How do i soundproof/insulate a noisy water pump?

Those pumps are supposed to be very low noise, so if it's noisy enough to be an irritation the first question is how long have you had it? If it's getting on in years there could be a bearing problem or something wrong with the flow of water through it causing cavitation.

The next question is what is it fixed to at the moment? If it's on a wooden rafter or similar then the sound of the pump could be transmitted over some distance. One solution is to mount it on a concrete building block as that would be heavy enough to dampen the vibrations and reduce the noise.

You could also make a box to cover it out of something dense like thick chipboard, but make a removable hatch in the top of it to give access to the pump control panel.

It's also possible that the noise is being transmitted by its pipework, and if so it might be possible to fit a flexible pipe length on the pump outlet.

In addition to above....How i insulate pumps is silicone the pump to a tile and the tile to the floor. Pack plenty of silicone between the tile and the floor it acts like rubber grommits...

The noise is probably being conducted to the rafters and whatever it is mounted on. Presuming the pump is connected by flexible fittings, you could try an experiment of lifting it and wrapping the whole thing with a substantial amount of rags so the pump body is isolated from any part of the structure.

Because of cooling issues, I would only do this for a brief test run to see if the noise is reduced. If it is, you could then try something more permanent and safer.

In HiFi, sorbothane has long been used to isolate turntables from vibration. You can get it on ebay easily in the form of insoles for shoes. Copying Joey's idea and substituting sorbothane for the silicone would be worth a shot.

If you really want to get fancy, you could suspend the pump from rafters with springs incorporated in the lines to reduce vibration travelling back up them and into the structure.

Enclosing the pump in a chipboard box with foam insulation inside might be required if the issue is just noise from the pump carrying rather than being conducted.

oatsareclass wrote: »

Hi Joey

Can you show me what you mean, or explain further?

Cheers

Caroline

I will answer this and the PM together if thats ok. All you need to do is go out and buy a large porcelaine tile. A free sample will be given if you tell them you are looking for a match...

The plumber comes out and disconnects the pump blanking off the pipes.

You stick the tile to the ground make sure to use a good tube of silicone.. around the edges will be fine. Use all the silicone.

Dont press the tile onto the floor, lay it on the floor. If you press it you flatten the silicone.

When the silicone sets the pump can be siliconed back down onto the tile and the plumber can re connect the pump.

This is an easy job and the plumber should just charge you at most 2 call out charges as it will only take about 30 min each time

whowantstwoknow wrote: »

does it have to be a porcelainetile, or any left over tile that will support the pump? I ask as I've spare bathroom tiles that I could try siliconing to the floorboards in the upstairs hotpress where the pump is located?

Thanks
W.

It can be any tile its just the porc is stronger. However that should not matter. What your doing is allowing the tile to be a platform for the pump. This stops the pump shakeing itself to death. Then the large lump of silicone between the tile and the floor acts like big rubber buffers or gromits... Dont be shy with the silicone. Use a large amount. The whole tube between sticking the pump to the tile and sticking the tile to the floor. You need to create speace between the tile and the floor.

Ken1975 wrote: »

Hi,

Could this same method be applied for one of these pump in the attic which is resting on a raised wooden platfrom which has the water tank sitting on it?
The pump sits beside the tank (doesnt touch it).

In other words, could I silicone the porcelain tile to the wooden platfrom, let it set, put the pump on the tile and silicon it to the tile?

The pump itself isnt noisy, its just the vibration is carrying through the rafters in the attic and amplifying the sound.

Cheers
Ken

The tile might well make it worse. What is needed is something that will absorb the vibrations and not transmit them. A thick piece of rubber beneath each foot of the pump, with the pump held down on it with bolts going right through the platform but with rubber washers under the nuts and over sized holes is the best way of isolating vibrations. Rubber corks make good insulators, or failing that rubber sink plugs if you can find fairly soft ones.

Also, check the pipes to and from the pump. Make sure they aren't touching anything and, if possible, fit flexible hoses between the pipe ends and the pump.

has anybody used lead for this type of problem?

hi there,

We installed a pump in our attic to go with our combi boiler and were really disappointed to find how noisy it was. Our new neighbour was also being woken up in the night so I was looking at these forums to try to find a solution. Our builder and plumber tried the method suggested here with the tile and silicone but it didn't work - I think because our joists are not as big and solid in some houses. We tried mounting it on the wall and surrounding it it with a soundproof box. This seemed like it was working but although the noise was much much quieter in the attic, it was still really noisy in the rest of the house (and in our poor neighbour's house)...

We were getting really desperate as there didn't seem to be a satisfactory solution...
In the end we have actually turned the pump off. The boiler is in the attic so gravity and the pressure from the mains is actually providing enough pressure for our taps and shower downstairs (not quite as much as before, but perfectly adequate and we prefer a little less pressure to the noise every time you turn on a tap)... I just wanted to share this as I'm not sure that people realise it is possible to have the boiler in the attic with a control for the heating downstairs (I wasn't aware that it was a possibility). It is also a great space saver to have it out of the way up there.

estrela wrote: »

hi there,

We installed a pump in our attic to go with our combi boiler and were really disappointed to find how noisy it was. Our new neighbour was also being woken up in the night so I was looking at these forums to try to find a solution. Our builder and plumber tried the method suggested here with the tile and silicone but it didn't work - I think because our joists are not as big and solid in some houses. We tried mounting it on the wall and surrounding it it with a soundproof box. This seemed like it was working but although the noise was much much quieter in the attic, it was still really noisy in the rest of the house (and in our poor neighbour's house)...

We were getting really desperate as there didn't seem to be a satisfactory solution...
In the end we have actually turned the pump off. The boiler is in the attic so gravity and the pressure from the mains is actually providing enough pressure for our taps and shower downstairs (not quite as much as before, but perfectly adequate and we prefer a little less pressure to the noise every time you turn on a tap)... I just wanted to share this as I'm not sure that people realise it is possible to have the boiler in the attic with a control for the heating downstairs (I wasn't aware that it was a possibility). It is also a great space saver to have it out of the way up there.

I believe the previous posts were to do with pumping water up to the cold water tank in areas of low pressure (although I could be wrong). Pumping water down to provide increased pressure in the house, as the previous poster stated, could create air bubbles or cavitation if the pump is not located low enough. One option would be to raise the height of the water tank if space permits

From your pic it looks as if the pump is just free standing on the concrete and not fixed down in any way. Like that it will transmit vibrations and noise (the same thing) through all the pipework. So the first question is why don't you get the plumber back and tell him about the noise and tell him to fix it? I assume that you have paid him a lot of cash for the installation, so don't give up until you're satisfied.

Otherwise, if I was going to deal with it, I would look to couple the pipes in and out with flexibles, and would mount the pump on rubber cushions.

I talked to the plumber and he suggested he can put a rubber mat under the pump. My suggestions of the silicon with tile and flexible pipes were pretty much ignored. I would love to know if my suggestions would reduce the noise level. I don't want to make him do it and probably pay for it, and it ends up the same. At the moment its 60dB when running according to my phone app.

Whats a good material to use for covering it? That should dampen the noise a lot too. Xtratherm cut to make a box maybe?

Or possibly wrap the pump in newspaper and tape it up to completely cover it. Then spray expandable foam all over. If access to pump is ever needed, it should be possible to cut the foam off and rebuild after.