With no water being used, how often should the pump come on? Ours is coming on about every half hour, even if no water has been used during that time. It only runs for a few seconds and then shuts off. Should we just leave it off unless we need water? We've been turning it off at night, and I don't think it takes even a minute in the morning before it shuts off.
Sorry to say it shouldn't come on at all. If the water pressure is dropping enough to make the pump come on...well, that pressure is being dissipated somewhere.
Looks like I still have a water problem.
Thinking harder, it could be the pump itself internally leaking, or a fitting, or a toilet... They ran the water supply hose for my icemaker and water dispenser under the floor in the cabinet under the sink...and slight movement while travelling rubbed enough to result in a very tiny leak in that hose. Took me a while to find it and fix it, but that would cause that type of behavior at the pump.
If I recall correctly, my old 1990 internally wouldn't hold pressure and I had to replace the pump.
Both of those things would cause what you describe.
One way to test the pump...If you can find a spot to plug the output of the pump, then turn the pump on, if it cycles again like that, then the pump is your issue. If it doesn't, tthen you can eliminate the pump as your culprit.
Untill you find that leak I would turn it off after every usage (which we do all the time without thinking). Not worth chancing a major problem.
I would put a temporary hose on the output but blank it off so no water is being asked for and see if the pump still does that. If it does not come on then you do have a leak someplace.
JohnH
I would start by making sure that all faucets and drain valves are shut and not leaking. Next I would check all fittings on the discharge of the pump for leakage. Probably have to visually check from the discharge of the pump to all end points. Check the relief valve on the hot water heater to make sure it is not leaking. Have fun ---- Fritz
should never run unless you are using water, indicates a leak somewhere.
Shut it off except when using water till you find the issue
May have a leak, but even a coach without any leaks, the water pump will cycle for a moment. Most do cycle, but it cannot be heard inside, so no one knows for sure. Cycling is normal, in my opinion and while a new pump may not cycle at first, it usually will in time.
Look for a leak, keeping in mind toilet leaks are hard to spot. If no leaks, it is not necessary to change pump. No reason to turn off pump while in coach, but always a good idea to turn off pump while gone to prevent flooding.
Some have put an inside sounder that beeps when pump cycles, if they cannot hear the pump run from inside the coach. Sure will let you know right away about plumbing problems.
Staying connected to city water hose puts plumbing at risk, with no easy quick way to turn off water if there is a problem or when leaving coach.
Another place to look for a leak is the tank fill valve. You'll never see this leak, as the leakage goes right back into the fresh water tank.
The sneaky leaky
If no visible leaks, Tom's idea amount the fill valve is good. Could be leaking or not fully closed and just recirculating a tiny bit. Same with the check valve at the pump.
Pierce
Mine used to do that, turned out to be a leak in the pump body. Replaced the pump and accumulator assy no more problem. Any small leak, faucet drip will cause the pump to cycle. However as others have said we turn it on when needed then off, we also turn off the outside water supply if we are going to be away from the M/H. It's a real ugly sight to come back and find water running out of the MH, been there done that, not to good.
We have had our coach four years and been "some timers" that put about 12,000 miles/year on the coach. We replaced a water pump in order to get a quieter one. The only time old or new pump runs without an obvious reason was when there is a leak somewhere. If your pump is cycling without an obvious reason, keep searching.
We had a subtle leak at the back of the water heater. Tightening would help for a few days. The cone shaped washer was dried out. I replaced the water line with a bit of Pex and a couple of Watts fittings.
Fill valve in my coach failed in the open position (grit caught in it, would not close.) was not a good failure, basically had to fix immediately, pump could not build pressure, shore water just wanted to fill and overflow tank, pump ran continuously
When we first got the coach six years ago, the pump would one quick pump every half hour or so. Turns out it was a leak in the icemaker water line. When it started doing that again six months ago, it turns out a connector on the icemaker water line was leaking.
Last week I replaced the water pump. The pressure switch was acting up, and having a tech replace the switch would have cost almost as much as a new pump. I really like the new variable speed pump, the flow is steady at any rate.
Our pump is new. We can hear it inside IF everything is quiet. I'm keeping it off until I want water, since it only takes a few seconds to build pressure. The toilet did have a leak last year, and that has been fixed. I understand that any pressurized system will eventually leak down if the pump doesn't add more pressure every so often. I wonder if this pump has the on and off points closer together than normal, since it only runs a few seconds every half hour or so when not otherwise needed.
We're getting quite a list of things that need doing when we next head down to Nac.
I would consider a leak down in 30 minutes to be a problem. Any time our pump has run for no apparent reason, it has indicated that something is wrong somewhere.
Try isolating one circuit at the monoblock each night to see if you can identify the circuit that is leaking then work from there .
Good luck
No monoblock.
Don't know if this is related, but the last two mornings we didn't have hot water. The water heater is gas-only, as far as I know. During the day, when we're using hot water once in a while, we're fine. During the night, though, the thermostat either doesn't ever call for heat or the call is ignored. This morning I checked for hot water as soon as I got up, and there wasn't any, so I turned the switch off for a few seconds and then back on again. By the time I wanted to wash dishes I had hot water, and when I stepped out of the coach after washing the dishes I could hear the hot water heater working.
