Shur-Flo Water pump problems

[LK23]

I just replaced my 4th Shur-Flo water pump in two years. It seems that no matter how well I blow out my water lines when winterizing, the pump still has residual water and freezes. When I get ready to travel I find I have water emitting from the rear side of the pump. Shur-Flo says this is a defective diaphram and have replaced the pumps under warranty. That is great but it is a pain to replace the pump.

It seems the only way to effectively winterize is to remove the pump and store it in a heated area.

Any suggestions on how best to winterize these pumps? I would rather not pump anti-freeze throughout my water system. I would consider some method of pumping antifreeze just to the pump if that would keep it from freezing. I live in Denver, Colorado and winterizing is a priority here.

[LK23]

I just replaced my 4th Shur-Flo water pump in two years. It seems that no matter how well I blow out my water lines when winterizing, the pump still has residual water and freezes. When I get ready to travel I find I have water emitting from the rear side of the pump. Shur-Flo says this is a defective diaphram and have replaced the pumps under warranty. That is great but it is a pain to replace the pump.

It seems the only way to effectively winterize is to remove the pump and store it in a heated area.

Any suggestions on how best to winterize these pumps? I would rather not pump anti-freeze throughout my water system. I would consider some method of pumping antifreeze just to the pump if that would keep it from freezing. I live in Denver, Colorado and winterizing is a priority here.

[Gary the Wombat]

Where you store your RV do you have access to 110volts? I've heard a number of people talk about hanging a 100Watt work light in the bay above the pump.

[Y-Guy]

When we picked up our rig I asked about blowing out the lines, dealer said it was fine however I still needed to suck in enough RV antifreeze to coat the pump as some water always remains even when blowing the lines out and will freeze and damage the pump.

[AFChap]

If you are dead set against RV anti-freeze in your water system, you could disconnect the pump input and output lines, put another input line on from a jug of RV anti-freeze, then turn the pump on to pump antifreeze through it.

I've pumped RV anti-freeze into my system several times when we lived in Virginia before we started full-timing. In addition to the water pump, I was concerned about the washer/dryer pump and any possible low points in the plumbing where residual water might collect. I also made sure to pour RV anti-freeze into the sink & shower traps & the commode.

[LK23]

There is no 110 volt source where I store my motor home. I put antifreeze in the drain traps and the washer/dryer. I also drain the hot water heater. I blow out the lines and my only problem is the water pump. Since it is at a low point in the water lines I suspect that residual water is draining down the lines and back into the pump.

Y-Guy - How do you suck in enough RV antifreeze to coat the pump?

[Y-Guy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Y-Guy - How do you suck in enough RV antifreeze to coat the pump? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
On my rig and I assume yours, there is a diverter that goes between the tank and a bare hose. I put the end of the hose in the gallon jug and turned the diverter. I had my wife turn on the pump and turn it off just as I saw the pink stuff fill about 6" of the hose line past the pump. I did this twice this past winter, once after we picked up the rig new (wanted to fully test all systems even in December) and then again after our shake down trip. No problems with the pump and the lines don't have that minty taste from the anti-freeze.

[FrontRangeRVer]

Why not pump two gallons of pink antifreeze through your water lines with the pump....takes all of 10 minutes to winterize....

Blowing the lines out up here doesn't get all the water out (especially from the pump)...We have never had a problem with the pump....

[LK23]

Y-Guy,

Did you blow out the lines first? If not, didn't that leave water in the lines past the pump?

[Y-Guy]

Oops should have said that first, yes I blew out the lines following the Winnebago instructions. There was no water in the lines that I could see after blowing the lines. I did dump some of the antifreeze in the P traps of the waste lines too.

[LK23]

FrontRangeRVer,

How do you flush the pink anti-freeze out of your system? I heard about bad taste in water afterwards. I am cautious about adding chemicals to our water system.

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How do you flush the pink anti-freeze out of your system? I heard about bad taste in water afterwards. I am cautious about adding chemicals to our water system. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
All the times I winterized, we flushed the RV anti-freeze with plenty of water. We only had a taste in our system once.

As for "adding chemicals," anytime your water system has sat unused for an extended period, it is a very good idea to sanitize the system. Many RVers use Chlorox bleach. We use the chlorinating crystals for hot tubs or spas ...Sodium Dichlor. Sodium Dichlor does not have the salts added that bleach does (they cause the taste that bleach leaves), and it is concentrated dry powder so I don't have any worries about a jug of bleach leaking. I put it directly into the fresh water tank through an access cap on the tank, 1/4 tsp to 50 gal water. Run it generously through all the lines, let it sit 4 or 5 hours if possible, then flush everything with fresh water.

[Pusherman]

Just hook it up to city water and flush the lines. Just did it yesterday. I ran each faucet for several minutes, also filling the hot water tank and running this thru the hot water faucets.

To get the pink antifreeze out of the pump, what I did was after flushing all lines while hooked to city water, I added water to the tank, and ran only one COLD faucet to flush the pump lines with the pump running. If you run a hot line at this point you will mix the antifreeze into the hot water tank, which I had already flushed/filled on the city water connection.

The other process would be to flush all the lines directly from the tank, which will purge the pump lines as well (I prefer to let the water run a longer time, so I hook it up to city water to flush the standard lines, and then go back to flush the pump separately).

This antifreeze is non-toxic, so there should be no residual chemicals in the system.

[Avatab]

We have used Rv antifreeze for several years now. Very easy to do with two people, takes about 20 min max. In the spring flush the system thoroughly, sanitize with bleach/water, let sit overnight if possible and then flush again. Should be good for the season. Doing this we have never had any problems or tasted any anti-freeze (which is non-toxic in any case)