How do i soundproof/insulate a noisy water pump?

oatsareclass

Hi all,

I have a noisy Grundfos MQ3/35 water pump, have called the dealer and they are water cooled, so its safe for me to insulate...but how? I dont know the first thing about soundproofing/insulation - dont even know the correct term...basically i want to reduce the noise of the pump!!!
Cheers if anyone can help
Caroline

ART6

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.

tullyhumphrey

I just had one of those pumps installed in my new house and the noise/ vibration was wrecking my head. I got in contact with a friend of mine who is a plumber in cork and he advised me that trying to insulate/ soundproof it wont work. (He has tried on many occasions - it might help reduce it a bit). He told me that i should have installed an aqua tank which is basically a submersible pump inside the water tank and comes as a sealed unit. There is little or no noise from it. They are the same price as the seperate pump/ tank units but are ideal if the tank/ pump are to be installed inside in the house. He has installed a number of them with great success.
My problem was that the tank is now in the attic and the smallest sealed aqua tank would not fit up through the hatch. The company in cork has agreed to send up the pump and instructions on how to make it work with my existing tank. (they usually dont do this unless its a retro fit).
It is going to cost €400 for the new pump unit etc. but i will get a credit on the old pump so should work out ok. Better than having guests waking in the middle of the night whenever someone turns on a tap or flushes the toilet. PM me if you want the name of the company that is supplying the unit to me although there seems to be a good few companies supplying them now.

Joey the lips

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...

paddy147

Joey the lips wrote: »

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...

You gave me that tip before recently,and it worked an absolute treat.:D

No more noisy Grundfos pump annoying anyone,when I take a shower.

Kashkai

My pump is in the attic so how would I go about noise insulating this?

One guy suggested putting it on a rubber mat?

gsxr1

a patio slab helped reduce the noise on my shower pump

cnocbui

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

Hi all
Joey the lips i attach pics for you to see how this would actually be possible with the silicon idea....

http://picasaweb.google.com/carolineblack79/Pump?feat=directlink

have a look, any help for this noisy help greatly appreciated....

paddy147

oatsareclass wrote: »

Hi all
Joey the lips i attach pics for you to see how this would actually be possible with the silicon idea....

http://picasaweb.google.com/carolineblack79/Pump?feat=directlink

have a look, any help for this noisy help greatly appreciated....

Should those pipes be not braided flexi pipes with regards to vibrations and/or movement from the pump??

Also I would think that the pipes should be insulated and the wiring tidied up and kept off the pipes,so that it cannot be melted over time by the hot pipes being so close to them.

Like mine.

Joey the lips

No paddy on an mq the pipes are solid. I was just hopeing the plumber might have given you some lee way but he has not. You will have to get the plumber back to shorten the pipes slightly and silicone the pump down whilst he is there..

Sorry about that.

oatsareclass

So what exactly needs to be done to sort out the noise issue - pumps need to be flexi? shortened? silicon attached? could someone mayber provide a pic of what they have done so i could show it to a plumber...as 2 plumbers have already been here and didnt have a clue what to do about the noise prob!!!!
Cheers

Caroline

oatsareclass

Joey the lips wrote: »

No paddy on an mq the pipes are solid. I was just hopeing the plumber might have given you some lee way but he has not. You will have to get the plumber back to shorten the pipes slightly and silicone the pump down whilst he is there..

Sorry about that.

Hi Joey

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

Cheers

Caroline

Joey the lips

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

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.

Joey the lips

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.

whowantstwoknow

Joey the lips wrote: »

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.

Thanks,

I'd imagine if one just silicones the long edge of the tile/pump it would reduce the contact area and thus the potential for noise? cant see the need to silicone the short edge for strength?

W.

paddy147

whowantstwoknow wrote: »

Thanks,

I'd imagine if one just silicones the long edge of the tile/pump it would reduce the contact area and thus the potential for noise? cant see the need to silicone the short edge for strength?

W.

The more silicone,the more it absorbs the noise waves/vibrations off the pump and the less noise is transfered through the floor.

As joey the lips said,use the full tube and make a good thick silicone base between the floor and the tile.


MORE is better.;)

Ken1975

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

ART6

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.

