More on Smart Sensor 5.7" water pump

[gator67]

I don't know if this is a new behavior or not. When I am hooked up to city water and turn on the pump, the pump activates when I turn on the shower or the bathroom sink, but does NOT activate when I turn on the kitchen faucet or the toilet sprayer. When I turn off the external water supply, the pump seems to work fine at all the faucets. Is there an explanation for the pump not supplementing the external supply when turning on the water in the kitchen sink or the toilet sprayer?

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gator67 Is there an explanation for the pump not supplementing the external supply when turning on the water in the kitchen sink or the toilet sprayer?

gator67, I have a 5.7 and the only time I use the pump and a shore hook up is if the flow from the campground stinks. I can't see any reason why one water outlet would be selective unless the flow from the shore connection is adequate and the pump is not required. The sprayer may not flow enough water for instance to trigger the pump. ???

[EngineerMike]

1) Easy explanation, and not a problem. W/all faucets closed water isn't moving so it has no pressure losses to friction. When you crack a faucet, flow begins from the static pressure available. Once moving, the water encounters friction in fittings and along the length of pipe it has to travel, so pressure drops. Once it drops to a point the 5.7 "feels like" pumping back up, the 5.7 kicks on. If you only demand a little, then minimal friction won't drop enough to require additional pressurizing (City pressure is probably pretty close to the "start" setting of the pump, but just a bit above). Once you demand a lot and pressure drops noticeably, the 5.7 kicks in to bridge the gap.

2) You misspelled the thread title. It should be "Moron Smart Sensor 5.7 Water Pump"

[gator67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EngineerMike 2) You misspelled the thread title. It should be "Moron Smart Sensor 5.7 Water Pump"

You got THAT right!

[F&D ABQ]

Mike, I gather you don't like that pump. What would you recommend? My original '01 probably will fail one of these days --

[EngineerMike]

I like the performance of the 5.7. A lot. Vs. any other pump on the market, the 5.7 runs the plumbing more like a standard house pressure and flow.

Not too keen on its reliability. I installed a Shurflo Revolution #2088 pump recently as an aux pump on an 06 Alpine. Pump is rated at 55psi, 3 gpm. It cycles up/down by design, as it has a set pressure window. The overall flow and pressure are pretty good. Maybe that w/an accumulator?

There are several threads here stating that once the owner put in an accumulator, the 5.7 cycling stopped and the pump never failed thereafter. I installed an accumulator which smoothed out the cycling on my 5.7 (didn't stop it, just decreased it significantly), and then it died three weeks later. YMMV. I think the accumulator is a good add, easy to do, and provides a nice benefit. I now have an aux pump plumbed inline so I can switch over when the 5.7 acts up, and that gives me a pretty bullet proof setup. My aux pump is a 40psi Shurflo that is about 12 or 15 years old, & still runs great when I need it (which has been twice in this coach when the 5.7 barfed).

[F&D ABQ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EngineerMike I like the performance of the 5.7. A lot. Vs. any other pump on the market, the 5.7 runs the plumbing more like a standard house pressure and flow. Not too keen on its reliability. I installed a Shurflo Revolution #2088 pump recently as an aux pump on an 06 Alpine. Pump is rated at 55psi, 3 gpm. It cycles up/down by design, as it has a set pressure window. The overall flow and pressure are pretty good. Maybe that w/an accumulator? There are several threads here stating that once the owner put in an accumulator, the 5.7 cycling stopped and the pump never failed thereafter. I installed an accumulator which smoothed out the cycling on my 5.7 (didn't stop it, just decreased it significantly), and then it died three weeks later. YMMV. I think the accumulator is a good add, easy to do, and provides a nice benefit. I now have an aux pump plumbed inline so I can switch over when the 5.7 acts up, and that gives me a pretty bullet proof setup. My aux pump is a 40psi Shurflo that is about 12 or 15 years old, & still runs great when I need it (which has been twice in this coach when the 5.7 barfed).

Thanks, Mike. I don't want to put in an accumulator because I have to winterize my rig and that's just another thing to forget to drain.

[EngineerMike]

If you install the accumulator at the high point in the basement (against the basement ceiling as I did) then it is self draining when you drain the rest of the system. So no additional effort required.

[ernieh]

If the accumulator has any air charge at all, it will be self draining, no matter where it is installed. It will really make the newer 5.7's a lot smoother.

[Old Rv'er]

All - in re-reading the original post, I think he has the water pump switch ON, at the same time he has city water turned on. There is a check valve at the fresh water tank fill inlet which is supposed to prevent the pump from blowing water out of that connection if the pump is on. I don't know for sure if the Limited and SE Coaches have just one point of entry for fresh water or two like a normal RV. If two, then the tank fill check valve might be acting up. However, that being said, if the CW is hooked up and on, the pump will fight the city water pressure and act just like it's described in the original post, even not giving water at some outlets. This is due to other check valves in the system to protect the pump from excessive pressure. So the OP (original poster) should either use the internal pump with the fresh water tank, or city water, but not both at the same time, as those check valves will cause him issues. The pump accumulator wont have any bearing on this problem, as it's inline with the pump after the water tank.

Since we have an APEX, we use our fresh water tank/water pump all the time since I don't trust WRV's city water use option in this coach (new solenoid valves to install). Another side benefit is we get fresh water in the tank all the time, and don't have to sanitize it all the time if we sit a long time in one place, since it's always being used and refilled. Yes, I am aware it will cause us higher pump replacement cycles, but with a three year warranty, it should work out we never need to buy another pump. Based on EM's and others comments, ours should last a little bit over a year, crap out and need to be replace free. That would be sometime this coming winter based on when I purchased and then installed it.

[takepride]

Monty:

I often use the pump to "enhance" the City Water pressure. If the CW pressure is high, the pump doesn't come on, low, it does. Sometimes the problem is not the standing pressure, but the flow. The pump really helps there. The one-way check valves all assure the water moves in the direction of the faucet and unless defective would not stop the water.

I have found that on many occasions my regulator (residential-style) will over regulate. I then have to turn the CW on/off several times until the thing finally works right (releasing all pressure). I probably need to just replace it.

The downside of higher pressure is the quicker depletion of hot water for us without AH.

[myrvhome]

Sureflo makes a 2.5 gallon stainless steel accumulator tank which we consider to be one of the best improvements we have made. We also upgraded the water regulator coming into the coach... now we have great water pressure and the 5.7 pump only kicks on whenever the 2.5 gallon tank gets low. Even with the shower running, the pump can refill the tank and it shuts off shortly and usually only has to cycle once or twice during a shower, depending on how LONG a shower you want to take.

[sandy1]

what did you use for your inlet regulator upgrade. Im am assuming you have the built in regulator with the water inlet.

Sandy and Debi
2001 alpine
34' fdds

[myrvhome]

We do not have a built in regulator. Where our water comes into the coach from the filters we put on a new regulator that allows 50-55 psi. It is just called Hi Flow Water Regulator and is listed with item numbers 10-0611 or A01- 1113VP (Valterra) in most of the RV catalogues. Hope this helps!
Elaine