Hi, just aquired a new Avondale Dart 630/6 and am suprised at how noisy the in board water pump is is this normal, it sounds like a machine gun under a bale of hay!
Thanks
Phil
Thanks
Phil
Noisy in board pump or normal??
- Thread starter philip_5109302
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Philip, the on board pump should NOT be as you describe.
Yes you can hear it but it should be reasonably quiet.
Most common cause of noise in excess is air being drawn in as well as water.
This may be from the connection of the water tube to van, or a loose joint or fitting on the pump.
Last resort is to sit the pump on sound deadening material, as it is secured to the floor and can be likened to fitting it to a drum, as the floor is anything but sound deadening.
Yes you can hear it but it should be reasonably quiet.
Most common cause of noise in excess is air being drawn in as well as water.
This may be from the connection of the water tube to van, or a loose joint or fitting on the pump.
Last resort is to sit the pump on sound deadening material, as it is secured to the floor and can be likened to fitting it to a drum, as the floor is anything but sound deadening.
Damian
Moderator
Hello Philip, Most inboard pumps use a diaphragm system, and these do tend vibrate and consequently are quite noisy. Quite a lot can be done to insulate the pump vibrations from the woodwork but I cant tell you if yours already has this sound proofing or not. The base of the pump usually has rubber bushes for the fixing screws but sometimes more insulation is desirable.
Post submitted by John L
Post moved from Buyers Guide due to double posting of topic.
Post submitted by John L
Post moved from Buyers Guide due to double posting of topic.
Glad its not just me - have a new Lunar with an onboard Tank & Pump - had come to the conclusion that maybe the pump bearings were u/s because of the noise (and would have had pump changed at service under warranty).
The pump sits on four rubber mounts on the floor - do you reckon its worth further insulating pump ??
I guess it needs to be reasonably cool - so no wrapping in any kind of sound deadning material ?
Must admit I thought wife had run it without any water and had burned out the bearings - it sounds just like Philip describes.
Regards
Jon
The pump sits on four rubber mounts on the floor - do you reckon its worth further insulating pump ??
I guess it needs to be reasonably cool - so no wrapping in any kind of sound deadning material ?
Must admit I thought wife had run it without any water and had burned out the bearings - it sounds just like Philip describes.
Regards
Jon
Well glad i am not the only one with a noisy pump ! i have mounted mine which was on a plate with rubbers on. This has been mounted on to a rubber plate noise is not as bad, i have also made sure that the pipes dont rub against any part of the pump or furniture, which coulsd also amplify the noise. The result is a much quieter pump.
Hi i too have a inline onboard pump mine is a shureflow ,and it has 4 rubber feet and is screwed down ,it is very noisy ,but i think i am getting used to it,as it sounds like it is a little better and i dont notice it as much,best wishes Brian
Hi,
We have a 2009 Elddis Crusader with OB tank. Our pump is also very noisy. I belive ours is not drawing in air (cant see air bubbles).
Could it be normal for this type of pump. Has anyone come up with a sound deadening modification.
Em
We have a 2009 Elddis Crusader with OB tank. Our pump is also very noisy. I belive ours is not drawing in air (cant see air bubbles).
Could it be normal for this type of pump. Has anyone come up with a sound deadening modification.
Em
Now on my second caravan with an onboard water pump and yes they are a lot noisier than the submersible type. You've got to remember the submersible pump is outside the van and immersed in perhaps 40litres of water, that'll deaden any noise from that.
I've spoken to other caravan owners on sites about the on board pump noise. I used to wonder if it was just mine, but everyone says the same -yes compared to their previous submersible pumps they are noisy. One lady compared hers to the sound of a helicopter landing in the next pitch!
With my first van I was so convinced the pump was faulty I emailed Truma to see if they could offer any advice. They strongly advised to stick by a set procedure when first setting up on pitch. The advice was as follows and differs slightly from that given in the caravan handbook.
Ensure pump is switched off at wall switch. Open kitchen tap fully at HOT setting (handbook says cold). Fill aquaroll or similar, place filter and hose into container. Ensure onboard valve settings are set to run from container then switch on pump at main switch. Truma's email emphasised the importance of allowing the pump to purge any air through the water tap and not to turn the tap off or alter from hot setting until there was a continuous flow of water. Then turn on cold tap leave till continuous flow then repeat on any other taps in van.
Following this did help a bit.
I also noticed on both my vans that the pump was fixed to a board which was in turn fixed to the caravan floor but with a gap between board and floor. I felt this was acting as an amplifier so stuck some sponge between the two. I also had an old breathable ground sheet lying around, this is quite a soft spongy material so I cut a small rectangle of that and fitted it between the pump and the board it is screwed to.
The above seemed to make a little difference to the pump. I think it just seems noisier to those inside the van used to the old submersible type.
I've spoken to other caravan owners on sites about the on board pump noise. I used to wonder if it was just mine, but everyone says the same -yes compared to their previous submersible pumps they are noisy. One lady compared hers to the sound of a helicopter landing in the next pitch!
With my first van I was so convinced the pump was faulty I emailed Truma to see if they could offer any advice. They strongly advised to stick by a set procedure when first setting up on pitch. The advice was as follows and differs slightly from that given in the caravan handbook.
