Jump to content

Sewage Treatment plant noisy


Recommended Posts

Hi - we have just had a sewage treatment plant installed replacing an older one.  Little did I know that the air pump would be housed on the outside and it makes a low level humming noise that is going to be a problem for my partners sleep ?.  Its a PC4 Marsh Treatment Plant with a Secoh pump.  I asked the guys if the pump could be moved away and they said no, but having read other threads on this forum Im not so sure.  Can anyone confirm that I can move it - say about 10 metres away?  Will it be detrimental to the pump in the long run or anything else I need to be aware of?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had exactly the same issue with a vortex, the pump housing was bolted to the top of the tank which acted like a drum, I moved it next to the unit and buried it into the ground (with drainage to stop it flooding and vent pipes to get air into the pump) .I cannot see why you cannot move it away but not qualified to work out the detrimental effect of distance on air pressure . Others have moved their pump and generally housed it in something with mass which absorbs sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with @joe90 above, but am intrigued that this manufacturer offers a "silencer" to go between compressor and plant and wonder if the noise is something to do with the particular diffuser used in the brand.

 

Our Solido has the pump inside a sealed capsule under the chamber cover but even with the lid off there's no noise similar to their video...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran ours into the garage about 15 mtrs away 

I was also surprised at how noisy the pump is If the garage wasn’t detached from the house it would be an issue 

Originally I was going to built a small 4x4 store next to the plant to house the pump box which would have reduced the noise 


When I installed ours I had no knowledge of treatment plants 

But it would be pretty obvious to the installer that the noise levels could be a problem 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Secoh pump on our treatment plant is sited about 10M away in an above-ground enclosure with no issues. It's been running for over 3 years with no problems.

 

[Edit - just looked up the model of pump and it's a Secoh JDK-S-60] 

Edited by Ian
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our air pump housing is about 2m away from the treatment plant and is semi buried in concrete. I stood the air pump on rubber blocks and you have to be closer than 2m to hear anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, joe90 said:

I had exactly the same issue with a vortex, the pump housing was bolted to the top of the tank which acted like a drum, I moved it next to the unit and buried it into the ground (with drainage to stop it flooding and vent pipes to get air into the pump) .I cannot see why you cannot move it away but not qualified to work out the detrimental effect of distance on air pressure . Others have moved their pump and generally housed it in something with mass which absorbs sound.

I don't suppose you have a pic you could post? I want do bury my vortex pump unit too so keen to others solutions before I freestyle it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi @Miek here is a pic of mine, excuse the weeds, yet to do the landscaping. I dug a hole which is directly over the rumble drain and lowered the pump box onto and surrounded by 50mm drainage stone, any water that gets near it drains away through the rumble drain to a ditch. You can see two black 40mm pipes sticking up, these allow fresh air to keep the pump cool as it needs ventilation. Any questions please ask ?P.S. the existing air pipes were long enough to be re routed through new holes in the side of the tank.

E2F27596-BE91-466C-A299-017FE00418AC.jpeg

Edited by joe90
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This seems to be a problem with all of them. Clearly the designers dont have one themselves. Mines a Vortex too. Whilst the actual plant might be quite good, precisely zero thought went into the compressor and housing.  It now resides in an enclosure in the wall. Its much better and probably wont bother most.

 

But eventually im going to move it into the summer house, which is about 10m away. The vortex sellers said i would need a bigger compressor to overcome the increased resistance created by the longer pipe, but aside from that no reason it wouldnt work.

 

The other problem was the sloshing of water noise. Ive created a sound proof hood over the entry point where most of this happens which is much better.

 

If id known all this before, i might have gone with another septic tank and a drainage field.

Edited by Roger440
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

The other problem was the sloshing of water noise


which is why my son calls it the “poo jacuzzi “ I have lined the lid of mine with acoustic foam now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, joe90 said:


which is why my son calls it the “poo jacuzzi “ I have lined the lid of mine with acoustic foam now.