Ken1975

Thanks to the lads that gave suggestions.
In the end I got some insulation piping (foam) and placed strips of it under the pump between the wooden shelf, had to squeeze them in as there was only a 2-3com gap.
I also noticed that the pipe up from mains up to the pump int he attic touched off the ceiling boards on the way up so i removed some plaster so as to create space between the pipe and the board. This was causing vibration to be transmitted .
Finally the pipe itself was held in place by U nails which were attached to wooden batons in the hot press. removed those helped reduce the vibration greatly.

thanks
Ken.

antoinolachtnai

has anybody used lead for this type of problem?

m_stan

applied this method to my noisy pump situation yesterday with the help of my plumber and the impact is incredible. from a very noisy pump to an almost silent pump in around an hour.

loads of silicone between the plywood base and solid paving slab, and more between the paving slab and pump. also connected the pump at either end with flexihose to minimise vibration through the pipework.

job done. highly recommended.

estrela

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.

LIFFY FISHING

Installing pumps in an attic space goes against nearly all recomendations of pump manufacturers.
Pumps need a positive flood of a minimum of 1 meter, meaning located at least 1 meter below the cold water storage tank or else you pull air into system , that then causes air locks and pump cavitation, putting pumps in an attic space shows a lack of mechanical knowledge regarding installations.

homer911

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

bazwaldo

Hi,

My new pressurised system is just installed and I'm shocked at the noise of the Grundfos MQ pump. I've been reading up on methods to reduce it and am very tempted to get the plumber back to try the tile and silicone method. Its a tight enough space and the floor tiles are cut around the pump and the pump is sitting on the concrete screed.

I think I'd need to build to a layer under the pump to at least the height of the floor tiles and then plant the 30x60 porcelain tile on top of that with more silicon. Then have silicon on top of the tile, then the pump.

Might it be an idea to pre-silicon a tile underneath and above and let it dry. Then when plumber comes it would take a thin layer above and below to bind the floor and pump to it. It might save a callout and some time.

Should as much of the porcelain tile surface area be siliconed to the floor, or just have a blob at the centre?

ART6

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.

bazwaldo

Yes, the pump isn't screwed down. I put my hand on the pipes while the pump was running and they all were vibrating so I would say the flexible pipes will help.

I have complained about the noise to the architect but he says that's the noise they all are so I have to talk to the plumber about it direct but can't treat as a snag. He's fairly decent but hard to get on the phone.

He has to come back for other things so it shouldn't be expensive to do a little extra while onsite.

bazwaldo

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.

K.Flyer

Dont cover the pump as it needs circulating air to keep it cool at running temp.
The better option is fixing the pump tight to the floor, fitting flexi connections and making sure the copper piping is properly fixed to the wall.

bazwaldo

I read that the Grundfos MQ pump is self cooling with the water flow so it can be encased.

From its spec sheet "Being self-cooling, the pump requires no space or ventilation at the sides".

m_stan

I have an update on what I did above. Even after the dramatic decrease in noise after adding the siliconed slab under the pump, there was still quite a lot of noise. To rectify I built an MDF box, lined it with sound insulation foam, had the pump disconnected and re-plumbed into the box and placed another sheet of the sound insulation foam between the concrete slab and the MDF box. The pump continues to be connected via flexi piping to the main copper piping. I did the box making - just took my plumber 30mins to do the re-plumbing. Result? Almost complete silence - incredible difference. Will post some photos later if I get the time. Happy to speak to anyone directly about this over the phone - send me a PM.

bazwaldo

m_stan wrote: »

I have an update on what I did above. Even after the dramatic decrease in noise after adding the siliconed slab under the pump, there was still quite a lot of noise. To rectify I built an MDF box, lined it with sound insulation foam, had the pump disconnected and re-plumbed into the box and placed another sheet of the sound insulation foam between the concrete slab and the MDF box. The pump continues to be connected via flexi piping to the main copper piping. I did the box making - just took my plumber 30mins to do the re-plumbing. Result? Almost complete silence - incredible difference. Will post some photos later if I get the time. Happy to speak to anyone directly about this over the phone - send me a PM.

Delighted to hear it can be made almost silent. Whats sound insulation foam and where do you get it? So if I can get him to put on the flexible pipes, the rubber mat and screw it down, I should be able to encase it after.