David,
If your water heater is orig, it will run on gas plus it has a heat exchanger that heats the water from the Detroit while driving. You can add a "hot rod", an electric heater element where the drain plug is. Ours works great. A switch and wiring has to be added but easy.
Do a google search for troubleshooting and your model Attwood. Not heating could be a lot of things but the factory has all the possibilities on one page so five minutes should find the problem.
Pierce
Didn't you just have a wet bay issue?
Yes, I did. I'm wondering if all of this is somehow related, more than just all being water. I'm not losing a whole hot water heater worth of water, so I don't think the hot water heater is leaking and therefore not causing the gas to fire. Also, the gas fires just find during the day. Hmmm, do hot water heaters sleep at night, too? <grin> When I go to wash the dishes in a few minutes, I'll have plenty of hot water, and when I step out of the coach afterward I'll hear the hot water heater's burner going.
Doesn't the 1993 U300 have a pressure tank in the same compartment with the water pump? My 1991 has one. Your pump should always run more than just a few seconds unless your pressure tank is bad.
Whenever my system has a leak it's almost always a faucet that isn't off all the way or the short hose I leave connected to my water fill inlet all the time with a cap screwed on the end of it. If I ever hear the pump start for no reason and the faucets are off I just automatically go out to the utility bay and sure enough the cap isn't on the end of the filler hose tight enough.
Yes, I do have a pressure tank right above the pump. Could it be going bad? When I'm using water the pump runs constantly, and for a short time (<1 minute) after I turn the faucet off. Even if I don't use any water, it will come on again about 30 minutes later, run for maybe five seconds or so, and then shut off.
David,
You can tell if the pressure tank is good by turning on a faucet after the pump has built pressure. The water should run for a few seconds before the pump comes back on. If it comes on immediately, the tank is bad.
Our pump comes on occasionally during the day but I don't worry about it. Not losing water anywhere. We turn if off when we won't be using water. The few times we are in a campground with a water connection, we just use it to fill the tank and then turn it off. With overpressure or internal fitting failure, the is the chance of flooding the interior.
Make sure you don't have a leak in the wet compartment. It should be dry or water may migrate to the steel tubing and cause a rust problem.
Pierce
a quick tap on the schrader valve will also tell you quickly if the tank is bad. If water appears, the internal bladder is gone. I had my 1990's tank go bad many years ago, so I bought one of the variable speed pumps. I just had to replace my home RO pressure tank. Wasn't all tht expensive via Amazon...if you want to keep the tank in the system.
Because the hot water tank is so small and heats water so quickly we always turn the hot water heater off when we are finished using hot water, A bit off topic but just wondering if everyone keeps their hot water heater on all the time....waste of propane.
Roland
One disadvantage of turning hot water tank propane or electric off is that the water expands more going from cool to hot, causing extra pressure on all plumbing. If connected to electric, why not add an electric hot rod kit which installs in the drain plug threaded hole. We had a hot rod for many years until we replaced our propane hot water heater for a new unit, ordering one with an electric heating element.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/hott-rod-water-heater-conversion-k (http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/hott-rod-water-heater-conversion-k) it-6-gallon/47672
We used a 6 gallon size because it pull lower amps, which allowed us to use it when on minimal 20-amp shore power. Just takes a little longer to heat than the 10 gallon hot rod.
Not only a waste of propane but it makes a lot of noise too.
Pierce
The only time I leave the hot water on is if I am at a park and plugged in to 110 volts. Not sure what year FTs have 3-way (Motor heat, propane, 110 volt), but I am glad to report my 2002 has them standard in my 10 gallon tank.
If you find that your pressure tank is bad I suggest you replace it with a new pressure tank from the big blue or big orange home improvement store. It's an easy and inexpensive replacement you should be able to do right in their parking lot in a few minutes. Don't remove the tank from the system or install one of the new pumps designed to eliminate the tank. The new coaches don't have the tank just to save money on manufacturing cost. The older coaches with pressure tanks are way better. You can get up in the middle of the night and flush the toilet, wash your hands, and never have the pump come on to wake anyone up. The new coaches start the pump even for the slightest bit of water use. The new pumps don't last as long, probably as a result of running so much. If you have a bad pressure tank or a bad pump replace it with the same one your coach came with and you'll be much happier. Newer coaches are just like everything else, built cheaper but yet much more expensive. This is just one more example from the long list I've compiled.
I replaced our water pump with a newer, quieter model. It is variable speed. I left the accumulator tank in the system. The variable speed pump and the accumulator work well together. The accumulator tank reduces cycling of the pump, and mitigates pressure problems that can result from heating water in a closed system that has no air cushion.
Mine never had an accumulator tank, and pulsations in water pressure at less than wide opoen were always noticeable. Never any issues with over pressure. I just replaced the pump with a variable speed unit, and it is much quieter with no pulsations. The faucets in my coach now work just like the ones in my house.