Ensure pump is switched off at wall switch. Open kitchen tap fully at HOT setting (handbook says cold). Fill aquaroll or similar, place filter and hose into container. Ensure onboard valve settings are set to run from container then switch on pump at main switch. Truma's email emphasised the importance of allowing the pump to purge any air through the water tap and not to turn the tap off or alter from hot setting until there was a continuous flow of water. Then turn on cold tap leave till continuous flow then repeat on any other taps in van.
Following this did help a bit.
I also noticed on both my vans that the pump was fixed to a board which was in turn fixed to the caravan floor but with a gap between board and floor. I felt this was acting as an amplifier so stuck some sponge between the two. I also had an old breathable ground sheet lying around, this is quite a soft spongy material so I cut a small rectangle of that and fitted it between the pump and the board it is screwed to.
The above seemed to make a little difference to the pump. I think it just seems noisier to those inside the van used to the old submersible type.
Ace Jubilee was exactly as you discribed, so removed the fixing screws, cut some black gas hose, approx 1/2 " long, placed under the four fixing screw spaces on the actual pump itself, hand tightened the screws, then ran the pump, and adjusted the screws so that they were not overtighted,and by doing so you could tell at which point the vibration was being transmitted to the ply floor, and hey presto, you would hardly hear the pump going at all, and the pump is secure to the van floor.
Damian's comments are correct, The latest Whale pump got very bad press regarding noise and when I first fitted mine I could not have agreed more...it sounded like a machine gun!!
However, it's now very near silent!!
Air coming in with the water is the main source of the noise, too many 90deg elbows on the input pipe make things worse still, infact anything that resricts/reduces water getting to the pump causes noise.
The floor then amplfies the noise and like Rob-T I used a piece of groundsheet between the pump on it's mounting board and the floor, it simply rests on the ground sheet as it is also non-slip so totally insulated from the floor
However, it's now very near silent!!
Air coming in with the water is the main source of the noise, too many 90deg elbows on the input pipe make things worse still, infact anything that resricts/reduces water getting to the pump causes noise.
The floor then amplfies the noise and like Rob-T I used a piece of groundsheet between the pump on it's mounting board and the floor, it simply rests on the ground sheet as it is also non-slip so totally insulated from the floor
Just seen this thread and would like to say that we had the same issue on our 'van, an Abbey GTS, 2008 model.
Unfortunately, we were not so thorough in getting the water out of the system, when we parked the 'van in storage last winter. The upshot was, split connection at the pump and new pump needed.
When we stsrted up the water system on the first trip out, the pump was so much quieter, where previously it was like a blacksmith hammering, only worse.
When I asked at the workshop why it was quieter, they told me that there had been loads of complaints about the on-board pumps and all it needed was the pressure settings adjusting properly. Apparently Swift sent out a technical bulletin on this some time ago.
All I can say is, it's much more peaceful in our 'van these days!
Unfortunately, we were not so thorough in getting the water out of the system, when we parked the 'van in storage last winter. The upshot was, split connection at the pump and new pump needed.
When we stsrted up the water system on the first trip out, the pump was so much quieter, where previously it was like a blacksmith hammering, only worse.
When I asked at the workshop why it was quieter, they told me that there had been loads of complaints about the on-board pumps and all it needed was the pressure settings adjusting properly. Apparently Swift sent out a technical bulletin on this some time ago.
All I can say is, it's much more peaceful in our 'van these days!
Interested to hear of other people's experiences with onboard pumps as we had a similar problem on our new Swift Coastline 540 last year. When we first used the van the pump, in this case a Flojet which according to the manual is supposed to be very quiet, was making a horrible noise. On investigation I found that the pump had been positioned so that the end of the pump was resting on the wooden batten frame of the offside front bunk and consequently magnifying the noise of the pump like a double base. I unscrewed the pump fixing screws and placed a pad of insulation material beneath which made it bearable. I still don't think it is as quiet as it should be so might experiment with a few of your tips. I was told that the rigidity of fixing of the pipes in and out of the pump also affects the noise. It is still as noisy as the old submersible pump though.
Remount pump on dense foam pad. Water lines going in and out of pump should be flex type hose.
Grant
Grant
Grant is correct, the only way to remove transmitted noise is to have no direct contact with the bodywork, not even through screws, flex pipes in rubber must be used also, this is how power shower pumps are fitted as standard. This then leaves air bourne noise to be reduced, try encasing the pump if practical in a enclosed sound insulating enclosure, but ensure adequate cooling air circulation, maybe fit a gas vent into the floor?
I posted this a couple of days ago, and had it removed by the moderator.
But, it is relevant to the post here, so try this link to 'another' caravan related website, who took the posting and is happy to accept the numerous replies to it;
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=8&TopicID=200496&PagePosition=2
The engineer is to some work on our 'van tonight and reports that the system he is taking out of a branfd new van, identical in every way, is so quiet he though the pump was not running!
But, it is relevant to the post here, so try this link to 'another' caravan related website, who took the posting and is happy to accept the numerous replies to it;
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=8&TopicID=200496&PagePosition=2
The engineer is to some work on our 'van tonight and reports that the system he is taking out of a branfd new van, identical in every way, is so quiet he though the pump was not running!
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