I reckon its the noise of the motor and not so much the pipes that are the noise. The sound seems to come directly from the pump itself. I would guess that covering the pump snuggly will make the biggest difference (and thick rubber underneath).

m_stan

Here's the exact foam I bought: http://www.adverts.ie/other-music-instruments-equipment/acoustic-soundproofing-foam/4141725

I would not screw it down and then encase it. I would make the box, get the sound insulation foam and get your plumber back to re-plumb it ensuring you have floor, foam, box in those layers and the pump inside the box which itself is insulated on all sides internally.

In my case the majority of the noise was through vibrations through the floor and pipes rather than noise from the pump itself, so the foam between the floor and the box was critical to the soundproofing - moreso than the insulation of the box itself. Hope that helps. Again happy to discuss on the phone if you want to have a realtime conversation about it.

ART6

bazwaldo wrote: »

Delighted to hear it can be made almost silent. Whats sound insulation foam and where do you get it? So if I can get him to put on the flexible pipes, the rubber mat and screw it down, I should be able to encase it after.

I reckon its the noise of the motor and not so much the pipes that are the noise. The sound seems to come directly from the pump itself. I would guess that covering the pump snuggly will make the biggest difference (and thick rubber underneath).

Pipes are very good indeed in transmitting noise throughout a building. They need to be fixed firmly and connected to the noise source (the pump) with flexibles that won't transmit the vibrations. The sound can only come from the pump/motor assembly, but the pipes will transmit it.

bazwaldo

Talked to the plumber and he's to get back to me about the flexibles. The pump has two connections. 1 is 1 inch and the other is 3/4 inch. He has never seen a 1 inch flexible pipe before and doesn't know if they are available.

Can anyone give more information on these flexibles? Are they the braided type? Should they be available from the larger plumbing suppliers?

There is definitely a lot of vibration from the copper pipes going on. Fitting flexibles will definitely help.

Joey the lips

The tile and silicone was prob ignored by the plumber because it involves more work. The rubber mat in my experience does not work unless its a thick thick rubber mat in which case the silicone and tile work better.


i cannot agrue with the plumber all i can tell you is any plumber thats worth there salt knows that fitting these without buffering will give you terriable noise.

bazwaldo

He put the flexibles on so I have plenty of room to manoeuvre and build a box around it, and silicon under etc. So my plan is the following.

1. Build a box out of ply/mdf leaving two inches on each side bigger than the pump to have the sound insulation. Encase the pump. Check the noise level.
2. Silicone a heavy porcelain tile to the floor and silicon the box to the tile. Check the noise level.
3. Check each pipe and ensure they are tightly clipped to battens on the wall to cut out any minor vibrations. Check the noise level.

bluesteel

bazwaldo wrote: »

He put the flexibles on so I have plenty of room to manoeuvre and build a box around it, and silicon under etc. So my plan is the following.

1. Build a box out of ply/mdf leaving two inches on each side bigger than the pump to have the sound insulation. Encase the pump. Check the noise level.
2. Silicone a heavy porcelain tile to the floor and silicon the box to the tile. Check the noise level.
3. Check each pipe and ensure they are tightly clipped to battens on the wall to cut out any minor vibrations. Check the noise level.

How did you get on with this? My pump is not Gryundfos but similar - I have flexi connections and most of the noise is resonance from the tank and pipes rather than the pump itself. I'm thinking of getting a brick and screwing/glueing it for maximum dampening - as it recommends 1.5 times the weight for dampening


I noticed in the Grundfos handbook

Foundation suspended on vibration dampeners
Optimum solution with controlled vibration
transmission, see figure 2.1.9.
As a rule of thumb, the weight of a concrete foundation
should be 1.5 x the pump weight. This weight is needed to
get the dampeners to work efficiently at low pump speed.

http://www.grundfos.com/content/dam/Global%20Site/Industries%20&%20solutions/Industry/pdf/Pump_handbook.pdf

bazwaldo

That's an interesting piece of information on the Grundfos. I haven't made the progress I thought I would unfortunately. I cut the pieces for a box out of ply and have the sound proofing ready but found fitting the box around the pump tough as the flexible pipes are not that flexible.

I removed the rubber mat from under the pump and did the floor, silicone, tile, silicone, pump thing. I found that this has not reduced the noise while standing beside the pump as the noise is from the pump motor directly, but the sound from other rooms has reduced good bit. The silicone tile seems to absorb some of vibration so there is less transfer of vibration onto connected pipes.

The tile I used would not be any where near 1.5x the weight of the pump. You'd need a concrete slab for that weight.

I must try the sound proof box soon.

