# Quiet Jet Pump, soundproofing



## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

I'm building a couple tiny single floor homes in Fairbanks, AK, that will be used as vacation rentals. They need shallow well jet pumps inside the homes, and from experience these are pretty noisy. I'm planning on putting them in an insulated, double layer drywall with Tremco, closet with a fire door, but there will still be some noise. For small homes like this in the past I've used Goulds J05 pump/tank combos. Some of the noise is from vibration, which will transmit through the wood floor.

Any ideas about a quieter pump or other soundproofing techniques that won't add too many hundreds of dollars? 1/2 HP is way more than enough.


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

You need mass to counter vibration... Maybe pour a little slab floor in the closet?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

I've lived with that sort of setup, and it basically bites no matter what you try. Have you actually looked into the price of a submersible instead?


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

Tinstaafl said:


> I've lived with that sort of setup, and it basically bites no matter what you try. Have you actually looked into the price of a submersible instead?


These will be fed with water tanks. The ground here is frozen, no wells. Water is delivered. More common in this area than you'd think.

Anyway, I'm a little clueless about this, I don't see any reason why I can't just put a submersible pump in a plastic tank. I'll have to talk to my plumber, and the tank manufacturer (locally made). They might have known someone who's done this.

Does anyone have any input on doing a submersible well pump in a plastic water tank?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Wups, totally missed the implications of your location. :laughing:

How do they keep the plastic tank from freezing if it's not buried? Apparently it's not elevated, or you wouldn't need a pump.

What about a small independent structure to house the pump? Wouldn't need to be much bigger than a doghouse.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

The tanks get about a foot of spray foam and are usually buried. In the non-permafrost areas (Fairbanks has a mix), the bottoms are kept without foam. In this area the whole thing is foamed and some heat tape is used to keep it thawed, though it doesn't take much.

It gets so cold it's kind of risky to have a "pump house." Plus even miniscule structures seem to require a lot of electricity for heat at $.25 a kwh. I'll contemplate this option, but still looking for other suggestions on quieter pumps and maybe better sound and vibration isolation techniques.


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

Put soft rubber mat under the pump


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

tyb525 said:


> Put soft rubber mat under the pump


Got a product recommendation? I used what I would call a "hard" rubber on a home with a similar design. There was more weight in the structure because it had a 1.5" gypsum pour over the wood floor, but vibrations weren't bad at all.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

How about big (1/2" to 1") rubber mounting washers under the mounts, as provided by manufacturers for at least some types of pumps, for this purpose. At least for hot tubs (centrifugal) and boat bilge pumps (diaphragm, submerged or not) they reduce vibration and sound very well.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

There are a lot of products out there to do what you want. Google Sorbothane grommet, and you'll find plenty. Sorbothane is a polyurethane specifically made for vibration isolation. From a practical view, you can mount the pump to a mounting plate using grommets to isolate the vibration, and the mounting plate gets mounted to a cement pad to provide some mass to resist any movement. That isolates the structure from the pump pretty well. You can also get rid of vibrations traveling down the piping by using a flexible connection. Use more sorbothane isolators anywhere the piping is attached to the structure (piping generates noise all by its self).

If you can't find sorbothane that will work for you, anything is better than nothing.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

Amazon.com has a big selection and then I don't have to go looking.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Golden view said:


> Amazon.com has a big selection and then I don't have to go looking.


I probably should have said Amazon instead of Google:jester:


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

hdavis said:


> I probably should have said Amazon instead of Google:jester:


Google took me to Amazon.:thumbup:


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## Patrick (Apr 12, 2006)

Mine doesn't bother me except for the click/clank when it turns off


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## piercekiltoff (May 28, 2009)

Wellmanager makes a pretty neat system that's pretty quite, but expensive


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