Pool pump-The cause of a low frequency hum in the basement

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shiyang100

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Jun 11, 2016
153
Boston, MA
First time pool owner. Sorry for this strange question.

This is a 5 year old house with a swimming pool in the backyard. We recently opened the pool, and set up pool pump running 10 hours a day. Pool pump is about 30 ft away from the house and sits on a concrete block. Pool is between the pump and the house.

Strange enough, when I am in the basement while the pump is running, I can tell pool pump is on. It is particarly clear while in the middle of the basement. It is like a low frequency compressor noise. Not loud, but it is there. Turn off the pool pump, the noise is gone.

I put my ear against the some exterior and interior walls, you can hear the humming noise clearly while the pump is on. Anyone can pinpoint how to rectify this?
- Air leak?
- Excessive vibration? (Pump itself is not loud. When I stand next to it. I can feel ground vibrate a little. Talk to the pool boy, who said it is perfectly normal.

Thanks so much.
 
It does sound strange that you can hear it when the pump is that far away from the house. Mine is right next to the house. I do not have a basement. Maybe since your underground, vibrations are more noticeable?? The rubber mat helped. I did not bolt mine down but probably would have if the rubber mat didn't help. Anything to keep the pump from vibrating on the concrete should fix it or at least help.

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shiyang100 said:
Thanks a lot.

I wonder if anyone else has the similar experience as me about noise (vibration) travel for that far.
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Yep, I do. We have a shortline railroad who's shop is about a mile from the house. When I am in the basement during the winter months I can (could) sense a vibration. For years I could never figure out what it was. It only happened during the winter months and not all the time, mostly at night. A couple of years ago I noted that it was not happening any more. At least not all the time. It would show up on occasion though. We finally figured it out. During the winter months, they had two or three engines that had to idle all night long to keep the radiators from freezing up. A couple of years ago, they built an engine house to be able to keep them inside overnight. Now they can shut them down and the vibration is gone. Mind you this vibration could not be felt or heard, it was more of a 6th sense type of feel.
 
danpik said:
Yep, I do. We have a shortline railroad who's shop is about a mile from the house. When I am in the basement during the winter months I can (could) sense a vibration. For years I could never figure out what it was. It only happened during the winter months and not all the time, mostly at night. A couple of years ago I noted that it was not happening any more. At least not all the time. It would show up on occasion though. We finally figured it out. During the winter months, they had two or three engines that had to idle all night long to keep the radiators from freezing up. A couple of years ago, they built an engine house to be able to keep them inside overnight. Now they can shut them down and the vibration is gone. Mind you this vibration could not be felt or heard, it was more of a 6th sense type of feel.
Click to expand...


Thanks so much. This is an interesting example. Since the pump is put on top of concrete block, and I can feel the vibration standing in front of the running pump, I guess the vibration just travels in the soil to my basement. I cannot feel the vibration, but I can tell the pump is running while in the basement. The humming sound is audible.
 
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