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Friday, June 15, 2012

RV Water Pump

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the loudest.....

How loud is your water pump?


I am very sensitive to noise and the sound of the water pump drives me crazy.  Luckily, I don't have to use it often, I usually am hooked up to an outside water source.


In April, I went to Camping World to have some regular maintenance done on the coach, I asked them to check out the water pump.  They said it sounds fine, that the sound is normal.


Is there any way to lessen the noise it makes?


I saw some hoses at Camping World (also available @ Amazon.com) that are supposed to reduce the noise.


SHURflo 94-591-01 Pump Silencing Kit

by SHURflo

Price:$22.01 Eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.



I'm not even sure where the connections are hidden.


There are a few things that keep me from boondocking and this is one of them.


Just curious about your thoughts on this.


Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

16 comments:

  1. In the motorhome that we once owned, the pump was RIGHT UNDER THE BED. Had I realised how annoying that would be, I might have thought twice about buying that RV.
    But, I did a couple things. First I installed an expansion tank, which meant that the pump didn't have to cycle as often, and then I unscrewed the pump from the floor and suspended it from bungees. It then had nothing to vibrate against. It was the resonance with the floor of the motorhome that had been making most of the noise.
    It was a bit of a "Rube Goldberg" arrangement, but it was hidden from anyone who might have had a critical eye. That seemed to do the trick. You just have to keep trying different things.
    Good luck.

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  2. Sorry, no suggestions. The water pump on my last rig was quite noisy. This one doesn't seem to be as bad. Don't know why. :(

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  3. An 8. But I've learned to live with it. Since it only runs when we're boondocking and running water, it's really not so bad. Don't know anything about that pump silencer thing.

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  4. I keep my water turned off until I need to use it, then it doesn't bother me. It makes a noise like a motor running, but it's not too loud, and then I turn it off when I'm done. I keep a "catsup" bottle in the bathroom and use to re-fill the toilet bowl a little or wash out the sink, because I usually forget to turn on the water beforehand. :( Then, when I DO remember, I re-fill the catsup bottle.

    I had an "event" last week, though (one of my rookie mistakes). After mostly drycamping the last year and filling my fresh water tank every other week or so, I spaced out and hooked the hose up to the "city water" outlet. I didn't hear the water going in, unscrewed the hose, looked in the outlet, put the hose back on, I did this a few times. Then I noticed a thingy inside the city water outlet and pushed it in. Water and air gushed out for a few seconds. I did this a couple of times, then finally realized I was putting the hose in the WRONG HOLE!

    I filled the water tank putting the hose end into the RIGHT place, and went back to my campsite. Every time I turned on the water, the motor was LOUD, LOUD, LOUD! Really bad. And it didn't stop making that awful noise until I turned it off.

    Then I discovered every time I turned on the water, it ran from the faucet, and also from the outside outlet. The ground was wet outside the RV under the city water outlet and I was losing water.

    I did some research on the forums and apparently when I pushed on the thingy, I did something to the air bubble that should have been there (remember water and AIR gushed out). I went back to re-fill the tank and a man helped me. While I was filling it, he had me go inside and turn on a faucet, whereupon water started coming out of the city water inlet. He pushed on the thingy and adjusted it, and all of a sudden the water stopped coming out and the LOUD motor sound stopped.

    I'm commenting with this long, embarrassing tale on the remote chance your city water outlet has lost it's air bubble. It was such a simple fix, but I never would have though of it. I probably would have ended up at an RV repair place. $$$ This "fix" was on one of the forums, but I didn't understand what they were talking about.

    If this isn't your problem, check the forums, there were lots of answers posted under "loud water pump."

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  5. Our pump makes some noise, but if it aint broke we wont fix it.

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  6. ours was noisy in our Cougar travel trailer..especially in the middle of the night at a quiet campground!..love the catsup bottle idea..wish I would have thought of that!

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  7. Hmmmm. Mine's only noisy when I'm using the water. If I'm not I don't hear a thing. Now I'm wondering if something's wrong.

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    Replies
    1. I think that's normal. I think if it's noisy all the time, you have a water leak.

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  8. That sound always bugs me too but not enough to keep me from boondocking. I don't leave it on if I am not using the water and keep a pitcher or gallon jug filled with drinking water so I don't have to turn it on every time. The sound that really gets me is the exhaust fan over the stove...forget it!!I don't use it....

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  9. thankfully, mine is tucked away in a rear corner underneath a closet, so the sound is not too deafening, but I also did put some pieces of foam around the short water pipes attached to the pump and that quieted the vibration quite a bit.

    What I didn't like about mine (even more than the noise) was the water pressure being so piddly. So, I bought Shurflo's upgraded Revolution pump that directly replaced the base model that came from Winnebago, and this improved both water pressure and made the stream more steady between "pumps". It was about $90.

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  10. Yes, my water pump is noisy when running the water which activates the pump. I tried wrapping a beach towel around the pump, it helped some, but Not much. Another noise issue is the exterior fan on my refrigerator. I shut the fan off at night and this doesn't seem to affect the cooling of the refrigerator. I like the still of night except to hear the sounds of owls or moving water.

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  11. Mine made noise when I was running the water. But I always turned it off when not in use. I hated the noise it made too. So like others I always kept a gl of water handy at night so as not to bother others with the pump for flushing.

    The thought of wrapping the pump in a towel is scary what about starting a fire?

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  12. I hear it groaning when I turn on the water..usually we don't use it as we're normally hooked up to water..but on the occasion that we do it does groan I just turn it on when needed...then shut it off..

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  13. My dad's motorhome water pump was noisy but he installed some insulation on the floor under the pump, the pipes and on the walls of the space surrounding the pump. On my little trailer, mine isn't noisy but I also keep a gallon jug in the b.room so that sleepers aren't bothered by even the little noise the pump does make.

    Emjay

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  14. When we bought our new/used MH, the water pump was pretty noisy. I complained to the tech. He checked it out and said it was find. I kept complaining and he finally installed a new one. It's not nearly as noisy. I think the old pump was technically fine, but maybe starting to go out. Anyway, the new one is good...although we rarely use it.

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  15. I googled the water pump noise once. They have different kinds, arranging from quiet to NOISY. I have the NOISY one too! But I've gotten used to it since it only makes noise when I'm running the water anyhow. IF it makes noise any other time, suspect a leak somewhere. Every once in awhile, my toilet will leak a little water & the pump will tattle on it.

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Hi, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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