On-board water pump. How noisy?

[Zbungle]

I've got a Series 6 Bailey Pageant Monarch with an external water supply (Aquaroll) but an internal Whale water pump. Very good water pressure but it seems amazingly noisy with a deep rumbling that means we dare not use it at night. It seems to be securely fixed and we have checked repeatedly to see that there are no air locks in the system.

Any comments from you guys with a similar pump arrangement?

 

[Rod_5041370]

Bailey caravans are notorious for noisy on board water pumps.

They can be mounted on foam or rubber to quieten them.

Just typical of Bailey cutting corners.

 

[busman1]

we have a ser.6 monarch as well and yes the pump is noisy but it is not so loud from the outside.

try to remember to switch the pump off at night then it will not wake you when it builds up the pressure.

just one of these annoying things but otherwise a great ,van

Will

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I don't find the inboard pump on our series 5 Oklahoma to be anywhere near as noisy as the Shurflow inboard tank on our previous van

It doesn't make as much noise as the water hitting the bowl at full velocity

I have removed the holding down screws so maybe it would be worth a try

 

[Ogre]

We had an onboard water pump (standard fitting), on our old Lunar Clubman, which sounded like a machine gun every time we pumped water. Very noisy, and like you say, very anti-social at night.

If it's really unbearable, I'd go for an external pump which is submersible in the Aquaroll (as fitted to many modern vans). Any good dealer should be able to fit you an external socket with the power and pipe connections, and a switch to operate it. Then, when you get on site, you just plug in the pump and hose unit outside the van, and drop it into the tank, and switch on. These type of pumps are virtually noiseless.

 

[VonRyan]

Yep,

We have S6 Burgendey and ours was replaced under warrenty as far a Bailey cutting corners its not them who manufacturer the pump its Whale try putting your criticism there way not Baileys Rod. In most cases its just fine tuning of the pump. Even our replacement was noisy but after mounting it on rubber grommets and adjusting the pressure as described in the manual its now fine, some noise but nowhere as bad as it was to the extent you can just hear it inside the van and not at all outside.

Rob

Rob

 

[Rod_5041370]

It's Bailey that fail to fit rubber suspension for the pump.

The Shurflo in my caravan is mounted on soft rubber bushes which are then mounted on a three eighths inch ply board which in turn is mounted on soft rubber bushes to the caravan floor.

If my caravan manufacturer can do this, then why can't Bailey?

Yes, it is Bailey cutting corners to save pennies.

Bailey users have complained about this ever since they introduced on board tanks and what have they done about it?.....diddley squat!!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Have to agree with Rod

Bailey issus an A4 sheet warning that the inboard pump is noisy

That is just a poor excuse fore a bad spec or bad installation

 

[emmerson2]

(Yawn!) My 28 year old Royale has its Shurflo mounted on rubber bushes.But you see, quality tells!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Again have to agree

The quality of my 67 year old hearing definitely tells

Pump

What pump?

 

[Pat_374304630]

You're spoilt rotten having an electric pump.What's wrong with a foot pump?

 

[MikeyW]

I made a rubber sandwich to put between the pump and the floor, which helped a bit. I also found that by tying a bit of string around the pump then pulling the pump up off the floor and tying the other end around the seat slats that seemed to help even more. You can still get your hand between the slats to drain the tank so you don't have to keep goiing through the same process with the string. One last thing is to ensure the pipes from the pump are not touching any sidewalls.

I also have a series 6 Pageant and the noisy pump is the only small let down.

Regards

Mike

 

[Paul_5077620]

We have a 2007 Sterling Europa with an onboard Shurflo pump. Its fitted on a plastic tray without rubber grommets. Its that noisy we have to turn up the volume on the radio or TV when its running.

I noticed the installation instructions advise against rigid mounting. Do the rubber grommets make that much difference? I was going to go back to the dealer and ask if it was normal, and get them to try to make it quieter.

