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bauschman49 · 06-10-2018, 06:14 AM

You There,

Bauschmann49 here!

I have a 2002 Winne Adventurer, 32', Workhorse and Allison trans.

I have been having issues with my water pump since I purchased this ride 4 1/2 years ago. I like my home, and it is my home. I do not spend anytime in freezing weather.

I purchased the home with a Shurflo water pump. The pump stop working 5 months after I took over my ride. At the time I replaced my first of 4 pumps since purchase, I noticed it was not the first time a pump had been replaced. The previous owner (second owner from AZ) of 10 years did not use the RV and did not have any pump issues. Since I purchased this ride I have installed my 4th Shurflo water pump. It is the 4008 model, 55psi, 3gpm pump, the same one my home came with on purchase.

Before I installed the fourth pump I tried two things, first I plumbed in a Shurflo Accumulator and two loop hoses to stop rigid pipe banging and stop the short pump bursts that have never seem to have gone away during my 4 pump lifetime.

I have checked for leaks often, no leaks. I installed a high quality RO drinking water system under my sink shortly after purchase of the RV, but disconnected that one year ago when I figured that was my pump problem (pressure needed to pass water through tight membranes). It does not seem to be the problem. The RO system worked great until the second pump went south.

I have learned through patients to now test pumps to see if the issue is the pump or the pressure valve that electrically controls the pump. The last two pumps I tested I found no problem with the pumps. It is the pressure control valve that seems to be the issue. I assume they are burning/shorting out. In there dying hours they short out and drain my house batteries.

A side issue is I have not found a circuit breaker on the 12v power source to my pump. I have not been able to trace the wires to the power source and reading all the wiring diagrams I could find have been no help.

I am thinking I want to install a second pump to hook back up my RO water system and keep it on a second pump because of the slow filtering process of the thick filters the water has to be pushed through.

I went to SEAFLO for my 5th and 6th pumps thinking SHUFLO was having problems. The first two brand new SEAFLO pumps were bad out of the box and would not work. I am still trying to have the latest one returned and get my money back. Customer service is not working as well as I expected at the SEAFLO dealer. Ten days and I have not been able to reach the seller yet.

Online I noticed two other brands of pumps I might procure, depending on what you can help me with.

I wonder if anyone out there might have worked through a similar issue and can help me.

What say you there.

Jim_HiTek · 06-10-2018, 06:36 AM

As an electronics guy, first I'd inspect the wiring to the pump, especially the ground. Than if that didn't reveal anything, I'd consider adding a high wattage resistor to the power lead of any new pump I put in. Probably would have done that after the 2nd one went out. I'm thinking 0.33 ohm, at 10 watt should do it. This is the bandaid approach that would give time to search for the real problem. Might consider adding a filter cap on the pump side of the resistor to ground as well.

Pump motors and the electronics are fairly stout so I'd guess perhaps your pump is seeing high voltage pulses (generally caused by load dump) output by either the alternator when driving, or the converter (a cheap converter can overshoot due to load dump too) when plugged into shore power. Which could potentially blow out the electronics control for the pump.

An oscilloscope would likely show what's happening on that voltage supply line and might prove where any over voltage pulses are coming from. It might also show that either your alternator or converter is bad.

Water pumps usually have an in line glass fuse in a fuse holder just 6" or so from the pump and can be wired directly to the battery. Which might be why you can't find a CB.

bauschman49 · 06-12-2018, 08:57 AM

Jim,
Thank you for your response. I found no fused line to my pump. I believe I will rewire the pump directly from the battery and fuse the line.
If I do this, should I also add a high wattage resistor to the power lead?
I have some electronics background, but not up to your knowledge. Be gentle with me and I will get it right.
This 21 year vet thanks you for your time and help.
I am not getting email notifications when there is a response to my post, so I check in when I can to retrieve messages.

bauschman49 · 06-12-2018, 09:08 AM

Jim,
If I elect to add a second pump to exclusively run my RO system, and use the new leads I run from my battery for the first pump, do I need to look for a different high wattage resistor for 2 pumps on the new connection line to the battery?
Thanks again Jim.

Jim_HiTek · 06-12-2018, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bauschman49

Jim,
Thank you for your response. I found no fused line to my pump. I believe I will rewire the pump directly from the battery and fuse the line.
If I do this, should I also add a high wattage resistor to the power lead?
I have some electronics background, but not up to your knowledge. Be gentle with me and I will get it right.
This 21 year vet thanks you for your time and help.
I am not getting email notifications when there is a response to my post, so I check in when I can to retrieve messages.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Moving the battery source wire directly to (or at least very near) the battery may just solve your problem. Use 14ga or heavier wiring and move the ground too. Or at least clean up the ground connection really well.

Yes, on adding an in line fuse near the pump, and since you'll rewire directly to the batt, and since it will act as a large filter and smooth out any voltage load dump spikes, no resistor is needed.

If adding two pumps, you might need to go up in gage for the wire, but if you connect directly to the battery, no resistor will be needed (unless in the unlikely event that the battery is bad and you haven't realized it).

DancinCampers · 06-12-2018, 11:10 AM

I think you will lose the ability to control the pump from inside the coach if you wire directly to battery.

It may help running a separate heavier duty wire from battery to pump relay which is controlled by the interior switches.

Jim_HiTek · 06-12-2018, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancinCampers

I think you will lose the ability to control the pump from inside the coach if you wire directly to battery.

It may help running a separate heavier duty wire from battery to pump relay which is controlled by the interior switches.

Well, I kind of disagree. If he has that pump control setup with the remote Off/On switches, that might be where the high voltage spikes are coming from and bypassing that route is important for testing. He'll lose the ability to directly turn it off during the test is all. Given the year and model OP has, I believe he just has switches (like my '02 Journey) and not the remote switch logic circuit the pumps often came with (I had that setup up in my '94 Bounder).

After rewiring, anytime he opens a faucet or flushes the toilet, the pump will run.

The fuse can be removed when the RV is stored if need be. Eventually, the power switch(es) wiring can be rerouted, assuming that's where the high voltage spikes are coming from. IF that's the problem.

BTW, OP, do not use a 4008 model with a RO system. Shurflow specifies it won't work for that.
"Pump is designed for intermittent duty
only: Do not use these pumps
for running a Reverse-Osmosis [RO]
Filtration System. High pressure-
continuous duty usage will shorten
the life of the pump and is not covered
under warranty."

bauschman49 · 06-13-2018, 08:34 AM

Jim and Dan,

Thank you for all information you have provided. Good point on the switch. In my ride I have a three way switch to the pump. There is an off/on switch on my main control panel inside the rig, and a second switch in the outside compartment where I input city water and my flush system is located.

With your valuable information I will be putting myself back to work to access what I have and how to stop my pump failures.

I never read in the SureFlo documentation about RO systems being a no-no for the 4008. I will research a pump that will handle the RO system and will install a second pump for it. The last two pumps failed electronically without the RO system hooked up, so I still have to solve that issue before continuing my upgrade to my pumping system.

Thanks again