ART6

bazwaldo wrote: »

That's an interesting piece of information on the Grundfos. I haven't made the progress I thought I would unfortunately. I cut the pieces for a box out of ply and have the sound proofing ready but found fitting the box around the pump tough as the flexible pipes are not that flexible.

I removed the rubber mat from under the pump and did the floor, silicone, tile, silicone, pump thing. I found that this has not reduced the noise while standing beside the pump as the noise is from the pump motor directly, but the sound from other rooms has reduced good bit. The silicone tile seems to absorb some of vibration so there is less transfer of vibration onto connected pipes.

The tile I used would not be any where near 1.5x the weight of the pump. You'd need a concrete slab for that weight.

I must try the sound proof box soon.

You can buy a440 x 220 x 160 mm concrete block from a builders providers for around €1 !

bluesteel

actually my pump is a Stuart Turner Twin SW15 pump. I reconsidered it and I'm thinking that maybe a lot of the noise is actually from the pump not just the resonance/ pipe vibration.



I noticed the installation instructions which the plumber had left discarded beside... saying more or less the same as this

Locate the pump in a dry, frost free position where it cannot be sprayed with water. It should be positioned horizontally on its anti-vibration mounting feet and should not be screwed down

Does this mean it cannot be dampened?
(by attaching a weight)
http://www.taps4less.com/pdf/Showermate-Eco-Standard-Single-Twin-Installation-Guide.pdf

Now I'm not sure what to do apart from rubber feet and acoustic foam

ART6

bluesteel wrote: »

actually my pump is a Stuart Turner Twin SW15 pump. I reconsidered it and I'm thinking that maybe a lot of the noise is actually from the pump not just the resonance/ pipe vibration.



I noticed the installation instructions which the plumber had left discarded beside... saying more or less the same as this


Does this mean it cannot be dampened?
(by attaching a weight)
http://www.taps4less.com/pdf/Showermate-Eco-Standard-Single-Twin-Installation-Guide.pdf

Now I'm not sure what to do apart from rubber feet and acoustic foam

All that means is that if you screw it down and so compress the anti-vibration mounts then they will no longer work, since the screws will be transmitting the vibration right through them. Standing it on a concrete block as I suggested above will still help without screwing down, as the mass will still absorb a lot of the airborne vibration, particularly if you put a box over it.

bluesteel

ART6 wrote: »

All that means is that if you screw it down and so compress the anti-vibration mounts then they will no longer work, since the screws will be transmitting the vibration right through them. Standing it on a concrete block as I suggested above will still help without screwing down, as the mass will still absorb a lot of the airborne vibration, particularly if you put a box over it.

thanks. I've had wooden floors put down recently, they come in to the cabinet almost to the pump's footprint so I may cut them away as much as I can.

the Stuart Turner pump specifies that air flow is required not water cooled) so I'll try applying foam around the cabinet first to keep a bit more circulation.

I measured the noise using an app on my phone - turns out it's more or less within 70dB @1m as per the manual. Still bloody annoying!

And I'll put foam insulation on the pipes; no harm anyway

ART6

Another point worth mentioning here is that if the flow of water to the inlet side of the pump is insufficient or restricted then the pump impeller will "cavitate", which means that it will be pulling air out of the water and making a surprising amount of noise. This can happen if the pipework from the header tank is long, or has too many bends. The longer the pipe the higher its flow resistance, and every 90 degree bend and valve reduces the flow further. So it is quite possible to have sufficient inlet head as specified by the pump makers, but still not sufficient flow.

There are ways of dealing with that: If, say, the pump has a 15 mm inlet connection but the supply pipe would have to run for 15 metres, then running it in 22 mm with a reducer at the pump end would vastly improve the flow. Equally, using swept elbows rather than 90 degree elbows in the pipe run would help considerably. So too would locating any shut off valve at the pump rather than at the tank, particularly if it was installed in the larger diameter immediately before the reducer.

The whole point is that if the pump is expected to pump, say, 2 litres per minute, then it must be receiving 2 litres a minute from the tank! If it isn't quite getting that then it will be noisy, and the flexible connections and vibration dampers won't make much difference.

ART6

bluesteel wrote: »

thanks. I've had wooden floors put down recently, they come in to the cabinet almost to the pump's footprint so I may cut them away as much as I can.

the Stuart Turner pump specifies that air flow is required not water cooled) so I'll try applying foam around the cabinet first to keep a bit more circulation.