 

[David_374301039]

Hi I have a Wyoming and the pump is noisy. The instructions say to screw the pump to a solid surface but to me that means any vibration will transmit through the van.Next weekend I am going to remove the screws and insert some rubber under the pump and see if that makes any difference.After the experiance of an aquaroll pump I can't see this as an improvement!!! It seems to me that the pump is like a combustion engine. If it was a rotary engine it wouldn't be so noisy. Jusy a thought. BAD DESIGHN. NO THOUGHT.

Regards David

 

[Andrew_374326630]

Hi Ihave a Sterling Eccles Moonstone 2008 with the same set up. This is also very loud. I would agree that by having the pump mounted on some kind of rubber insulators could only make the noise less. My pump also rests against the wet locker and this makes it even more noisy!!.

That would be not to bad if it worked. It will run fine until you turn off the tap then the LCD display in my caravan just states "OVERLOAD PUMP" and beeps.You then need to try and reset it (not always easy) Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[gary]

I've just fitted a new Whale pump 'AquaSmart' system to replace a Surflo and when it's quite it's a lot quieter than the old pump, however it's not always quite and more like a machine gun!!

First the pump is rubber mounted to it's board but these mounting feet have I understand been modified, check with Whale if yours needs a new set.

Second, the instruction do/did say screw the mounting board down firmly, well if it now says don't then that's the better option. I've just rested my board on a piece of none slip mat much the same as breathable groundsheet and this makes a big difference. I've aslo tried suspending it, (well I lifted it up) and it's all but silent then!

Third if the pump can suck air from the Aquaroll side then this will make it noisy, make sure all joints coming in are air tight.

Lastly and I've not tried this yet, as I said sometimes it's quite and others not so. It's been suggested to me when priming the system to get into the habit of opening a cold tap before you switch the pump back on, this will make sure any air coming in will pass straight through without the chance to be pressurised first within the pump where it's then capable of staying.

 

[DeliDave]

have thought of using sticky pads under the feet not screws also a shurflo looks similar dimensions might try a swap the if it is better put mine on fleabay

 

[gary]

I've just found another very likely reason for my noise, the internal tank inlet/outlet connection in the tank has a bore of just 5mmm! This is going to make the powerful Whale pump strain like hell to suck water into it through what amounts to a straw!!

It's a CAK tank with welded pipe connections, the O/D is 13mm so I assume the bore was kept so small for the welding process to keep it in shape while hot, I'm guessing it should then have been bored out to 10mm when cold but was overlooked

 

[JTS]

The answer is in the text above (ROD). Cut a piece of plywood and mount this to the floor on rubber spacers, available in DIY stores, now mount the pump on the plywood using rubber spacers. Do not over tighten the screws. I have just done this on a friend's caravan. Perfect.JTS

 

[KeithM]

Maybe I'm just lucky but the inboard pump on my '06 Senator Series 5 Oklahoma is almost inaudible from outside and whilst plainly audible inside, is not a problem. As most of our recent touring has been in mainland Europe, I have been very pleased that we have an inboard water tank as I feel more secure that way. In previous years I always felt a little vulnerable with an Aquaroll. OK, call me paranoid but you do not see continental outfits with water supplies that can be interfered with.

Keith (M)

 

[Andrew_374332399]

Check the installation against the pump manufacturer's recommendations. I have an Avondale Dart (2007) with a noisey pump. I had a new pump fitted under warranty but was still noisey. I checked the installation and found that this was incorrect with Shurflo.

From the inlet to van should be the pump. Next should be the accummulator or expansion vessel, then any draw offs to the hot and cold water supplies. Avondale had put their accummulator in after the draw off for the hot water making the cold side very noisey (i.e. inlet, pump, hot supply, accummulator, cold supply).

On altering this layout, my water supply around the van was considerably quieter.

Check with the pump manufacturer as they will provide the neccessary diagrams for you, it worked for me.