Water Pump Water Hammer

[DCKiefer]

I found away to stop the water hammer that sometimes occurs when drawing water from the storage tank. If you look at the instruction for winterizing the water system, the procedures will describe two valves that are used in this process. Once you are familar with these valves here is what you do. Access the water pump compartment, turn on the pump switch at the sink. Next turn the valve that is on the blue water line coming off if the water tank, this is not the one right next the pump with the white hose. When you turn this valve the pump will come on and you will here water circulating. The water is circulating back into the tank. What I belive this is doing is getting rid of air trapped in the pump or in the bypass line. After the pump has run for about a minute return the valve to the normal position. You should now have a smooth and quite water pump, if the water level in your tank is adequate.

[JuniorBirdMan]

Great tip! Thanx.

 

Has anyone tried the Shurflo accumulator ($40 at Camping World) in the fresh water system to help control surging?

[SeaDawg]

I've seen that mod on several forums. Is it difficult to install?

 

Sherry

[JuniorBirdMan]

I think (hope) it'll be pretty simple to install. I ordered one but it's on backorder for a few weeks. I'll post a full report when I get it.

[JuniorBirdMan]

I just installed the Shurflo accumulator in the fresh water system. It was a breeze! NO tools required! It's a tight fit because of the dinette seat insert that sits above it, but I was able to easily shift some hoses around a bit to make it fit. It seems to cut the water hammering some, but it's real value is in that it stops the very frequent cycling of the pump when trying to run a trickle of water such as when using the "pause" function of the showerhead. That made it worth the $40 to me right there! It should extend the life of the pump significantly (not to mention cutting way back on that irritating "start-stop" that occurs).

 

One note: It's mounted in a horizontal position because of space, so it'll have to be rotated to the vertical position to drain the water system for winterization. But that's real easy to do.

[JuniorBirdMan]

This just in from a good friend:

 

Some of the plumbing in the vicinity of the water pump can cause a bit of vibration noise. While the pump is running just hold some of the pipes to see if any are causing noise. They can then be secured with tie wraps.

 

I wish I'd thought of that.

[SeaDawg]

Thanks for the updates, Aubrey. Looking forward to hearing how it works out in practice when you go camping. Perhaps it will also help in some of the Hot/Cold jolts when showering with the cutoff. I'm going to have to take a look at how this works, but my assumption is, it keeps the hot water line (and supply) full most of the time, instead of the pump filling the little space in the line with cold...

Sherry