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Old 10-02-2012, 11:11 AM   #1
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water pump..

My water pump really surges hard when its on a low flow demand--otherwise it is smooth and barely noticeable..Makes ya want to stop brushing your teeth!!!!!Anyway, other than an accumulator tank,what is there I could do about it ? Janalee
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Old 10-02-2012, 05:42 PM   #2
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Nope that's normal an accumulator tank helps a lot. I have a small one and will replace it during the off season with a bigger one. In my case it's all about power savings I go a week or more with out power every summer to Canada all my lights are LED's and the less often the pump cycles the less power I use.
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Old 10-02-2012, 05:44 PM   #3
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I agree with mainah. I installed a 2 gallon residential accumulator tank in our Sunline and it works great.
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Old 10-02-2012, 06:20 PM   #4
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Water does not compress so your system will cycle ever time you open the tap because the pressure drops as soon as you do. The accumulator tank has a air bag inside that maintains pressure on the system until it drops enough that the pump switch activates. While there is a constant demand the pump runs constantly but just a trickle it switches on and off that's why you get the noise. An accumulation is a nice upgrade no matter how big but a 2-3 gallon one reduces the pump run time a great deal.
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:24 PM   #5
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To keep with the pump you have now, the accumulator tank will greatly help the cycling and is a good option.

The other option is a variable speed pump. I went this route. On low flow it just purrs and will only run to the speed the flow requires. When the demand is high, like flushing a toilet, the speed ramps up to meet the flow. There is no pressure surge with the variable speed pump. Taking a shower is constant water pressure.

The variable speed pump gives some very nice features. It is however more expensive then an accumulator tank from Lowes or Home Depot.
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Old 10-05-2012, 07:54 AM   #6
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So I guess my REAL question is, will this surging hurt the pump or is it just an annoying fact of life in an RV? We tend to run it slow to conserve water and avoid splattering but I just don't remember my others doing this so much...
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Old 10-05-2012, 10:23 AM   #7
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Can you describe the surging? and what is different from full on to only a trickle?

Is this low flow rate that creates the surging, any better or worse on just hot water or just cold water?

Does the pump surge start instantly every time you turn on the slow trickle water? Or sometimes does it have no surge as the pump is not yet on for a few seconds then starts surging as soon as the pumping starts?

I am assuming you are using the HW heater still and not bypassed. As long as the air pocket in the HW heater is not totally gone, the hot water has a very small built in surge tank with that air pocket. The hot may be better than the cold.

You have had enough campers ..... to know what water pump noise sounds like. Has this camper always done this or is this something new?

You may have a very sensitive pressure switch in the pump and what we call the “differential” is very little. These systems are suppose to pump up to a certain psi, say 40 psi then shut off and then bleed down to approx 25 psi ( 15 psi differential) and then kick back on. If your pressure switch is not working right and the differential is very small, exp, 38 psi on and 40 psi off, that is only 2 psi difference and the pump will cycle and bang a lot more.

This may or may not have anything to do with but now that you are asking is this normal as all your others did not do this, well maybe what you have now is not working right. These standard pumps do cycle on and off but they should have a level of differential built in. Without it, the pump will really cycle more then normal and on low flow this may show up. On high flow the pressure drops so quick the pump just goes right to run almost immediatly.
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Old 10-05-2012, 12:21 PM   #8
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It's annoying it draws more power from the battery and does operated the pump more often. The pumps last for years and years so it's not really an issue. John B's right there is a differential but with no pressure tank the line is crossed very quickly that is why it cycles when you just turn the tap on slightly. When they run constantly they are fairly quiet but start and stop isn't. If it's some thing you can live with don't worry about it.
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Old 10-05-2012, 03:30 PM   #9
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Well, since my camper is now in process of winterizing, I guess I have to wait to answer JohnB's questions until nect year..lol...my FW tank is drained, water heater drained and bypassed and the next time we use it, we will be on our way South. I think I was just used to the way it sounded (silent!) when on city water--although I do think it may be a bit more sensitive than some others. I know my last one (the Wildwood) hardly ever surged and I remembering remarking about how quiet it was. As long as I am not 'destroying it', I certainly can live with it..Thanks for the suggestions!
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Old 10-06-2012, 12:23 PM   #10
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You could always install the pump silencing kit. Our water pump is mounted directly below where our toilet is. When it got close to full pressure, it would make quite a bit of noise. I installed the kit and it is much more quiet now!

Water pump silencing kit.
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