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Should an apartment block water pump be running constantly?

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  • 26-12-2021 10:04am
    #1
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭


    Do they ever let up or simply run constantly?

    Apartment I moved into is located directly above the pump for the facility and I kid you not it runs 24/7.

    Is it possible there's some kind of fault that causes it to run over time?

    Anyone have the names/details of the primary water pump installers in Ireland so I can inquire directly?

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #2
    Eric Bruton
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭Eric Bruton


    it should not run constantly, possibly air cylinder needs recharging.



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    #3
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118381327#Comment_118381327

    Would explain the god awful sound of whistling that comes off it?

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #4
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    If building management arranged for it to be inspected by someone qualified and concluded all is well with it and there's nothing to be done, fair enough.

    But there's this horrible high pitch generated from it constantly.

    Is that normal?

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #5
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    Also should reemphasize, this is the pump for the entire facility, not just my apartment.

    It pumps water around this large ass apartment block for probably 100+ apartments.

    However yes, day and night it runs non-stop.

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #6
    Eric Bruton
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭Eric Bruton


    The pump should NOT run constantly, depending on usage or size of plumbing installation at that time, A competent plumber would solve this issue.



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    #7
    goingnowhere
    Registered Users Posts: 4,147 ✭✭✭goingnowhere


    Such equipment should be serviced twice a year, the cost will vary based on size. Simplest setup 500/year (small setup 2 pumps). For a large installation there should be multiple pumps and an expansion tank. The pumps will kick in to match demand. If there are pumps there should be a storage tank, for 100 units, thats going to be quite big. That tank needs to be drained, cleaned and disinfected annually by a suitable company.

    1. If you own the apartment, complain to the managing agent if there is one, otherwise the directors of the management company
    2. If you are a tenant, complain to the landlord or letting agent that you don't have the peaceful enjoyment of the property they in turn should follow option 1

    In both cases express concern about the cleaning of the water tank and seek the most recent certificate which should be within 12 months.

    DO NOT under any circumstances take any action yourself, to do so would be trespass and the management company could sue you, worst case if an owner you attend the AGM, call an EGM or send a nasty solicitors letter to get action.

    Are you sure this is the water pump? Not some kind of air extraction unit? If a pump got air trapped in it would run forever as it wouldn't get up to full pressure, that said the shaft seal bearing would fail pretty quickly.



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    #8
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118395820#Comment_118395820

    Simple answer is I don't.

    But the caretaker of the facility upon listening immediately thought it was the pump.

    The pump(s) are housed in a unit (looks like a small shed) behind a door of some kind, I've been told to facilitate sound dampening.

    There is a big-ass tank beside said pumps, and they are both behind a locked gate.

    There is a large pool of water on the ground surrounding the entire setup that extends out into the parking garage.

    When I go down to the next level beneath it in the parking garage, there's two manholes under which fast paced water can be heard.

    EXACTLY the same pitch that's ringing in my apartment is distinctly audible from said manholes, i.e. coming from whatever source they lead from; given they're facilitating high paced water, you'd imagine they're connected to the water pump... ?

    Post edited by Sugar_Rush on

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #9
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    We were also contacted last week, several apartments in the building, informing us of an inspection as apparently water is leaking from some apartments down into the parking garage.

    Maybe they're confusing leaks from apartments with leakage from the pump itself in terms of explaining why water is pooled on the ground around the pump?

    That's pretty much complete speculation on my behalf though.

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #10
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    I mentioned the high pitch is more audible from a manhole and the 2nd story basement of the car park, where the facility pump is located on the 1st level.

    Is it possible there's like a mains water booster pump skid that's generating the sound, and I'm mistaking it coming from the facility water pump?

    Would mains supplies often use water boosters?

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #11
    goingnowhere
    Registered Users Posts: 4,147 ✭✭✭goingnowhere


    Irish Water requirements require a storage/break tank, this would be filled from the mains directly. The booster pump set pumps the water from the tank to the units. 

    If there a is leak then obviously the pumps would run all the time, you need the attendance of a professional to inspect and determine the source of the leak. If an apartment had a leak you would have serious issues within the building. If a ballcock failed this would dump water through an overflow (white) pipe, where that goes is anyones guess

    This is all theory the management company need to get someone out to inspect



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    #12
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118411168#Comment_118411168

    By units you mean apartments?

    And by booster pump you mean the in house facility pump?

    So either way if there's a tank (which there is), neither pump should be running 24/7?

    Yes, ballcock is some apartments failed/is-failing apparently, that's what the letter said.

    Causing a leak in the parking garage (so they say).

    We're talking about a ballcock in an apartment hot water press is potentially causing all this fuss?

    So re the manhole on the 2nd story down in the parking garage, high flow water sound and sound of a high pitch pump, this is an extraction pump (potentially)?

    Would it run 24/7?

    Or only run 24/7 if a ballcock had become faulty?

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #13
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    I agree the management needs to get someone out to inspect, hopefully they'll get back to me tomorrow.

    But they're tricky enough people to negotiate which is why I'm trying to determine feasible information to present to them.

    Last time I called them thinking it was the in house pump (which I now don't think it is), we determined it wasn't, and they told me they thought I should just move out (yes, really).

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #14
    Sugar_Rush
    Registered Users Posts: 1,587 ✭✭✭Sugar_Rush


    Pic of offending setup.

    User: "IMG_20220103_185158.jpg"


    I'm beginning to think it may actually be a humming from the outgoing pipes that's causing the sound interference in my place.

    A low intensity air purifier acts to cancel some sound and I installed some acoustic foam which is appears to be deadening that high frequency sound interference quite well so far.

    Alleviating hum from pipes, may be to do with water pressure, but management aren't going to act on this as out of 100+ apartments, no one else has complained (no one else's apartment is directly above said pump).

    In physics we trust....... (as insanely difficult to decipher as it may be)



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    #15
    goingnowhere
    Registered Users Posts: 4,147 ✭✭✭goingnowhere


    There is clearly a leak that needs to be looked at



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