Water pump problems

[rjberry]

Here is what I have done so far; Bought another pump last year replaced it and got the coach winterized. Everything seemed to work just fine.

De-winterized the fifth-wheel with city water. Couldn't get the pump to pull the fresh water out of the tank. I gave up used bottles of water while on the road then hooked it up to city water.

We just got back from Spring Break and the pump will not pull the fluid into the lines. I switched the pumps again this year. It did not work! The pump runs but seems to not have the power to suck up the fluid. I almost gave up BUT then I pulled the line off of the outlet side, put my thumb on it to see if it was pressurizing. All of a sudden it kind of burped on that side and water came out, and the fluid started flowing. Happily I finished winterizing the coach.

Thought I'd recheck it after I had switched the pumps and again it didn't work. The valve to the fresh water tank has been closed.

I have never had this much problem with water pumps in my life and I've owned other fifth wheels with zero problems winterizing.

Both pumps are Shurflo. I'm wondering if I need to buy a larger pump, I'm ready to just give this fifth-wheel away for free. lol It is so frustrating! It seems the more complex they make the system the more problems.

It is a pretty simple system, water in, water out, I understand that air leaks are a main issue but for the life of me I can't seem to make it work on a regular basis and it doesn't seem to be an air leak. It seems like the pump is getting some kind of a vapor lock. It did have a filter inline that had a plastic case that broke a year ago and created an air leak. I took this out of the line and everything worked fine for a while.

Wall out, Wall back in, wall out, wall back in, wall out, wall back in. It really shouldn't be this hard.

Any ideas would be appreciated. When I get my patience back I will work on it again. Probably not until I get to our next destination for summer vacation.

[Tomkidder]

I think I read somewhere on here about a one way valve problem on here. Someone may chime in.

[Tomkidder]

Also make sure the valve is off for suction of your antifreeze pigtail. Just as a precaution make sure the plug is also in the end of the pigtail

[xtasee]

Originally Posted by Tomkidder

Also make sure the valve is off for suction of your antifreeze pigtail. Just as a precaution make sure the plug is also in the end of the pigtail

And tightend they leak air even when you think they're tight

[rjberry]

I have slept on this problem and this might be operator error. I need to check both fittings going to the pump. I'm thinking maybe I have lost a washer in one of those fittings and even though they are tight one might be allowing air into the system.

I hope I'm right.

[Blenhardt]

I had a similar problem when trying to winterize this winter. Took the pump out anticipating that I would have to buy a new one. On whim I took the pump apart not thinking I could fix it. However there was a circular disk that I presume is a valve that was stuck. After I pressed on it it was freed up and after reassembly it worked. Don't know for how long but we will see.

[rjberry]

Originally Posted by Blenhardt

I had a similar problem when trying to winterize this winter. Took the pump out anticipating that I would have to buy a new one. On whim I took the pump apart not thinking I could fix it. However there was a circular disk that I presume is a valve that was stuck. After I pressed on it it was freed up and after reassembly it worked. Don't know for how long but we will see.

Thank you so much for your input. I have an extra pump so I will play with it and see what it looks like.
Such a simple system should not create so many problems. I'm thinking of buying a larger pump that may have more suction

[atom ant]

You may be past this, but is the hand valve down by the pump open (isolates tank from pump).

Also, the pumps have difficulty pulling suction if deadheading air against a closed system. Did you try opening a valve downstream on the system while priming the pump?

[rjberry]

Originally Posted by atom ant

You may be past this, but is the hand valve down by the pump open (isolates tank from pump).

Also, the pumps have difficulty pulling suction if deadheading air against a closed system. Did you try opening a valve downstream on the system while priming the pump?

I opened the faucets which seems to always work. These pumps may need a different kind of priming. As I mentioned I took off the output side of the hose and place my thumb on the pump hole. pressed and released it a couple of times and then it let go with a burp of water and the suction started working. It may be a poor valve in these pumps. Its just odd that after buying another pump just like it they both act the same way.
I'm leaning to maybe and air leak somewhere. Just a weird weird problem

[atom ant]

The common air leak was not getting the antifreeze cap tight enough on the draft hose. Good luck, I hate those kind of issues.

