Installing water pump....

[jasonm]

Has anyone "upgraded" their coach water pump to get more consistent shower pressure? Thinking of doing so. Not sure if it's a simple project/for the do it yourself guy, or if it's better left to the pros.

[jasonm]

Has anyone "upgraded" their coach water pump to get more consistent shower pressure? Thinking of doing so. Not sure if it's a simple project/for the do it yourself guy, or if it's better left to the pros.

[Cruzer]

I've done that. I've installed the Shurflo Smart Sensor 5.7 water pump from RVupgrades. You do have to also order the higher capacity strainer for it but it's not adifficult swap as long as you have room because the 5.7 is physically larger.

[jasonm]

That 5.7 is the one I was looking at. I'm pretty sure I have the room; water pump is under the master bed in the rear of the coach.

So what is involved in the swap? Just a matter of re-attaching 2 hoses and a couple of wires, then mounting?

Thanks for your help!

[Max Hubrich]

JasonM-- yup, thats about it. Make sure the 5.7 Smart Sensor has a MFG date of October '06 or newer--Its printed on the pump label itself. I'm on my 3rd one in 14 months. When it works right its great. The pre- Oct '06 ones had a 5/8" wide plastic ring installed between the pump and motor. It had a design flaw and would make it run continuously when water demand was gone,ie: when a water faucet was shut off. The new design is a one piece casting. Good luck,

Max H
2002' Newmar Mountain Aire, 37', W-22, 8.1 Vortac
2006' Malibu

[AFChap]

I did the same upgrade. As Cruzer says, be sure to get the larger strainer too. Mine is mounted in a bay beside the water heater. It is a tighter fit than the original, but with careful positioning I had no problem installing it. I did add rubber water line loops off both the intake and outflow sides to help dampen vibration. I've had to replace the 5.7 once due to it leaking around the body seam at about the 18 mo point. ShurFlo replaced it free of charge.

[jasonm]

The instructions (can be viewed from the website) state that,

"Always turn pump off when not in use for long periods of time, or when leaving your coach."

I assume they mean for storage, right? I mean, this may be a dumb question, but they don't mean to turn it off when not in use, do they?

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by jasonm:
The instructions (can be viewed from the website) state that,

"Always turn pump off when not in use for long periods of time, or when leaving your coach."

I assume they mean for storage, right? I mean, this may be a dumb question, but they don't mean to turn it off when not in use, do they? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That could have been stated better as:

"Always turn pump off when leaving your coach, especially when for long periods of time such as when in storage."

The intent is not to have you leaving your coach unattended with the pump active which in the case of a leak could cause the pump to flood the coach or loose prime and damage itself.

Also a good idea to turn off the city water when leaving your coach especially if it is in storage or out of use for an extended period of time.

[JCM]

You have to turn off the pump when you are not using it as draws power all the time - will draw down your battery.
After playing around with one of these I took it out and replaced it with the standard old pump with a pressure tank. Much better flow and pressure without the leaks, poor pressure and battery discharge.

[Marty & Yani]

I would take a look at Aquajet ES pumps also.
Marty

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You have to turn off the pump when you are not using it as draws power all the time </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
JCM

Do you know that for sure? ...I can't figure why it would be drawing current when not running. I guess I'll have to put a meter on mine sometime and check that out!

My 5.7 is installed in a system that does have an accumulator tank (although I believe ShurFlo recommends against that). It work fine with the tank. But there is NO WAY the "standard old pump" that came in my coach could provide "much better flow and pressure." It was a 2.8 gpm pump. ANY 5.7 gpm pump cannot help but be far superior to that in terms of flow and pressure.

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AFChap:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You have to turn off the pump when you are not using it as draws power all the time </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
JCM

Do you know that for sure? ...I can't figure why it would be drawing current when not running. I guess I'll have to put a meter on mine sometime and check that out!

My 5.7 is installed in a system that does have an accumulator tank (although I believe ShurFlo recommends against that). It work fine with the tank. But there is NO WAY the "standard old pump" that came in my coach could provide "much better flow and pressure." It was a 2.8 gpm pump. ANY 5.7 gpm pump cannot help but be far superior to that in terms of flow and pressure. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just remember that more flow is a double edged sword when dry camping. The higher the flow the faster your grey and black tanks will fill up and the sooner they may need dumping.

Unless the flow restricters have all been removed most Motor Homes won't develop 2.8 GPM in usage. The max the shower should be is 1.5 GPM and the kitchen and bath fawcetts should be around .5 GPM If you run all three wide open you are talking about 2.5 GPM and should still have a reserve capacity. If you open all the fawcetts and flush the toilet or run the outside shower you will exceed the 2.8 but I don't see that scenario going on in mine.

I do dry camp and still have the stock 2.8 GPM pump in mine but I do maitain the pump and keep the strainer clean and decalcified. When I first bought the coach and before I removed the lime scale from the strainer it was a different story.

[Neil C]

I installed a 5.7 pump and left my 2gal accumalator
tank in line 1 1/2 years ago and it has work
flaw-less ..I'm full time...even turn pump on when
taking a shower if city pressure is below 40 lbs..
also much quieter