Noisy Water Pump

[Doctor Old]

Our new rig has developed a loud water pump that also makes random “grunting” noises when water isn’t running. Any clues are appreciated.

[mkguitar]

a water pump running when the water is "off" can indicate a leak in your system- water pressure in the line drops and the pump runs to build pressure again.
this could be a real problem if you have a leak somewhere in the coach



normally the pumps are not so noisy- I'd look at the pump contacting something which transmits vibrations- or it could be just "bad"


mike

[gregmchugh]

Not unusual to get a rare grunt especially with temperature changes but if it isn’t rare you probably have a leak...

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by Doctor Old

Our new rig has developed a loud water pump that also makes random “grunting” noises when water isn’t running. Any clues are appreciated.

There is a person in Canada. He makes a product which controls the water pump. Sort of a gradual switch. I believe his website is www.irvwpc?
Runs around 190 US dollars.

Least week my water pump pumped all water from fresh water tank. Overflowed my grey tank. We had to bail out the shower pan and dump the remaining water at the campsite. It was my fault. I left the cold water faucet slightly on. My wife was inside. She said she heard some strange noises but did not investigate. I was thinking about installing the irvwpc. After the episode, I decided to wait. The noise indicates something is wrong. I believe it is a warning something is leaking. If pump were very quite, I could have a flood in the van.

Most water pumps are self priming. When there is air in the line, pump will attempt to remove the air. Could be self priming after losing water in line?

[booster]

You also can have a pump that has a leaky check valve that lets the pressure bleed off. That is what we had. We checked all over for leaks and found non, and then changed the pump but could have rebuilt it (nearly as costly). No more between use running unless we got a big temp cool down.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Rlum

There is a person in Canada. He makes a product which controls the water pump. Sort of a gradual switch. I believe his website is www.irvwpc?
Runs around 190 US dollars.

Seems kind of extreme. If your pipes are banging, just install an accumulator;

https://www.amazon.com/SHURflo-182-2.../dp/B000N9VF6Q

These make an amazing difference. They won't fix a leak, though,

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Rlum

There is a person in Canada. He makes a product which controls the water pump. Sort of a gradual switch. I believe his website is www.irvwpc?
Runs around 190 US dollars.

Seems kind of extreme. If your pipes are banging, just install an accumulator:

https://www.amazon.com/SHURflo-182-2.../dp/B000N9VF6Q

These make an amazing difference. They won't fix a leak, though.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by booster

You also can have a pump that has a leaky check valve that lets the pressure bleed off. That is what we had. We checked all over for leaks and found non, and then changed the pump but could have rebuilt it (nearly as costly). No more between use running unless we got a big temp cool down.

I had the same problem; these one way valves are tiny. I disassembled the pump head, removed lodged debris which fixed the problem.

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by booster

You also can have a pump that has a leaky check valve that lets the pressure bleed off. That is what we had. We checked all over for leaks and found non, and then changed the pump but could have rebuilt it (nearly as costly). No more between use running unless we got a big temp cool down.

I might have this issue of leaky check valve. How does one diagnose it before replacing the pump?

Thanks

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Rlum

I might have this issue of leaky check valve. How does one diagnose it before replacing the pump?

Thanks

Sometimes leaky check valves result in your fresh water tank filling when hooked up to city water (let's water backflow into the tank). Has that ever happened to you?

[booster]

Originally Posted by Rlum

I might have this issue of leaky check valve. How does one diagnose it before replacing the pump?

Thanks

Take off the discharge tube from the pump and replace with a short section of tubing with a closed end on it. That will give you a known non leaking system of low volume so it should get the pump to either hold pressure or not quite quickly. If it still runs periodically, the checkvalve is likely bad or the pump diaphram has small leakage.

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

Sometimes leaky check valves result in your fresh water tank filling when hooked up to city water (let's water backflow into the tank). Has that ever happened to you?

I have not hooked up to water yet. This just happened last week on a trip. Accidentally left bathroom cold water on. It drained the fresh water into the grey tank and overflowed into the shower pan. We had to dump grey and bail out the shower pan.

Refilled with fresh water for balance of trip. Had about 1/4 fresh water on way home. When arrive home, the pump was constantly making noise like it wanted to run. Fresh water was now empty. I looked for leaks but could not find any. Under cabinets, etc. No valves opened. I just turned off pump. That was last week. I have not yet tested or diagnosed issue. To busy looking for the increased resistance in my connection to solar controller. Found it was an oxidized fuse. Replaced and now that is all good. I will probably just change out the pump since it is not too expensive. I do not think I have enough skill to take it apart and clean.