5.7 Shurflo replacement

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by Rusty Bear

Does anyone know if our coaches have an Intellitec Water Pump Controller?

Here is what you are looking for if your coach has one. Some do and some don't.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[bcbowers]

The Shurflo 5.7 Smart Sensor & Aquajet 5305 pumps are rated for 15 Amp and even include an inline 15 Amp fuse out of the box. The controller pictured in the previous post is only rated for 10 Amp. The Aquajet installation guide calls for a 30 Amp rated relay to be employed with the 5305 Model pump.

I elected to use my spare starter solenoid which is overkill (85 Amp) but can still serve as an emergency spare. I also used power from the cable reel (20 Amp) by rerouting the hot lead (Blue) to a single poll double throw switch (mounted by the reel switch - short wiring!) and ran an additional hot lead to the pump. Added an additional ground wire from the cable reel to the pump. I just have to remember to switch back to the pump after using the reel. However, this method assures that I won't accidently blow the cable reel fuse by using the water pump & the cable reel simultaneously.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by bcbowers

The Shurflo 5.7 Smart Sensor & Aquajet 5305 pumps are rated for 15 Amp and even include an inline 15 Amp fuse out of the box. The controller pictured in the previous post is only rated for 10 Amp. The Aquajet installation guide calls for a 30 Amp rated relay to be employed with the 5305 Model pump.

I have to respectfully disagree on the AMP rating that you had stated for the Aqua-Jet RV Water Pump.

See the link below and click on SPECS.

Aquajet : Remco

The Aqua-Jet RV water pumps have ALWAYS been rated at 10 amps since they first came out.

I cannot verify what ShurFlo has for theirs because they have discontinued some of their "high end" RV water pumps due to TOO many problems. In fact I cannot and will not recommend them at all.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Jim A]

Richard,

I have the installation manual for the SHURflo 5900 5.7 pump. It states:

• Minimum power requirement is 15 AMPS. (It is in a bold font.)
• If coach has an Intellitec latching pump controller, see wire diagram on page 2.

However Page 2 has the following instruction for connecting to the Intellitec pump controller:

Electrical Connection with 10 Amp or 15 Amp Controller
Disconnect wires from current pump and connect to Smart
Sensor Pump. Make sure wires are at least 14GA [2.5mm2].

This reference to a 10 Amp controller appears to be contradictory to the instruction on the first page, but that is what it says.

[Rusty Bear]

I am replacing my 5.7 Sureflo [the 3rd 5.7 just quit] with a Aquajet 5.5. I measured the voltage at the pump without a load and while the pump was running and there was no noticeable difference. Since I had a 5.7 in the coach for over 3 years without an issue and I see no Intellitec controller in the system, I installed the new pump today and it is working fine. The 5.5 is a much quieter pump than the 5.7.

[Old Scout]

The Apex uses a lot of relays--wonder if your pump doesnt have one? Think for many Alpines [non-Apex], the prime issue here is poor voltage supply thru the 3-way micro switch config and the subsequent over heating of the pump assembly. The aforementioned installation of a relay, tapped into the cable reel, is an easy solution to clean=up the power issue.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by Rusty Bear

I measured the voltage at the pump without a load and while the pump was running and there was no noticeable difference.

The 5.5 is a much quieter pump than the 5.7.

So what was the voltage with and without the load?

Curious minds would like to know.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Rusty Bear]

Since my coach has the Silverleaf system and in case of failure, I installed an alternate source of power for my pump and my auto fill. Each is controlled separately and directly wired from my fuse block through separate relay switches. I can now control both pump and auto fill with separate switches without using the Silverleaf if necessary. The voltage with both sources of power is about 12.4 with pump running or idle.

[Dr4Film]

Great, thanks.

That's your supply voltage which is generally 12.4 - 12.7 or so.

The fact that either pump did NOT draw down the voltage significantly is good. It means that the gauge of your wire supplying the pump can handle the amp demand.

According to Aqua-Jet, the maximum voltage drop should only be no more than 1 VDC otherwise larger wire is needed.

See attached Aqua-Jet installation Manual.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[bcbowers]

FWIW ... the Aquajet pump claims to have a low voltage shut-off feature built-in. I think I witnessed it first hand (or my wife did) because it stopped while taking a shower and then started right back up. My cable reel fuse (new pump power source) has been a problem (bad fuse position).

[EngineerMike]

I recommend powering the pump off a simple bosch-type relay, powering the relay coil off the coach's pump switch circuit (in an Alpine that pump circuit runs about 45ft one way, 90ft round trip, and includes some length of 22ga wire where the overhead pump switch on the tank level panel is spliced in, so volt drop is a serious concern). Run a fresh #12 wire from battery voltage source (mine had a fuse block in the PS utility bay with extra slots), 15A fuse, to the pump, & run a fresh #12 or #14 ground a short distance to a good frame ground.
This'll drop the amps needed to flow thru ~90ft of wire to ~.2A.
Alternatively you can use a latching type pump relay, Intellitec makes a 10A & a 15A unit specifically for that purpose; you have to change out switches for momentary type from the 2-way toggle, but you can also add switches up to 5 iirc, like in the utility bay.

I also recommend a spare pump plumbed in, so all you have to do when your pump fails is swap the wiring over. Or you can go the deluxe route & install a key-fob type relay to swap pump-A for pump-B; then fiddle w/the pump change-out when you feel like it.

[Rusty Bear]

Thanks Mike
I used a bosh type relay with a fresh #14 wire from the fuse box with a 15A fuse on a separate switch for this work around when I lost power to my pump and auto fill through my Silverleaf. You helped me with the rewire design and it works great.