Pipes vibrating and howling

Timmer

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2019
Messages
397
Location
Minnesota
Resolved - Pipes vibrating and howling

RESOLVED - see follow up post

Hello

We've just recently developed a problem that is happening consistently at different campgrounds. When hooked up to city water (not sure about pump), we get a very loud howling noise in our bathroom when using cold water at the sink or flushing the toilet. You can feel vibrations in the faucet. When we flush the toilet, water comes out of the faucet at the sink even though the knobs are turned off. We have a pressure regulator on the city water hookup, and we've tried turning the campsite water to only halfway on, but the problem persists. Any thoughts?

Update: Just had a thought. We replaced our toilet with the same brand and model this spring. We don't necessarily remember having this problem the first time we went out this year, we think it's been happening since the second time out, but our memories could be off.
 
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While the majority of the plumbing is the same whether using the tank or city water, there are some parts that are separate. If you have a problem while using one but not the other then you can concentrate on those parts that are only in the problem area.

When a problem appears after something has been changed, there is a good possibility that the change has something to do with the problem. If had a dealer change the toilet you might try taking the trailer back there and letting them hear the howling symphony.
 
While the majority of the plumbing is the same whether using the tank or city water, there are some parts that are separate. If you have a problem while using one but not the other then you can concentrate on those parts that are only in the problem area.
If had a dealer change the toilet you might try taking the trailer back there and letting them hear the howling symphony.

I swapped out the toilet myself. It is the same model and I used the same existing water connection. There is a vacuum valve on the toilet but I not sure how it functions and how it could impact the pipes. Perhaps there is a problem with that device. I do still have the old toilet so I might be able to swap that part out relatively easily.
 
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I fixed the problem.

I was surprised by how loud the howling and vibration was given it's all pex. I wanted to figure out where it was vibrating, thinking maybe I could strap a hose or something. I had my wife turn it on and off while I was holding pipes going into the wall. It really seemed like the vibration was coming from the faucet itself. I loosened the faucet from the the countertop and held that and sure enough it was vibrating like mad. I got to thinking about the fact that water would come out of the faucet when we flushed the toilet. I made the educated guess that there was something wrong with the shut off valve on the cold handle. While turning the faucet on and off repeatedly it suddenly would no longer turn off at all. I pulled it apart and took out the guts and went to a large hardware store. They had dozens of that part but none that matched what I had. My faucet was an internet cheapy that I purchased with a higher faucet head than what came with the camper so you had more room to wash your hands. I ended up buying a whole new faucet and installing it. The problem is solved.
 
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Glad you found the source of your problem, thanks for posting your experience.
 

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