Water Pump setting off alarm

[MortgageDiva]

I am a newbie trailer girl. My water pump was constantly running so I turned it off. My batteries are low right now due to solar panel damage. When I turn on water pump an alarm goes off. Cant figure out where the alarm either. Why is this happening? A leak, fire, low battery?

 

[Rene T]

Its 'probably your LP alarm. It should be somewhere near your stove. Many will chirp when the battery is low and you did say your battery was low.
You should try to figure out why your pump runs all the time. Give us some details and we may be able to help you.

 

[RVfixer]

The alarm is likely due to the low battery.  If the alarm comes on with the water pump, that makes sense because if the battery is already low the water pump will drag it down real low.

As to the water pump running all the time...it is likely a bypass pump like a Surflo 4048 pump.  A bypass pump is designed to run water down to very low flow without the pump cycling on and off.  It does this by bypassing water internally rather than the pressure switch shutting the pump off at low flow.  However, if the bypass pressure gets too close or overlaps the shutoff pressure the pump will not stop running.

For some reason, unknown to me, a low battery affects the pressure setting.  The pump may run fine when it has good electric power but with a low battery it just continues bypassing internally and does not stop running.  You can cure this by adjusting the pressure screw.  This is done by turning a very small 5/64 Allen screw on the end of the pump.  On the 4048 pump, and most bypass pumps, there are two adjustment screws.  The pressure screw is in the center at the end of the pump head.  The bypass screw is offset from the center.  You want to adjust the pressure screw.  To stop the continuous running, on the 4048 pump, you insert a 5/64 Allen wrench in the center screw.  Turn the pump on (faucets off...pump running) and turn the screw about a half turn.  If the pump does not stop go back to the original position and turn a half turn in the other direction.  When the pump stops turn the screw just a "little" further.  Try turning the faucet on and off several times to insure that the pump now shuts off when the faucet is closed.

My pump manual did not call out the pressure adjustment.  I found this out by emailing the pump manufacture.

 

[Oak]

Wow, RVfixer, you really are!
I honestly do not believe a day goes by I do not learn something new from this forum.
RVfixer thanks so much for the info.

Oak

 

[Rene T]

Before I make any adjustments as stated by RVfixer, I would look at the low battery problem first if low battery does effect the pump pressure as he mentioned and I have no reason to doubt him.

 

[RVfixer]

It doesn't take a real low battery or a defective battery to affect these pumps.  It is kind of a pain really. When we go up to the mountains with no hookups and can only run the generator a couple hours in the morning and a couple in the evening due to NP Rules.  This was never a problem until I installed a bypass pump.  If we are out hiking and don't get back in time for generator time in the evenings for a couple of days the batteries get a little low and the pump will start to constantly run.  I can adjust the pump as I stated in my other post and all is OK.  Then with the generator running the pump wants to cycle on and off unless I run the faucet at a higher volume...which you would rather not do with no hookups while you are conserving water.

So, through trial and error I have learned to find an adjustment that is fair with max voltage and still doesn't run constantly when the batteries get a little low.  I have discussed this with the manufacture and they say "Yes, if you have varying voltage you will have to chase the pressure setting or set it higher and put up with some cycling at the higher voltage or open the faucet further.

In my case it is not a bad battery that causes the low voltage it is how long I go between running the generator and charging the batteries up.  If it is cold and we use the furnace at night I know the batteries will go low enough to cause the pump to not shut off...in that case we shut the pump off when we go to bed and just turn it on when needed.  The batteries are still high enough to run the furnace and all the circuit boards.  When we keep up with the generator runs daily we don't have this problem and just leave the pump switch on when we are in the trailer.  This will happen with new batteries, it is not a battery problem.  The OP said her batteries were low due to solar panel damage so I am assuming that she doesn't have a defective battery.

With my old non bypass pump I used an accumulator to keep the pump from cycling when the faucet is opened just a little for low flow.  The bypass pump was designed to give you low flow without cycling, without the use of an accumulator in the system.  It works great if batteries are full up...let the batteries get a low, not so much!!  I am thinking of installing and accumulator with the bypass pump and see how that works.  I like the pump, it gives great pressure and it is quieter than my last non bypass pump.

How can you tell I have very little to do today?....Sorry for the long posts. 

 

[kdbgoat]

Long post or not, that was an education. Thanks.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What year/make/model of trailer are we talking about?  I'm somewhat dubious that Diva has a bypass type pump, although it is a possibility. A water pump that won't shut off is more often a water leakage issue, whether internal to the pump or in the water system lines somewhere. Or maybe a tank fill valve in the wrong position, which is sort of a "bypass" by itself. There are a couple possibilities here, and the "bypass pump" is only one of them, and probably not the most common one either.