Pump won't quit.

[Enchantedcamper]

The water pump on my '84 won't quit running when I turn it on. It pumps just fine, but when all the faucets are closed, the pump slows down(lower pitch) but doesn't stop. It has a pressure tank with an air chuck, but I don't know what pressure to pump it to. I'm thinking of attatching a bike tire pump and gradualy addding air to see what happens. Any Ideas???

 

[ohdeeremee]

Pump Running

This got me once also.
The water heater is a BIG air tank if you did not fill it up first. Hook up external water and open the pressure relief valve to vent air as it is filling. Once that is full, finish purging the rest of the lines like normal. Then see if it will not shut off,
George

 

[sam-HILO]

Pump not stopping

DH says if it is the original water pump it may not be holding pressure. It is leaking back past the diaphragm. It will run then stop briefly and then run again. You could need a new water pump. If the water tank fills and then it runs alot during the day then you have other problems. We have had to replace ours last year in our 90 HiLo Classic as it was extremely noisy. The best $ we spent as we bought a whisper quiet one and dh installed and it is a great improvement. Maxed out the usefulness on the old one. Could have been the original.

 

[Enchantedcamper]

Water Pump Update

I have some updates on the case of the pump that won't stop... The pump manufacture's website says that pump is set to stop @ 45 psi. My air tank had 28 lbs in it. I have since pumped it up to 90 spi(tank says 125 psi max.) and it held steady for about 6 hours, which, to me anyway, would indicate that the air tank bladder is OK, or it would have bled down. That still does't preclude a leak in the pump dipharam though. I guess I didn't make it clear enough in my original post that the problem isn't the pump cycles too often, indicating a loss of pressure, it's that it does't cycle At All. It just runs...and runs... When it used to work properly, it usually would pressure off within 10-15 seconds after system closure.
I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to the members that have suggested possible explanations and solutions to my potable water pump problem. It's to late tonight to try the water heater fix, but I'll try it first thing in the AM. I bled all the hot and cold lines untill they ran clear, thinking that purging the lines would also purge the water heater tank compleatly. It hadn't dawned on me that the tank might contain a bubble! DOH It makes perfect sense now that I stop and think about it...an air bubble certainly would explain why the pump can't generate enough pressure to trip the pressure switch.
Thanks so much for sharing this insight into your past experiance. I think it is great that we have a such a wonderful tool that allows us have questions answered and to share ideas and tips with other people, most of whom have never met each other. CAMP ON!

 

[PopRichie77]

The pump will compress the air in the hot water tank, same as it does in your air tank. I have never had to bleed the hot water tank, and there is a reference about air being in it, in one of the manuals. I would say the pump pressure switch is bad or the pump isn't able to pump the required pressure to shut the switch off.

Here is another thought. I don't know how long you have had the trailer, but are you sure there is water in the fresh water tank? Or is it hooked up to the shore water connection.

 

[RichR]

If your tank works like a pressure storage tank used with a water well the bladder pressure should be set to a pressure less than the cutoff of the pump. That is when pressure is let off the water lines.

 

[robobd]

check all your water lines when pressureised, including the city fill check / inlet if you have a leak anywhere in the system, it would also do that. check all your cone seals first, all of mine were bad

 

[Enchantedcamper]

Replace Water Pump?

Thanks for all the great tips. I just hooked up the city water and bled the water heater PRV valve-and WA LA( I don't spell French)the pump quit 10 seconds after I closed the faucet. Just like it was supposed to. BUT as soon as I disconnected the city water and opened and closed the valve, it won't shut off again. Appearantly, the pump won't generate 45 psi by itself. I guess the pressure switch is working, or it wouldn't shut off at all, right?
I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a new pump. The one's that in there is a Shureflow 200-210-39. I think it's the original as I've never replaced it since '94. Any suggestions? Would upgrade be worth it, or should I just replace it with the same pump?

 

[RichR]

The diaphragm may be going bad and can't build pressure. I believe they are replaceable.

 

[jdb-HILO]

jdb

i just read about your problem. I have a problem with my pump not shutting off also (93' Funlite). The thing about your last post that bothers me, is that you shouldn't have the pump on when you're hooked to city water. What did you do finally?

 

[jdb-HILO]

I have a 93' Funlite. The pump runs all the time. There is a slight leak where the filter is, on the 'inlet' side of the pump. I wouldn't think there would be pressure on that side of the pump. So why? I just put in the RV antifreeze and found a small puddle under the filter. Wouldn't you know. Now, i have to go buy some more antifreeze,and hope that stopping that leak does it.

