Decisions, decisions, re fitting replacement Shurflo pump....

[Geoff_T]

Hi

We have a 1996 Fleetwood Jamboree Searcher which we have been slowly updating and my next task is replacing the broken water pump.

There are aspects of construction of the Jamboree have not struck me as being the smartest idea and their water pump mounting is one of them.

If I read the Shurflo installation guide it stipulates at least one foot of flexible high pressure hose to both ports, must not be connected to rigid pipe, must not have restrictive elbows within two feet of the pump, etc., etc.

Needless to say, on the current installation, both connections are solid pipe and both are sequences of elbows with elbows on both ports and further elbows about 4" away.

I could take the easy path and slap the new pump straight in where the old one was.... even the fixings for the mount would be the same.

Or I could mount it a couple of feet away, using the flexible hoses, and adapt the ends of the rigid pipes, minus elbows, to connect to flexible pipe. That's a fiddly procedure but I suspect for noise and flow much better.

What thinks you all?



Geoff and Sally

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I doubt if it affects flow much, but the flex hose will cut down on vibration if that is a problem. But you probably don't know if you have that problem or not, at lleast until you put it together. May as well do the flex hose thing while you are working on it.

 

[Geoff_T]

Hi

When the pump worked it was very noisy....

Geoff & Sally

 

[Tony_Alberta]

I know in the oil patch here in Alberta that very flexible steel is used for the first so many feet of connection to a pump so as to minimize vibration transfer to the rest of the plant.  So I'm thinking the same as Gary. 

OTOH slap it in place, see how noisy it is, move it to use flexible piping and let us know the difference.   

Also maybe the rubber bushings on the old pump were hardened so the noise was transferred to the backing.

 

[Master-Tech]

Try boyh ways !  No matter your gona have some noise through floor orwhat ever ,,,    It being a Rotary Pump they gona have little Noise an Vibration  !!!!!      Rodney

 

[carson]

I like a bit of noise when the pump is running. At least I know it is working and also when it is sporadically pulsing due to a small leak somewhere or a tap being partially open somewhere.

  Oh well, We report--you decide.

Carson

 

[Just Lou]

The flexible metal reinforced hoses are the same as used in residential toilet/sink plumbing.  They can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's.  Every hose available seemed to have female ends, so some standard male-to-male adapters (nipples) were required to complete my installation.

Pump is much quieter now.

 

[SCVJeff]

I have a loop of flex on the in & out, then covered it with self sealing 1/2" pipe insulation. It has to be completely quiet both inside and out to even hear the pump run now.

 

[Geoff_T]

Hi

I screwed the pump to the thick plywood base of the seat case and used two big loops of reinforced hose to a hose to threaded connection to the pumps original connection. I fitted a simple filter to the inlet of the pump.

Switched on it pumps heartily with no leaks to any of my connections. Much much quieter.... that's the good news.

The bad news is, even when there's no taps on the pump is cycling very quietly, but pumping none the less. I know I can fit a pressure reservoir (or whatever it's called) but I don't have one and want to use the RV on Monday. The pump manual said I could adjust the pressure control by a screw at the bottom, to a maximum of 1.5 turns but it appears to make no difference.

So my attention is drawn to a pair of valves that are tee'd off both the cold and hot feeds to the taps. These valves have an elbow that goes through the floor so I assume they are drain cocks.... but there is no obvious on or off... they turn and turn... so I assume they turn 90 degrees with the T lever across or in line with the pipe. The fittings are plastic but I don't hear any noise as I turn them.

Any suggestions please re the drain cocks or pump cycling?

Thanks

Geoff & Sally

 

[Master-Tech]

A word of advice that switch was preset at or about 40 to 45lbs pressure , wich is all you need for the supply. If the pump is cycleing,  you may not have any water leaks on pressure side of the pump it would show itself, it very well may be on the Tank or Suck side of the pump wich less likely to leak Water (no pressure) but shure will suck Air , wich will cause the Pump too cycle occasionally, check your filter on the pump they are notorious for this  !!  What do valves look like ? they maybe just a pull-up type

 

[Geoff_T]

Hi

The valves are plastic with T shaped levers on top.

I'm not sure it's air on the inlet side but I'm not sure of anything, really.



Geoff & Sally

 

[Geoff_T]

Hi

One thing I forgot to mention... I bought the pump via an Amazon.com supplier

When it arrived there was a small crack in the plastic moulding of the shut off valve.

As I was in a hurry to get this fitted as we need the RV over the weekend, I put superglue in the crack and clamped the case with heavy duty tyraps.

I did wonder if this might affect the cycling...


Geoff & Sally

 

[Just Lou]

Those T-shaped valves are your low point drains.  They don't turn, they pull straight up.  I'm no master tech, but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express one night.