Accumulator Tank

Of all the improvement projects I've done on my '08 2350 PC, installing an accumulator tank was by far the most disappointing.  After spending over a hundred dollars on the best tank made by the hand of man, and experimenting with half a dozen ways to install it, the only thing it eliminated was the water hammer.  I discovered that the pump itself was more than half the noise.  Wish I'd never bothered.  If you search you can find the pics of my debacle, if you still insist on doing it. I think one of those little cheap plastic tanks would have done just as much good as my expensive chrome beauty, and saved much money and space.

I guess if you actually boondock enough to justify it, eliminating the water hammer might ward off a leak somewhere someday, but it won't eliminate the noise. 

For anyone who decides the want one don’t spend money on anything fancy. Home Depot has a 2 gallon tank for under $50 and watch for sales like Labor Day to save even more.  The pressure tank does not change the sound of the noisy  water pump and is not designed to. It will, when set correctly allow you to go longer between the pumps run start time.  It works the same in an RV as a home well system so think of it as your water tank being the well and rather than having a pressure switch separate from the pump the pressure switch settings are set within the pump already. 
For us the upside is both of us could get up during the night and use the bathroom and the pressure tank holds enough that the pump will not turn on waking the other. 

Bangobob,  saw a few of those rigs in the Eureka Springs area on this trip. Very nice looking rides.

For anyone who decides they want one don’t spend money on anything fancy. Home Depot has a 2 gallon tank for under $50 and watch for sales like Labor Day to save even more.  The pressure tank does not change the sound of the noisy  water pump and is not designed to. It will, when set correctly allow you to go longer between the pumps run start time.  It works the same in an RV as a home well system so think of it as your water tank being the well and rather than having a pressure switch separate from the pump the pressure switch settings are set within the pump already. 
For us the upside is both of us could get up during the night and use the bathroom and the pressure tank holds enough that the pump will not turn on waking the other.

I installed the Home Depot tank back in 2008.  Unlike BlueBlaze, it continues to be one of my "best" additions.  Unlike his, our tank makes the pump operate at a gentle hum that is hardly noticed.  And the intervals between fills is awesome.

It must be the variation in the installation.  I have a stainless steel braided hose between the pump and tank via 180 degrees worth of heavy brass elbows to a brass "T" under the tank, and the direct hard line connection from the house to the other port of that same brass "T".

So there there you have it.  a big thumbs up  and a big thumbs down    What a confidence builder.

Here's what I wound up doing.  It works.  Very little pump noise.  I will be putting insulation along the wiring and pipes tomorrow, then covering it up.  BTW, I took a picture of the water tank.  It is written that it was checked 9-10-73.  This is in my 2008.  ???????

  It is written that it was checked 9-10-73.  This is in my 2008.  ???????

THATS why it was so loud. Done on a monday. All tank inspections done on a monday are suspect.

I wouldnt put a lot of money on that bet.     

So the loop in the flexible hose solved the water hammer noise.  Not surprised.

Ron -- my installation is functionally identical to yours, except I used PEX instead of brass plumbing, and my fancy stainless tank is too large to mount upright (the pamphlet it came with said it didn't matter).  I tried it upright, and it .  didn't help.

Maybe my pump is just noisier than everyone else's. I will admit that the large tank means I can get a couple of flushes in the middle of the night before the pump comes on and shakes the wife out of bed.  So that's a good thing.

I changed both inlet and outlet to flex and insulated pipes.  But I believe the biggest help was the flex hose with a loop.

I’ve never had a hammer noise , just a noisy pump and with it located right next to the vent there’s no sound barrier.  With the pressure tank it’s a nine issue with the time between pump runs. 

When you remove the high pressure line from the pump outlet , either replace the Shurflo female fitting on that line with a 1/2” barb, or buy a  Shurflo  pump silencer kit p/n 94-591-01.

The   silencer kit includes 2  proprietary   Shurflo   1/2” pipe nipples with beveled ends to seal the connections, similar to  flare fittings. Using garden variety 1/2” NPT-M or  NPS-M pipe nipples could create  disastrous hidden  long term consequences.

When you remove the high pressure line from the pump outlet , either replace the Shurflo female fitting on that line with a 1/2” barb, or buy a  Shurflo  pump silencer kit p/n 94-591-01.

The   silencer kit includes 2  proprietary   Shurflo   1/2” pipe nipples with beveled ends to seal the connections, similar to  flare fittings. Using garden variety 1/2” NPT-M or  NPS-M pipe nipples could create  disastrous hidden  long term consequences.

Hmmm.  I used a typical household braided stainless steel flex line off the high pressure side of the Shurflo pump.  My installation was around 12 years ago and it has been trouble-free to this day.  As I recall, household flex lines have black rubber grommets inserted into the ends to create a reliable seal.  As I recall, Phoenix's original installation used something identical but in PEX, not flex.

I bought 2 90 degree swivel 1/2 connectors and 1/2 flex potable water line.  This allowed me to configure the lines with the pex lines already installed.  Less than $20 and my time.  Swivel connectors have washers already installed.  They are 1/2 the price than I could get on line. 

I bought 2 90 degree swivel 1/2 connectors and 1/2 flex potable water line.  This allowed me to configure the lines with the pex lines already installed.  Less than $20 and my time.  Swivel connectors have washers already installed.  They are 1/2 the price than I could get on line. 

The water pump input and output lines should always be flexible lines like Ron D. used.   The pump itself should be mounted on rubber grommets.  All of which will help isolate any noise caused by the pump running.   My 2015 2551 has almost zero noise from the pump itself.   I do get noise if there's air in the bathroom lines, but that noise is from behind the toilet area, not from the pump itself.

Don

I'd only rate this mod a single thumb up for the 21 ounce Shurflo 182-200 accumulator.
Running flex hose from the accumulator to the pex connection reduced  the lawn mower sound to a less obnoxious  hum.

With a faucet fully open the  21 ounce tank changes the constant rapid on-off  pump cycling to 6 second intervals. Get the  2 gallon model if you have room to spare.

The accumulator must be charged to 30 psi after first  switching the pump power off and leaving a faucet open. The instructions  say to check  the pressure after long periods of non-use, such as winterization (or Chinese bat virus lockdowns).

I made this partition to keep my Coleman Roadtrip Grill away from the plumbing. It allows for air  pressure adjustments without removing the bed again.