 

[JackandJanet]

The pump will run constantly if there is no supply water to pressurize the system, or, if there is a leak downstream of the pump that prevents pressurization. Yours is probably running constantly because your fresh water tank is empty. I doubt the leak on the inlet side has hurt your winterizing efforts. The lines from the pump to the faucets should be full of anti-freeze and if you ran the faucets just a bit, there should be anti-freeze in the goose neck drains.

Make sure you've drained the hot water tank.

And, you naturally DO want to fix the leak. Some leaks don't need much pressure at all to "seep".

- Jack

 

[jdb-HILO]

pump won't quit2

Hi Jack, thanks for answering my comment on that thread. I actually made 2 comments on that thread, but deleted the one you read, in order to figure out how to start my own thread. I didn't start that thread, so i was surprised to find your answer. Bizarre.
Anyway, i had the hot water tank full of fresh water (ala prv) and bypassed; and the fresh water tank with 5-gallons of antifreeze in it. I turned the pump on and opened the faucets until the antifreeze passed through. Shut the faucets off, and listened to the pump run for another 10-min. before i shut it off. I was getting the pump number, when i noticed the small puddle under the inline filter, on the inlet side.
I did drain off the hot water tank too, in my winterization effort

 

[JackandJanet]

Ugh! If you had 5 gallons of antifreeze in the fresh water tank and the hot water tank was already full, the pump should not have been starved for fluid (which would keep it running). (Unless, you had it on so long that it pumped the entire 5 gallons through - doubtful.)

Possibly, the inlet leak is allowing air to enter, effectively starving the pump. But, it sounds more like a faulty pressure shutoff switch.

Upon reflection though, I've seen mine do this when the system has been empty for a while and I'm refilling it. I'll put 10-15 gals in the tank and turn on the pump. It has run without shutting off and sounds a bit like it's cavitating. As I recall, I turn the pump off, open a faucet allowing some of the air bubbles to escape, turn the faucet off and the pump back on. Then, it seems to pressurize normally.

My guess now is, there were air bubbles in the system causing the pump to continue running. Anyway, I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace the pump. Just check it out before you go camping in the spring and replace it then if needed.

- Jack

 

[jcurtis95]

Hi Jack, thanks for answering my comment on that thread. I actually made 2 comments on that thread, but deleted the one you read, in order to figure out how to start my own thread. I didn't start that thread, so i was surprised to find your answer. Bizarre.
Anyway, i had the hot water tank full of fresh water (ala prv) and bypassed; and the fresh water tank with 5-gallons of antifreeze in it. I turned the pump on and opened the faucets until the antifreeze passed through. Shut the faucets off, and listened to the pump run for another 10-min. before i shut it off. I was getting the pump number, when i noticed the small puddle under the inline filter, on the inlet side.
I did drain off the hot water tank too, in my winterization effort

jdb,

First off, it should require no more than 2-gallons of RV antifreeze to winterize your HiLo. Our 2406 has an intake hose underneath the bench seat by the water pump that can easily fit into a gallon container of the pink anti-freeze. You can monitor the usage as you are running the pipes individually with the hot water heater bypassed. You will need to drain the HWH separately from the faucets, toillete, and shower leaving the drain plug out to thoroughly drain it. You should also drain all the water from all the holding tanks. It is only necessary to let the pump run to each faucet [hot and cold] allowing some of the pink stuff to go into each drain. If your RV is not equipped with a separate hose for this function, you should take the intake hose from the pump and feed the antifreeze using a temporary hose connection.

That antifreeze is not cheap so doing it this way rather than filling your freshwater tank with five gallons of antifreeze saves money and more efficient.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

 

[JIM L-HILO]

If you are leaking on the inlet side of the filter then it will suck in air when the pump runs and this air will not cause the pressure switch to shut the pump off. These filters do crack or if the filter is the split type the seal may be bad. Check and replace the filter if either of the above problems are found. Also make sure the filter is sealing where it screws into the pump and the water line screws onto the filter. If you find none of the above problems then the pressure switch is bad and the pump needs to be replaced or the pressure switch in the pump replaced if possible.

 

[jdb-HILO]

pump won't quit2

I agree with what Jerry, Jack and Jim are saying. I bought 2-gal. of antifreeze, and followed the instructions on the label. It said to put it in the empty fresh water tank. The pump wouldn't suck it up. Not enough. Went back to the RV store where i bought the first antifreeze (expensive mistake), and mentioned my frustration to the staff. He than told me about the winterization kit, which was another $20 . My woman was at walmart and found the antifreeze at a more reasonable price. I went with more antifreeze. Hadn't even accessed the pump yet. Turned out that there was a 3-way valve, attached directly to the pump, on the inlet side. The filter is actually attached to the other side of the 3-way. Is that a problem?

 

[RichR]

That three way valve may be part of the winterization kit. Look for an open ended hose connected to one side of the valve.