Seeking Help on Selecting a New Water Pump

A question for those of you wanting better water flow from your on board pump. Why do you want to use water faster from you fresh water holding tank? That just means you have to fill the tank sooner. One would think that you are off grid if using the on board water tank. Now I can see wanting better water flow when hooked up in a campground.
In our case we run a 3 GPM pump to allow us to stay away from the fill/dump station longer.

Richard

Richard:  In our case, we?re seldom not on full hookup.  When we are, rarely more than 2 days while relocating. We both work full time, Monday through Friday, explore where we are evenings and weekends, move every 3 to 5 weeks, and do it again.  We usually use fresh tank and pump even when hooked up.  That way, we?ll know if we develop a leak by the pump cycling when no reason.  Abundance of caution perhaps, but I?ve read horror stories about how much damage can happen when a leak goes undetected for even a short amount of time.

Gizmo said:

Thanks again Gary, this is helpful.

I sure will, placed the order yesterday hope to install it soon after receiving it whenever that is.

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I have not forgotten to report back as requested, but we have been boondocking and have not had a chance to pick-up the pump from Th UPS Store and also wanting to wait till w get back to civilization where stores etc. are handy.

So sorry for the delayed response to Laura and Charles, but we were finding real nice boondocking sites, enjoying every minute of it and now back to civilization as Lin An is on her next travel nurse assignment.  I just installed the 55Aquajet ARV water pump, so now I can report back on my experience thus far.  The install went well, with one slight hiccup.  I installed a Sharkbite water pressure gauge in the Pex tubing after the water pump out put to see what kind of pressure I am getting.  After installing the pump and turning it on I noticed the gauge was reading just over 90 PSI, way above it's rated output and not within my comfort range.  I called Remco and they suggested taking the back flow protection located in the outlet connection out which I did and sure enough the PSI dropped to the expected range.  Although technically back flow protection is not really needed since any water that might back flow would not be contaminated, I decided to put the unit back in and see what happens, oddly enough the PSI stayed within the expected range.  So still scratching my head why simply pulling the unit out and replacing made a difference.  Oh well, the pump is working.  As far as user experience thus far, Lin An and I are very happy with the pumps performance, showers are much better with the additional PSI, and when two sources of water are being used at the same time, ie. washing dishes while another is showering there is little if any drop in water pressure at the two locations.  So far we really like the performance of the pump and like the heavier and more robust build over the OEM Lippert pump.

90 psi. Wow that?s high. One thing it will do is deplete your water tank real fast when boondocking. I don?t think they test the water system that high at the factory so that would be my concern.

Yes 90PSI is too high, but as mentioned I have solved it and the pressure is staying around 55 PSI.

Gizmo said:

Yes 90PSI is too high, but as mentioned I have solved it and the pressure is staying around 55 PSI.

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Oh you never said what that new pressure was. Sounds good now. I?m still wondering how by just removing the back flow preventer (bfp) and reinstalling it lowered the pressure. Do you have any idea what the pressure was at each faucet?  The pump obviously can put out 90 psi so why isn?t it putting out 90 psi constantly even with or without the bfp?

Thanks for the update!

Gizmo said:

taking the back flow protection located in the outlet connection out

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So was this check valve part of the pump, part of a kit you got or something in your existing plumbing?  The website and installation documentation for the pump doesn't mention one.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Rene T said:

Oh you never said what that new pressure was. Sounds good now. I?m still wondering how by just removing the back flow preventer (bfp) and reinstalling it lowered the pressure. Do you have any idea what the pressure was at each faucet?  The pump obviously can put out 90 psi so why isn?t it putting out 90 psi constantly even with or without the bfp?

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That is the $20,000 question and I am still scratching my head on.  The person I spoke with at Remco only suggested removing the check valve and did not mention reinstalling it, I only did so for kicks and giggles.  I suspect Remco was suggesting removing the back flow check valve and leavng it out if it worked.  I do not know the PSI at each faucet, I installed the pressure gauge on the main line midway between the pump output and where it branches off to each sink, shower etc.  I would have liked to install the gauge under either the bathroom or kitchen sink, but the Pex tubing under the kitchen sink is behind a panel that would have to be removed and the water supply to the bathroom sink is flexible hose, so not compatible with the Sharkbite pressure gauge.

Mark_K5LXP said:

So was this check valve part of the pump, part of a kit you got or something in your existing plumbing?  The website and installation documentation for the pump doesn't mention one.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

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The check valve came installed in the pump and yes there was no mention of it in the manual.  Had Remco not suggested removing it, I would not have know it existed as it sits in the output connection and to remove it I had to use a needle nose plier to grasp it.

The RV Upgrade link does mention the backflip valve.

The outlet check valve prevents city water connection backflow.