Caravan Water System Improvements: Smooth Flow

Need to stop that annoying thump thump thump through your caravan water system? (especially at night while others are sleeping?) Add an accumulator. Here’s why:

What is a water accumulator?

A water accumulator is a clever little device that smooths out the water flow in your caravan, camper or RV. It will help to provide a smooth flow of water from your taps and can provide constant water flow to your shower which in turn will decrease those annoying water and temperature fluctuations, because we all love to have a nice warm shower after a hard day of travelling and sightseeing. Ahhh….. luxury.

If you want the full picture of how your caravan’s water system fits together, tanks, pump, filtration and all, we’ve covered that in our guide to how a caravan water system works.

How does a water accumulator work?

A water accumulator is a pretty simple device. It is a small storage tank within your caravan’s water system which stores a small volume of water under pressure. When you open a tap, the pressurised water gets released, then when the water pressure reduces to a certain pressure, the water pump switches on and provides water to your taps.

Whenever a water pump turns on, it rapidly pressurises the water pipes and you can tend to get a surge of water out of your tap. But when you have an accumulator fitted, it takes out that sudden forceful supply of water to the tap and gives you a smoother more controlled volume of water. It sort of works like a shock absorber for your water pipes.

Here is a great quick video we found that shows what the accumulator does:

What are the benefits of a water accumulator?

There are many benefits of having a water accumulator fitted to your caravan’s water system. You will get a smoother more controlled flow of water. This will allow you to have better control of you water flow especially if you want a slow flow of water coming out of your tap or shower.

Without an accumulator, a slow flow of water can tend to make the water pump “cycle” quickly. This is when the water pump turns on and off rapidly which can prematurely wear out the water pump’s switch and potentially leave you without water.

This recently happened to us on one of our trips and we had to replace the water pump. I also decided to fit a water accumulator to our system at the same time.

An accumulator will reduce the amount of times the water pump needs to turn on and off, therefore reducing wear and increasing the life of your pump.

Your water pump can tend to run a bit quieter. Even though we replaced our water pump with the exact same one, once we added the accumulator, it seemed to be a bit quieter. Not by a lot, but it was noticeable. The accumulator acts a bit like a shock absorber, which dampens the pulses of water from the pump.

What to do at night:

At night, we always turn off the water pump as it occasionally tends to momentarily turn on whenever the water pressure within the pipes slightly drops and the water pump automatically builds the pressure up. This can sometimes wake up the kids…… and you never want to wake up the kids! The beauty about having an accumulator is that you have got enough pressurised water within the system to say flush the toilet or pour a glass of water without turning the water pump on. (and disturbing the peace) Ahhh, the serenity!

How do I know if my caravan or RV already has an accumulator?

Usually, you will find the accumulator next to your water pump. They need to be installed downstream from the water pump as the water needs to be pumped into the accumulator with pressurised water. They are usually a small oval shaped tank ranging from the size of a small butternut pumpkin (most caravans and campers) to the size of a small bbq lpg cylinder (large rv’s and motorhomes).

If you can’t find where the water pump is, try turning on your water pump to pressurise the system, then turn off the water pump when the water pump has stopped and the system is up to pressure. Then slowly turn on a water tap. If you get a constant flow of water for a few seconds you probably have an accumulator already installed. Another thing to try is to turn on your water pump then slightly turn on a tap so you get a slow flow of water. If your water pump turns on and off slowly, around once every 5 – 10 seconds, you probably have an accumulator. If it “cycles” quickly, 1 – 3 times per second, you probably don’t have one.

Can I install an accumulator myself?

Yes. They are quite simple to install. All you need are basic tools and compressed air to pressurise the tank which you can get from any servo. It uses a Schrader valve which is the same type as your car / caravan tyre.

Grab the same accumulator we used – the Shurflo Pressure Accumulator here

If you need to replace your water pump, consider fitting an accumulator at the same time. You can get water pumps and accumulators separately or as a pre-assembled combination which could save you time on the installation.

Need a neat Pump and Accumulator Kit? Check out this one

If you are not confident in fitting one yourself, most caravan / RV repair centres will be able to help you out.

We found that the accumulator was relatively inexpensive, and the benefits are well worth it. It gives the caravan a bit of a luxury feel to have constant, quieter, flowing water from your water tanks, no matter how far away from mains-pressure town-water you are. If you haven’t got one, give one a go……. no pressure! (get it?)

Keeping on top of jobs like this is easier with a proper checklist. We use our Caravan Maintenance Schedule to keep track of what’s done and what’s due.