shower and toilet. When we are connected to and using an outside water source the vibration/noise does not occur. Has anyone else experienced this problem or are there any plumbers out there who might be able to shed light on the problem? My first thought is that it is something to do with the water pump but what do I know. I have not contacted any of the typical points such as Winnebago as we are enroute to Florida. I will deal with it after we settle in our winter location.
when i refill my water tank, i have to bleed the air out of the system by opening the drain valve at the end of my refill operation and draining about 1 gallon of water with the refill line still pressurized. if i don't do that, i have a noisy water pump. sometimes i can bleed the air with pump pressure, but not all the time.
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Old 11-19-2011, 09:13 PM   #9
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Navy Flier,
other comments about trapped air or cavitation may be applicable but in my case it was just the pump vibration on the water line itself. It caused water lines in the walls of the shower to vibrate and make noise. My solution was the same as recommended by Pusherman above except that I made my own solution. See the photo and notice the two coils of water line (similar to the kit referred to by Pusherman). I also added a water line shock absorber (a washing machine water line accessory you can get in any plumbing store. The vibration was gone everywhere. I can barely hear the pump now.
hope this helps,
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Old 11-20-2011, 04:09 PM   #10
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Thanks to all. Great ideas. I will be addressing them with Shurflo when I talk to them and Winnebago. The first thing I am going to do is see if the pump itself is vibrating when the water is running. I will not be doing anything on this until after reaching my winter spot. I will post an answer (if there is one) sometime after that.
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Old 11-23-2011, 10:47 PM   #11
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Navy Flier, I just read on another forum someone with a similar problem. The check valve just down stream of his SureFlow water pump was the culprit. Not saying that is your problem just similar. He fought this one for a long time.
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Old 11-23-2011, 11:00 PM   #12
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I would submit that this is a pulsating pump, not cavitation (as I would define it), and that little line is taking the brunt of that. It's possible that you have a defective chamber in the pump causing the pressure to vary more widely.

As for vibration in & out of the pump: Save your $20 and just buy about 4' of 1/2" white potable water hose, cut it in half, and install a loop on the in & out of the pump, it slips right into the barb fittings. If you want to quiet it down further, wrap the hose with 1/2" sealing pipe insulation before making a coil. Mine is so quiet I seriously cannot hear it running.
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Old 11-24-2011, 08:39 PM   #13
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SCVJeff if I understand what you are saying I would install a loop on the inlet side of the pump and another loop on the outlet side of the pump. Is that correct?
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Old 11-24-2011, 09:19 PM   #14
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Yep.. I'll go take some pix and post them maybe tmw
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Old 11-25-2011, 09:51 AM   #15
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Here's a picture of my install of hose loops. I moved the pump a bit forward (to the left in the picture) to better fit the hoses:

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Old 11-26-2011, 12:10 AM   #16
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OK, it's a little hard to see, but I've wrapped the pump outlet hose with the pipe insulation that seals along the seam. I ended up wrapping it in several places with Gorilla tape because the hose is a tad bigger then the ID so the seam was starting to not stick. Looking at these pix that looks like a good decision.. This takes one loop before tying back into the coach. On the input side I just isolated the loops from each other with a piece of insulation. This thing is so quiet it's scary..


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Old 11-27-2011, 01:56 PM   #17
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Am I to understand that the pump, when running, imparts enough vibration to the hose system that it will cause my problem? If so, is the looping of the hose the fix or is it the addition of extra length of hose?
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Old 11-27-2011, 02:18 PM   #18
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The additional hose is a softer material. That fact alone is damping the vibration from the pump, but it's not going to help if your noise is being caused by a "water hammer". That occurs when the momentum of the water going through a line is suddenly stopped or started creating kind of a shockwave through the entire system. The only thing that will fix that is some air trapped in the system somewhere - which is what a surge tank is/does.

To see if that's the problem without investing in the time and trouble to install a surge tank, you can drain your water heater (after turning it off of course). Then close it up and turn on the pump without turning the HWH back on. Don't crack the pop off valve or turn on the hot water taps. When the pump stops you'll have created one very large surge tank using the water heater tank. With that done, see if your problem persists.
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Old 11-27-2011, 03:20 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Navy Flier View Post
Am I to understand that the pump, when running, imparts enough vibration to the hose system that it will cause my problem? If so, is the looping of the hose the fix or is it the addition of extra length of hose?
Yes due to the rigid connection of the pump to the plumbing. You need an additional length of flexible hose between the pump and plumbing, and using a loop helps isolate the vibration and keeps the hose from being kinked.

Excellent photos above! Great job to those who have made your own isolation kit.
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Old 11-28-2011, 07:29 AM   #20
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Something I've had to do with both of my coaches is to install insulation tubing around as many of the water lines as I can get too. The pulsations from the demand water pumps seems to rattle all of them some and if they are in contact with any fixed wall or cabinet, they rattle. If there is any air in the system, it's much worse. Adding a holding or accumulator tank will help, but I've discovered the only real solution is to replace the pump with a variable speed unit.
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