[NW Snowbirds]

I had so much problem with the antifreeze hose cap that I gave up and installed a ball valve in the suction hose just upstream from the pump. Problem went away.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by NW Snowbirds

I had so much problem with the antifreeze hose cap that I gave up and installed a ball valve in the suction hose just upstream from the pump. Problem went away.

This will probably be the solution and easy fix with the pex tools

[RW Cal]

Originally Posted by rjberry

Here is what I have done so far; Bought another pump last year replaced it and got the coach winterized. Everything seemed to work just fine.

De-winterized the fifth-wheel with city water. Couldn't get the pump to pull the fresh water out of the tank. I gave up used bottles of water while on the road then hooked it up to city water.

We just got back from Spring Break and the pump will not pull the fluid into the lines. I switched the pumps again this year. It did not work! The pump runs but seems to not have the power to suck up the fluid. I almost gave up BUT then I pulled the line off of the outlet side, put my thumb on it to see if it was pressurizing. All of a sudden it kind of burped on that side and water came out, and the fluid started flowing. Happily I finished winterizing the coach.

Thought I'd recheck it after I had switched the pumps and again it didn't work. The valve to the fresh water tank has been closed.

I have never had this much problem with water pumps in my life and I've owned other fifth wheels with zero problems winterizing.

Both pumps are Shurflo. I'm wondering if I need to buy a larger pump, I'm ready to just give this fifth-wheel away for free. lol It is so frustrating! It seems the more complex they make the system the more problems.

It is a pretty simple system, water in, water out, I understand that air leaks are a main issue but for the life of me I can't seem to make it work on a regular basis and it doesn't seem to be an air leak. It seems like the pump is getting some kind of a vapor lock. It did have a filter inline that had a plastic case that broke a year ago and created an air leak. I took this out of the line and everything worked fine for a while.

Wall out, Wall back in, wall out, wall back in, wall out, wall back in. It really shouldn't be this hard.

Any ideas would be appreciated. When I get my patience back I will work on it again. Probably not until I get to our next destination for summer vacation.

After I de-winterized this year I camped for a week and filled the fresh tank 1/3 with water on the way back home. Fired up the pump and nothing! Checked the winterize valve. Still nothing! Finally found the problem. There is a plastic filter in line with the pump that failed. Nothing could get through it. I'm not sure why it is even there. I filter the water going into the fresh tank with a filter so I'm going to leave it out from now on. The pump now works great.

[travelin' texans]

That filter is not to filter the water you added, but to strain out all the plastic shavings & other crap those guys at the factory at fall into the tank.

[r time soon]

Partially correct, Shurflo considers this a sediment filter to remove sand , etc from the potable water, to keep the pump diaphragm from harm from the debris. If there is still construction debris in the potable tank, I would suggest filling the fresh tank and draining it through the low point to help it escape.

[spindrift]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Danny was making a joke.

[MuddFlap]

I was laughing ��

[5th_Time]

Think Danny is still correct. That filter has nothing but a small screen. It's not going to filter out anything but particles and large ones at that.

[Dave6532]

I have a 2014 36RL and the water pump no longer works. Where do I locate the water pump? I want to see if I can repair it myself without having to buy one.

Thanks,
Dave

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Dave6532

I have a 2014 36RL and the water pump no longer works. Where do I locate the water pump? I want to see if I can repair it myself without having to buy one.

Thanks,
Dave

Have you tried both power switches to your pump? One switch is in the convenience center and the other is in the main control center. Also, it always possible that a wire to one of the switches has become loose or disconnected.

The water pump physically is located right behind the rear wall in the storage compartment. You will need to remove few screws to pull out the rear wall. The pump is located approximately in the middle. If you look down and to the left through the water filter access door, you should be able to see the pump.

Hope this helps.