New Shurflo water pump giving me fits...

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
SargeW

SargeW

Site Team
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Posts
8,518
Location
Where ever we park it!
I put this here instead of the general section because of some of the questions.  I replaced my old Shurflo pump about 3 months ago and this is the first time I am dry camping with it.  It is the Extreme 5.7 GPM pump. When I turn on a faucet I get an initial surge of water, then the flow will stop for a second and slowly restarts. It may keep running, or it may repeat the start up process all over again.  I called Shurflo and they suggested turning the pressure screw on the pump head to increase pressure, but it had no effect on the problem. 

Now for the Winnie part of the question.  Could I have a leaking valve problem that is draining off pressure/water?  I am not getting any water flowing into the holding tanks that seems unusual.  Could it be slipping by the diverter valve (that fills the tank hooks to city water) and draining off pressure?  Any other valves on a Winnie that I am missing?  I also woke up at 2AM and heard the water pump "burp" like it had a pressure drop and was rebuilding pressure.  I have cleaned all the screens on all the faucets because pump pressure at the shower head seemed too low.  That didn't help either.  ???  I have checked the water lines for leaks and have found nothing unusual.

Now I am stumped again. Any suggestions are appreciated. 

Sarge
 
Sarge, the pressure part of the system exists between the pump and the faucets.  I think that would eliminate the diverter valve (fill/city water) from the equation.    Does your faucet "spurt air" when the water stops flowing or is it just a gentle stop of the water flow?  Thinking further, if you had some restriction/kink between the pump and the faucet, it would hold pressure between itself and the pump and water would flow out the faucet for an instant, then stop because the pump didn't start.  Can you hear the pump when you turn the water on?
 
Yes I can Bob.  I had the wife open and close the faucets while I watched the pump to make sure. I mention the diverter valve because in a sense it is on the pressure side of the pump.  When I am attached to city water and if I rotate the handle to "Fill tank" the pump will start running at full tilt.  That's why I was considering the valve may be leaking a bit. 

I considered the kink in the supply side too, although I can't see anything obvious. When I replaced the pump I replaced the inlet hose from the tank fitting to the inlet side of the pump because it was kind of collapsed in the middle.  However, I could clearly see the hose collapse on the inlet side.  The outlet side runs behind the pump to the outlet fitting.  Not as easy to see. 

The hard part is that it seems to be intermittent too.  When it occurs, the water will pump, then slow like the pump stopped. If I wait for a few seconds it will start pumping again.  It's making me crazy.......
 
SargeW said:
When I replaced the pump I replaced the inlet hose from the tank fitting to the inlet side of the pump because it was kind of collapsed in the middle.  However, I could clearly see the hose collapse on the inlet side.  The outlet side runs behind the pump to the outlet fitting.  Not as easy to see. 

The hard part is that it seems to be intermittent too.  When it occurs, the water will pump, then slow like the pump stopped. If I wait for a few seconds it will start pumping again.  It's making me crazy.......
Click to expand...
Is it possible the inlet hose you replaces is too soft, so it collapses & starves the pump.
 
Sarge,

It seems to be the nature of the beast. I had the exact same problem after replacement of my 3rd 5.7 pump. I was told the same thing, namely increase the max. pressure and like you had no improvement of the problem. I finally gave up on the 5.7 pumps and installed an Aquajet RV pump. Problem solved.
 
It's also possible that the pump itself is leaking back internally and causing it to cycle.
 
Harry, did you have any problems with the power to this new pump. Seems it draws 10 amps and I just wondered if the wire, fuse etc was large enough with the original wiring? Thanks
 
SargeW said:
When I am attached to city water and if I rotate the handle to "Fill tank" the pump will start running at full tilt.  That's why I was considering the valve may be leaking a bit.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the way mine behaves. 

Do you get full flow with a faucet wide(s) wide open?  I have found having the little accumulator tank on the pump discharge helps the surging quite a bit, but even at that our pump will not produce a continuous smooth discharge with a faucet opened up only a little.

+1 for what Harry said - we had the exact symptoms a pump or two ago and Jeff's theory makes sense.  Jimmy - Winnie provides adequate power for the pump.

Odds are you need either another 5.7 pump or try another brand.
 
When I am attached to city water and if I rotate the handle to "Fill tank" the pump will start running at full tilt.
Click to expand...

That is normal operation. The pressure on the output side falls when the fill valve is opened and that turns the pump on.
 
Harry, did you have any problems with the power to this new pump. Seems it draws 10 amps and I just wondered if the wire, fuse etc was large enough with the original wiring? Thanks
Click to expand...

Itcn2go ----

The 5.7 Shurflo and the Aquajet pump draw about the same amount of power, so the wiring (12ga.in my case) is adequate for either pump.
Edit: Removed white space.
 
Thanks for the input guys.  Lots of info, the new inlet hose I used was really stout and a slight bit larger inside diameter than the one I took off.  It is clear except for the reinforcing threads running thru it.  I was wondering about the leak back too.  Brand new pump, could it get better with a break in period?  With wide open faucet it usually will run OK.  Notice I said usually.  Occasionally the flow will drop out at wide open position too, but it is only for a second then it comes back.  I'm starting to like the Aqua Jet option........

Well, I am back at a hook up site at lake Powell for a few days, so I guess I will back burner this for a while.  It still bugs me though.
 
Not to bash a long-standing vendor, but if you check around various boards you'll find a lot of comments about the 5.7 Extreme pump.  Does not seem to be one of their best models.

I went through 2 myself in a bit over 18 months, both failed.  Switched back to a slightly lower flow unit and haven't had a bit of trouble since.
 
I had a pump that was "burping" occasionally too. I traced it down to the antibackflow valve at the city water inlet. I found a plug to stop up the water hose connection and that stopped the "burping".
 
John Canfield said:
We're on our 4th  :eek:
Click to expand...

Lost track, its either my 3rd or 4th.  One wouldn't stop running until the wall switch was shut off, one kept surging just like the cheapy ones I've had on past coaches, the last one was leaking water from the head area which is what this current one seems to be doing after less than a year (I keep a plastic plate under the head of the pump now after the previous one flooded everything in that particular compartment before I realized it was leaking).  They've all been replaced under warranty but it's getting to be a nuisance removing and shipping the old one off then replacing the new one.  They used to ship a new one charged to your credit card then credit it back after you send back the old one, but on the last one they said I had to send in the old one and wait for the new one, which meant no camping for a couple of weeks at least.

Maybe I should request the lower model next time and see if it holds up any better.  The 5.7 certainly puts out more water than needed, especially when dry camping with limited facilities.

Allen
 
Another one bites the dust ...this 5.7 lasted me 14 months. It is spraying water from the seal between the body and head ...tightening the screws did not help at all.  I put my first one in about February 2005, and each one has lasted anywhere from 2 to 18 months before beginning to leak, or not running, or running all the time...  Sure glad I carry a spare depedable 2.8gpm model...
 
Maybe you need to come to the GNR
Click to expand...
Can't make it to GNR this year ...maybe next year. We're catching a plane out of St Louis next week for a wedding in Maryland. We plan to be in one place for most of the month of August so should be able to get a repaired/replacement pump to us then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 621 (members: 9, guests: 612)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,954
Posts
1,388,147
Members
137,707
Latest member
Opal6502
Back
Top Bottom