Let's see your replumbed fresh water pump

[Flyer15015]

Well, our old 2004 Shurflow fresh water pump finally bit the dust, in our "new to us" 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37c
It is an obsolete model and no parts are available to rebuild it. I've checked.

So, we have a chance to replace the pump, add an accumulator and re-pipe the system, which by the way is located right next to the water tank, up on a "shelf", in the first bay behind the entry door. The wet bay is on the other side of the coach.

I've ordered a pump and accumulator and I do have a filter, so now I get a chance to start over.

I know that a pump can be mounted in any position, but my research says the accumulator is best mounted with the schrader valve up and enough clearance to get an air chuck on it.

This is going to drive all you plumbers nuts, but I think I should mount this assembly at a slight angle (off level) so I can drain both of these for the winter months. The filter, I can just disassemble.

I guess what I'm looking for are pictures of what you have done to rework your plumbing and improve what came with your coach.

All ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance !!!

Mike in Colorado

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Flyer15015

Well, our old 2004 Shurflow fresh water pump finally bit the dust, in our "new to us" 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37c
It is an obsolete model and no parts are available to rebuild it. I've checked.

So, we have a chance to replace the pump, add an accumulator and re-pipe the system, which by the way is located right next to the water tank, up on a "shelf", in the first bay behind the entry door. The wet bay is on the other side of the coach.

I've ordered a pump and accumulator and I do have a filter, so now I get a chance to start over.

I know that a pump can be mounted in any position, but my research says the accumulator is best mounted with the schrader valve up and enough clearance to get an air chuck on it.

This is going to drive all you plumbers nuts, but I think I should mount this assembly at a slight angle (off level) so I can drain both of these for the winter months. The filter, I can just disassemble.

I guess what I'm looking for are pictures of what you have done to rework your plumbing and improve what came with your coach.

All ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance !!!

Mike in Colorado

The air in the accumulator bladder will push out all the water, no matter the orientation.

[Argosy]

Agree the bladder will push the water out. If you use antifreeze to winterize I would put a shut off in line with the accumulator so you can keep it out. The accumulator in this one is under the bathroom sink and was factory installed, really hard to get a picture. My last motor home had a booth dinette, the plumbing ran under the bench seats. I installed an accumulator there and tapped into the line.

I had to change the water pump days after I got my motor home. The old one was only 3 years old. The old one had the hard lines connected directly, I added the soft line to keep the vibration out of the the water lines.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Argosy

Agree the bladder will push the water out. If you use antifreeze to winterize I would put a shut off in line with the accumulator so you can keep it out. The accumulator in this one is under the bathroom sink and was factory installed, really hard to get a picture. My last motor home had a booth dinette, the plumbing ran under the bench seats. I installed an accumulator there and tapped into the line.

I had to change the water pump days after I got my motor home. The old one was only 3 years old. The old one had the hard lines connected directly, I added the soft line to keep the vibration out of the the water lines.

Soft lines make great snubbers, the longer the better. And if you have room, make them into a coil or two. You are providing a way to convert a shockwave into stored energy. Good luck with your mod!!!

[Iceclimber]

Rebuild ? Don't these generally cost less than $100 and I also carry a new spare...and great ideas on the snubbers. Guess I have tolerated the noise for so long I have gotten used to it.

[Dutch Star Don]

If you can, return the accumulator tank and pump and just buy a variable speed water pump. Accumulator tanks were made pretty much obsolete by variable speed pumps. A lot less complicated.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Mike-

I took the pump off the wet bay right-hand wall and added a sling, as below:



You can see the water pump outlet hose (the inlet hose isn't connected in this picture). The hoses are 1/2-inch FIP (Female Iron Pipe) "braided-cover" PVC hoses from the big orange box store.

An accumulator can be mounted anywhere in the cold-water side. I chose to mount mine behind the water heater. One side is plumbed into a tee, and the other capped off. The piping out of that tee goes to a second tee; one leg goes to the cold-water inlet and the second to a ball valve and drain. This lets me dump the water out of the water heater without having to remove the plug.