I measured the noise using an app on my phone - turns out it's more or less within 70dB @1m as per the manual. Still bloody annoying!

And I'll put foam insulation on the pipes; no harm anyway

What matters is the frequency of the sound (in Hertz), not simply the volume in dB. The lower the frequency the more dense the sound insulation has to be to absorb it so, for example, insulating foam will have no effect on low frequency sound. In such cases it would be simple enough to enclose the pump in a plywood box covered in lead sheeting on the inside (a roll of lead flashing from a builders providers would provide more than enough).

For an air cooled pump an air vent could be left at each end of the box. Some sound would get out there, but it would be greatly reduced.

lawred2

Kashkai wrote: »

My pump is in the attic so how would I go about noise insulating this?

One guy suggested putting it on a rubber mat?

Waste of time

Ours is fixed using rubber mounts on a shelf which is itself fixed to the gable wall in the attic using rubber mounts and the f***ing thing still vibrates...

Not as much as when the original plumber fixed it to the subframe of the house mind but it's still audible.

justagirl

Sorry to cut in on this thread, very informative and got me looking at my own extremely noisy water pump!!! It is sitting in the hot press direct on the wooden floor screwed in with one screw and a layer of bubble wrap underneath- which I am assuming does nothing ?!! Where can you buy the vibration dampeners?

cnocbui

justagirl wrote: »

Sorry to cut in on this thread, very informative and got me looking at my own extremely noisy water pump!!! It is sitting in the hot press direct on the wooden floor screwed in with one screw and a layer of bubble wrap underneath- which I am assuming does nothing ?!! Where can you buy the vibration dampeners?

The best stuff for preventing the transmission of vibrations i am aware of is a stuff called Sorbothane I'd just peruse eBay

To really deaden the sound I think one needs the pump to be in a box with sound absorbing foam or fiberglass on the inside, but you will always get some noise transmitted as vibrations through the pipework - even with flexible connectors.

But if a lot your sound is coming from what it's sitting on, then sorbothane should help a lot.

Calibos

justagirl wrote: »

Sorry to cut in on this thread, very informative and got me looking at my own extremely noisy water pump!!! It is sitting in the hot press direct on the wooden floor screwed in with one screw and a layer of bubble wrap underneath- which I am assuming does nothing ?!! Where can you buy the vibration dampeners?

Is your pump connected to the pipes with Flexible metallic braided hoses? If it is it shouldn't be screwed to the floor I don't think. Thats just coupling it/transferring vibration from it to the floor.

Heres my Hot/Cold pump in my boiler press. Flexible braided hoses connect it to the solid pipework. It has black rubber 'shoes' which are supposed to isolate the vibration from it. However they were useless. I then read about using tiles and flexible silicone to isolate a pump. At the time I only had a few small tiles but I gave it a try. One runs a bead of silicone around the tile and uses matchstick spacers and puts the other tile on top. When the silicone has cured one removes the matches. One does the same under the bottom tile. This isolates the pump vibration from the floor and causes the tiles to vibrate instead. The vibration is converted to heat in the tile instead of being transferred to the floor and vibrating the floor and joists (Thats how the noise spreads to the rest of the house)

It cut down the noise of the pump quite a bit and now I could only hear it in the bedroom beside and below the pump and at a much lower volume instead of the whole house. However, the bigger and heavier the tile the better. ie. More Mass is better for absorbing the vibration but I only had some small tiles.

Recently I changed bedrooms to the one right beside the pump/boiler press. I realised there was still quite a bit of noise resonance transferring into this bedroom via the wall/floor. I found a much larger spare tile and some black neoprene packing foam. I cut it into strips and put the strips under the big beige tile under my original small isolation tiles and pump. This made a huge difference again. There is now little to no vibration transferring to the floor. One can put ones finger on the pump feet and feel loads of vibration, then put ones finger on the small tiles and feel less but still quite a bit of vibration, then put ones fingers on the beige tile and feel less vibration again. Finally when one puts ones fingers on the wooden floor beside the beige tile you feel little to no vibration at all. Before I added the beige tile one could still feel a good bit of vibration in the floor (which is transferring through the floor and joists)

Now, I pretty much can only hear the airborne noise from the pump motor itself and theres not really much you can do about that unless you can build a ventilated enclosure around the whole pump.