Noisy water pressure pump All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[Silvia]

Hello! I need some help! I am in the process of buying a flat and after seeing it today I have a few reservations.
One of them is a noisy water pump located in the toilet under the basin. I was wondering if anything can be done to insulate or soundproof a water pressure pump as the noise is quite considerable. Also, I was wondering whether the pump will go on when the gas central heating gets switched on.... as I am a bit concerned the noise could go on forever in the winter.

Please help! I am a bit unexperienced and finding this out today was a bit of a downer, as I really like the flat.

Many thanks in advance to who can help me make up my mind.

Cheers, Silvia

[plumbbob]

One of them is a noisy water pump located in the toilet under the basin.

Finding a pump in a typical domestic situation is somewhat unusual unless it is simply a shower pump. Unfortunately, your description is a little too vague to really offer any advice as it could be wrong.

The fact that a pump is there, could indicate the current owner has had difficulty with some aspect of the plumbing. If it is not installed neatly, it could be a DIY job that is a bit of a bodge. Obviously, don't take that as gospel, as I can't see it.

Have you asked the vendor why the pump is there? If it is just to pump the hot water, it will only run when a tap is turned on, not when the heating is on.

[Silvia]

Thanks for your reply plumbbob,

I know I have been a bit vague and I do apologise for it. I don't own the flat and know very little about water pressure pumps.
I have asked the estate agent to ask the vendor why the pump is there and if it is connected to the gas central heating. He hasn't come back to me yet. Typical estate agents!

I only know that the pump is not only for the hot water. I opened the cold water tap in the kitchen and it started going on... same thing with the toilet flush and the cold water tap in the bathroom basin and shower... could not try the heating as I didn't know whether the gas was still on in the flat...

The pump is quite loud though, and before committing to buy the flat I was trying to understand how and whether it could be fixed or the noise could be contained.

At the moment the pump is located inside a cupboard underneath the bathroom basin and it's very close to a stud wall between the bathroom and the kitchen.

Don't know whether this information could be of any help but thanks a lot for all the help that you'll be able to give me.

Cheers, Silvia

[Silvia]

....Also.... the flat is on the first floor of a converted Victorian house and there's hardboards underneath.... would this make the noise louder?

Thanks again, Silvia

[htg engineer]

With the pump running whenever a tap is running - could it be a pump for waste water ?

It is illegal to pump mains cold water, and the kitchen tap should not be tank fed - must be mains fed.


htg

[plumbbob]

Did the pump look anything like these?

http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=12 ... ower-Pumps

Can you remember the size of pipe the pump connections were?

Did the pump continue to run for at least 5 seconds after turning off the tap?

[TheDoctor4]

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