Community Forums

Jeff from Michigan · 03-06-2008, 10:18 AM

Hello All,

First time poster. We purchased a 2002 27 foot KZ Sportsman last year. We only used it a couple of times last year, but the one thing I noticed was how loud the water pump is when you use any of the faucets. Is this normal? The pump is located on the floor below the kitchen sink. Is there a quieter pump out there I can install? Or a way to insulate the pump to dampen some of the noise? It's a little early to worry about camping here in Michigan, but I'm looking for weekend projects to keep me busy. Thanks ahead of time!

Jeff from Michigan · 03-06-2008, 10:18 AM

Hello All,

First time poster. We purchased a 2002 27 foot KZ Sportsman last year. We only used it a couple of times last year, but the one thing I noticed was how loud the water pump is when you use any of the faucets. Is this normal? The pump is located on the floor below the kitchen sink. Is there a quieter pump out there I can install? Or a way to insulate the pump to dampen some of the noise? It's a little early to worry about camping here in Michigan, but I'm looking for weekend projects to keep me busy. Thanks ahead of time!

staggerlee · 03-06-2008, 12:14 PM

Try mounting the water pump on a cut out mouse pad.
Also use that pipe insulation foam around any place that the water line passes through a wall.
It could be the vibration against the wall aslo.
Lee

**NLOVNIT** · 03-06-2008, 02:32 PM

Jeff from Michigan,

Welcome to iRV2

There are several things you can do. One is to replace it with a quieter pump. Another is to mount it to a rubber pad to absorb it's vibrations. You can also install an accumulator tank to reduce the freqency of the pumping.

Shurflow also has a silencing kit available.

L-

Jeff from Michigan · 03-07-2008, 03:23 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. A simple solution for an annoying problem. I'll give it a try this weekend.

450Donn · 03-07-2008, 10:44 AM

Another thing to look for is that when the factory installers this sort of thing, they screw it down tight. All of the water pumps have rubber feet, and unless there is room for the rubber to do it's job you can get a lot of noise from it. Be sure the rubber feet can allow the pump to float.

Frankenstien · 03-09-2008, 12:16 PM

Hello Jeff ... and welcome to the site!!!

I had the same issue with mine when I first got it, the problem was two fold one issue was the pump, the other issue was an occilating water line. As the pump would do its' thing it would cause a line in the wall behind the toilet to rattle. As far as the Water pump went, I went and bought a Large Kitchen sponge, and used somewhat longer screws, placed the pump on the sponge and screwed it back to the floor. Once I had secured it I traced the line in the direction of the toilet, found it and pulled gently to take up any slack that existed, this was enough to get the line off of the wall. Any way hope this helps....

Jeff from Michigan · 03-10-2008, 10:06 AM

All excellent suggestions. Thanks again everyone.

Has anyone tried using an accumulator tank? I did some research on the forums and found some success stories. I was wondering how easy it is to install, what size to get, and should I use an inline filter?

Man I love this website!

two2go · 03-10-2008, 06:28 PM

We used to have a KZ Durango 5th wheel. It had a SureFlo pump on the floor under the kitchen sink at the rear of the trailer. That pump runs at a fairly high speed and its design inherently causes vibration and noise. I tried extra foam but it didn't help. The best thing for me short of getting another kind of pump was to put a piece of plywood under the pump which I mounted securely to the floor and then remounted the pump on the plywood with the screws not too tight through the rubber pads. This also helped to put a bit of slack in the water lines so they could flex more and not transmit noise. This didn't cure the problem but helped some.
I used an accumulator tank on a Class C motorhome. The effect of the tank is to allow you to draw some water until the tank diaphragm pressure equals the pump-on pressure signal so the pump doesn't cycle so often for short water draws. Also, you have pressure at the tap instantly without waiting for the pump to build it up. If you run the pump continuously, the diaphragm does give some moderating effect that may further help reduce the noise. You will have to weigh the cost and effort of installing the tank if you feel the noise is unbearable. The tank alone is not a noise cure, just a help.

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 03-12-2008, 10:13 AM

Mine's kind of noisy, but I guess I've gotten used to it, plus I plan to upgrade the whole 5er soon.

Anyhow, there are kits with a short pigtail of flexy pressure hose designed to prevent the pump from transmitting vibration down the stiff plastic pipe that might be worth a shot.

I think if I were in your shoes and planning to keep the unit long term, though, I'd spend the money and upgrade to one of the "smart" pumps that doesn't cycle, and probably to the pigtail hoses thing at the same time.

Also, if your RV isn't so equipped, there is a little T valve you can put in to the tank side of the pump so you can suck anti-freeze right out of the jug when it's time to winterize. That way you don't get the pink stuff in the fresh tank, and it takes a lot less to winterize the pump, pipes and valves.

**NLOVNIT** · 03-12-2008, 01:27 PM

DH installed accumulator tanks, from ShurFlo, on our TT & 5-r. It was relatively easy to install, although getting to it in our TT involved some contortions.

We've also had a filter for all our rv's. Our coach has a permanently installed "whole house" style. For our TT & 5-r, we used in-line exterior filters (connected between shore water & our hose) that we bought at WalMart. Basically, one of those would last a season (Apr-Nov).

L-

Frank P. Martin · 03-12-2008, 02:09 PM

Here are before and after pictures of the accumulator tank that I installed in my TT.

I purchased the accumulator tank at the Home Depot.

Jeff from Michigan · 03-18-2008, 05:54 AM

That's one heck of a nice setup Frank and probably wasn't too hard to install. Especially with having easy access to the water pump. My pump is pretty well hidden under the kitchen sink area. I can get to it, but it's no stroll in the park. I think I might go with the smaller Shurflo accumulator tank (24oz) and try some good padding under the pump. If that doesn't work, I might have to upgrade the pump, but will cringe at the cost of that.

jfb · 03-18-2008, 06:57 PM

We use the Shuflow quite a bit. We have found that our's will get REAL noisy when the tank is almost empty, but will quiet down after the tank is refilled, takes about 1/8 tank. We don't let the tank get too empty....