I run the accumulator pressure higher than most: 70 psi. That's because it's there to provide the water heater expansion "pocket" that the heater itself refuses to maintain, instead of the more-common use, which is to smooth out water pressure variations.

I could provide more details, but will stop here for now.

[153stars]

Someone posted mounting pump using isolator/s made with heater hoses because it was under the bedroom , plus adding plumbing supply hoses. I thought it was pretty smart mod. I think variable pump is great upgrade it will be my next pump. But my 2ish gallon bladder tank lets me use a decent amount of water without pump even kicking in. I need to put a winterize bypass in or make a jumper fitting or hose for tank. With tank ,AH , washer dryer , .lwet traps and extra piping with the mani-block, it takes a lot of antifreeze.
I have a wide open wet bay with pump , manifold low point drains bladder tank ect. Then just shallow utility bay for gray/black drain , fill/city hook up, outdoor faucet and black tank flusher. The AH a radiator bay heater is in between both bays to hopefully keep it all warm.
It's not the most efficient use if space but it's easy to get to everything.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

Mike-

I took the pump off the wet bay right-hand wall and added a sling, as below:



You can see the water pump outlet hose (the inlet hose isn't connected in this picture). The hoses are 1/2-inch FIP (Female Iron Pipe) "braided-cover" PVC hoses from the big orange box store.

An accumulator can be mounted anywhere in the cold-water side. I chose to mount mine behind the water heater. One side is plumbed into a tee, and the other capped off. The piping out of that tee goes to a second tee; one leg goes to the cold-water inlet and the second to a ball valve and drain. This lets me dump the water out of the water heater without having to remove the plug.

I run the accumulator pressure higher than most: 70 psi. That's because it's there to provide the water heater expansion "pocket" that the heater itself refuses to maintain, instead of the more-common use, which is to smooth out water pressure variations.

I could provide more details, but will stop here for now.

Accumulators cannot work if the air pressure is set at or above system pressure.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Originally Posted by TandW

Accumulators cannot work if the air pressure is set at or above system pressure.

Correct. The key question is: "What is the "system pressure?"

I set my coach's inlet water pressure regulator to 60 psi.

I removed the water heater inlet and outlet check valves when I replumbed the heater to use three ball valves for the bypass. No check valves = fewer problems.

The fly in the ointment is the water heater air pocket. My coach's water heater will not maintain an air pocket. Without one, the water pressure on the hot water side- and, in my case, the cold side, too (due to the missing inlet check valve)- rises as the water heater heats up. I measured pressures in excess of 145 psi in the piping, without an air pocket.

The solution was to install a small accumulator, set to some pressure above 65 psi or so. It then provides the expansion space that an air pocket would normally provide.

The "system pressure" when the water heater is off is 60 psi; when the water heater is on it is 70 psi.

[TandW]

If you have a static "cold" system pressure of 60# it would likely be easier to not overpressure your system if your set the empty accumulator air pressure to 40#

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by 153stars

Someone posted mounting pump using isolator/s made with heater hoses because it was under the bedroom . . .

I used compression mounts below my AquaJet.

[Flyer15015]

Well folks, just to tie up all the loose ends, here is my install.
Tested the system yesterday with 2 hours under pressure, and no leaks.

I set the accumulator pressure at 33#, and that is just enough to wash my hands without the pump cycling.

The pump is mounted in the first basement bay directly under the kitchen sink, and I cannot hear it run while doing the dishes, = yippee !

Were I to do it over, I would eliminate the elbow above the accumulator and just bend the outflow hose in an arc up and over the top, and eliminate two possible leak points. I might get some more hose and redo that part later.
It would save the elbow and 2 clamps if you choose to copy something like this.

SO, I'm a happy camper !

Mike in Colorado

[gnvrvin]

Nice setup

Have to get mine done one of these days

Greg