 

Me too. But really want to do the fixed half. But not really doable.

 

But it was the "hood" that made the big reduction in noise.

 

The spill pipe on the return will get modified eventually. Only reason its not done is its 55mm pipe. Ever tried buying 55mm waste pipe................?

 

Could be a really good product with a bit of thought and virtually zero extra cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Roger440 said:

The spill pipe on the return will get modified eventually. Only reason its not done is its 55mm pipe. Ever tried buying 55mm waste pipe................?

Yeah, that's tricky.

2" domestic push fit waste pipe is 54mm.

2" domestic solvent weld waste pipe is 56mm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whilst I like the idea of sinking the pump Peter, I think its likely that I'll move the pump further to make sure.  Having had a quick google, I'm not clear what sort of tubing I should order for the pump, and also connections etc - could someone advise please - will Screwfix have anything or do I need a more specialist supplier?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DannyEvs said:

could someone advise please

You want medium or heavy duty, depending on how well protected it will be, reinforced PVC hose. Whatever internal diameter your current hose is, something like this :

https://www.acecompressors.com/product/heavy-duty-pvc-hose-20mm-3-4-id-26mm-od/

I would shop around, Screwfix unlikely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, PeterStarck said:

You want medium or heavy duty, depending on how well protected it will be, reinforced PVC hose. Whatever internal diameter your current hose is, something like this :

https://www.acecompressors.com/product/heavy-duty-pvc-hose-20mm-3-4-id-26mm-od/

I would shop around, Screwfix unlikely.

Thanks Peter really useful- and cheaper than what I found?.  I guess I am going to bury it under the lawn when I reroute it so I’ll probably go heavy duty just in case

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I've read this thread with interest and am dealing with a related problem so I thought I'd keep it in the same place. I wonder if anyone else can advise from experience.

 

I'm commissioning a vortex treatment plant, with the air blower housing external to the tank. The manufacturers (WTE) require you to take a backpressure reading in the airline to validate the air pump warranty. In my case the pressure reading should be no more than 200mbar, which is the stated operating pressure of the pump. No matter what I do, I cannot get an air pressure reading close to this (best I can get is about 280mbar). WTE tell you to move the blower housing closer to the tank if the pressure reading is high, but as it stands I can't move it any closer! I've also been adjusting the air movement within the tank but that doesn't seem to get me close either.

 

Has anyone else had trouble getting a reasonable pressure reading, were there any tricks to lowering the backpressure? Or am I over-worrying about this?

cheers in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/06/2020 at 06:53, DannyEvs said:

I'm not clear what sort of tubing I should order for the pump, and also connections etc - could someone advise please - will Screwfix have anything or do I need a more specialist supplier?

 

Most of the sewage treatment plants with air blowers use pumps that are also stocked by garden centre or online aquatic stores (the pumps are used for aerating garden ponds) That's where I bought the hose for ours and they sell it by the meter length.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 03/07/2020 at 08:22, jamieled said:

I've read this thread with interest and am dealing with a related problem so I thought I'd keep it in the same place. I wonder if anyone else can advise from experience.

 

I'm commissioning a vortex treatment plant, with the air blower housing external to the tank. The manufacturers (WTE) require you to take a backpressure reading in the airline to validate the air pump warranty. In my case the pressure reading should be no more than 200mbar, which is the stated operating pressure of the pump. No matter what I do, I cannot get an air pressure reading close to this (best I can get is about 280mbar). WTE tell you to move the blower housing closer to the tank if the pressure reading is high, but as it stands I can't move it any closer! I've also been adjusting the air movement within the tank but that doesn't seem to get me close either.

 

Has anyone else had trouble getting a reasonable pressure reading, were there any tricks to lowering the backpressure? Or am I over-worrying about this?

cheers in advance.

Just a quick follow up in case anyone else has the same problem. I originally bought a pressure gauge off WTE (the vortex supplier) which turned out to be duff! The backpressure is fine when read with a working gauge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...