Water pump

[Skaling]

Just spent 5 days dry camping, water pump turned on would activate like normal and pressurize lines and worked great for shower/ toilet etc. However, once in a while when I left the pump on sometimes I would hear the pump 'cycling' or something. Sounded like a small fan going, but no water was being used. Is this normal?

[tnchuck100]

It could cycle as you describe if the check valve in the pump is allowing seepage back to the fresh water tank. This could also be seepage at the outside shower, a low point drain, at the water heater relief valve. If you do not have an air bladder accumulator in your system this cycle will be much shorter than a system with the accumulator.

[Rustic Eagle]

My pump would act like that once in while if my HWH was turned on....

Bob

[Seann45]

IF it does it often you have a pinhole in the pipes somewhere.. if it is just a once in a while thing then it is just probably leak back and not to worry.. I find it annoying and shut the pump off when not in use..

[Cosmik Debris]

If there is a leak you'd normally eventually see evidence, but one person wrote that there leak was in the toilet valve and thus the bowl would get what little seep that occurred unnoticeable to them. The suggestion in that case was to turn off pump, drain toilet bowl, wipe dry, turn pump back on. You could put a sheet of TP in the bowl which would make any seep visible.

[Jayrundle]

Expansion and contraction of the water in the supply lines will cause this to happen. Water in hot water lines will cool thus contracting and making more space, once more space is made water from the hot water tank will get pushed into those lines thus causing water to need to go into the hot water tank via the water pump. This happens to me all the time withc temperature changes especially in colder waether but I also hear it in the warmer months too. My 2 cents and experience tell me this is normal operation as long as it is in quick short blast and not a steady on cycle.

[edowsfamily]

check the drain plug in the water heater. ours did the same and the plug was leaking i just tightened it up

[gvn71]

My pump never runs unless water is on. The one time it did (once every 5 minutes or so), I was able to figure out that the outside shower cold water was cracked just ever so little that a little water would trickle out! Drove me crazy until I found it. I would check that all your water faucets are completely off before digging to deeply.

Just my 2 cents!

[clutch]

Our pump will run for a couple of seconds once or twice a night. All of our trailers have done this.

[SmokerBill]

I've noticed this at times, especially after first filling the fresh water pipes in the tt. Air trapped in the system will contract as the ambient temp drops, and cause the pump to cycle on momentarily. after most of the air has worked out of the lines, it seems to stop the pump cycling.

Could also be any of the other above causes- I had a check valve that back leaked a little, causing the pump to run, but it cleared up on its own. When I use my water heater (rarely), sometimes the pressure relief valve leaks a little. I open/close it and it usually stops the leak (and pump cycling).

Good luck troubleshooting your problem