Another water pump failure

[Jerry713]

Last weekend we were camping at the RV park where we keep our camper at during the summer. We were out having dinner after a day of fishing and got a call from the RV park owner that we had water pouring out of the bottom of our camper and she had turned off the water faucet. Fearing the worst we quickly finished eating and headed to the camper. Fortunately no water was found inside the camper and none of my water alarms were going off. I turned the water back on and it was running out of the fresh water holding tank overflow lines. I checked my fresh water water holding tank level and it was showing full even though we had been using only city water and not the holding tank. After some checking sure enough the check valve in the water pump failed so the city water was backing up through the water pump and into the fresh water holding tank then out the overflow. Fortunately I had recently bought a new water pump as a spare after reading so many water pump issues in here. Changed out the water pump and problem solved.

Sure thankful they designed these things with an overflow line. That saved our bacon for sure.

I would recommend to anyone with an RV to have either a spare water pump or a rebuild kit for that water pump. Seems like based on what I’ve heard and read these water pumps nowadays are almost disposable.

[ARoamer]

I'm curious, do you use a pressure regulator or have any idea of the CG water pressure?

[norty1]

Another reason to not have valves on your fresh tank overflows.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by ARoamer

I'm curious, do you use a pressure regulator or have any idea of the CG water pressure?

I use an adjustable pressure regulator with a gauge on it. I keep the pressure around 45 psi. It does fluctuate a little but definitely doesn’t get above 50 psi. But I usually just use the city water and not the water pump. I believe that had something to do with what happened so I plan on using the pump more often.

[CAG]

I would think a new check valve would solve the problem without doing an entire pump change out, but then I have not had that happen, yet.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by norty1

Another reason to not have valves on your fresh tank overflows.

Yes sir completely agree. I have valves in my low point drains but fortunately not the overflow lines.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by CAG

I would think a new check valve would solve the problem without doing an entire pump change out, but then I have not had that happen, yet.

I believe you are correct. Soon as I get a chance I’m going to rebuild the original water pump and, after testing it keep it as a spare. It’s a lot easier in a pinch and at night with company to change the pump out than it is to rebuild it in my opinion.

[craigav]

Do you remember if the water heater was on or off when you left out, and if the water in the heater was up to temperature? I have a suspicion that in certain cases the expansion of the water when heated can cause excessive pressure in the RV's water system which then causes the weakest link in the water system to fail. ~CA

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by craigav

Do you remember if the water heater was on or off when you left out, and if the water in the heater was up to temperature? I have a suspicion that in certain cases the expansion of the water when heated can cause excessive pressure in the RV's water system which then causes the weakest link in the water system to fail. ~CA

The water heater was on in electric mode. We were gone most of the afternoon but when we left the water heater was up to temp. I’m sure it came on some. While it was plenty hot in Rockport Tx Sunday I would think the WH still comes on to keep the temp up even without any demand for hot water.

Your suspicion makes sense.

[craigav]

My suspicion is based on a thread from a year ago. Check out comment #9 in particular. Jim's issue was with a blown faucet connection but I would believe any part of the water system could fail due to excessive pressure. I had checked and found that most RV's (actually for home as well) pressure relief valves are set at 150psi, so that is a lot for sure. ~CA

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ure-95754.html

[LuckyDuck]

I was having a nagging leak at the elbow connector to the pump and took the easy route by installing a brass check valve in the water line on the “out side” of the pump. It prevents backflow from the city water into the pump but allows full pressure when I do use the pump. Should the internal pump check valve fail like yours, I’m safe. Here’s a pic of the setup. Worst part was working in that cramped spot where the pump is.

[Scott_Trailer_Newbe]

I have a brand new spare water pump under the bed. A few years ago we were camping and encountered the exact same situation. In our case the check valve is the diaphragm in the pump. Ordered a new pump but decided to open up the one I was replacing. There was a small amount of debris on the diaphragm assembly. I cleaned everything throughly and put it back together. Well, 2 years later the old pump is still our primary pump and the brand new one is stored in the under-bed storage.

Obviously if your pump is old or has a lot of run hours it’s best to replace it when this type of back flow issue happens, but if it’s not that old or low run hours you have a pretty good chance of getting things working fairly quickly if you need a quick fix.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

I was having a nagging leak at the elbow connector to the pump and took the easy route by installing a brass check valve in the water line on the “out side” of the pump. It prevents backflow from the city water into the pump but allows full pressure when I do use the pump. Should the internal pump check valve fail like yours, I’m safe. Here’s a pic of the setup. Worst part was working in that cramped spot where the pump is.

Yeah I am also going to do this. In my camper I will have to move the pump over some which means changing the fittings on both sides of the pump so I’m going to wait until the off season to do this.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

Yeah I am also going to do this. In my camper I will have to move the pump over some which means changing the fittings on both sides of the pump so I’m going to wait until the off season to do this.

It was cheaper than a new pump and easier to install. Peace of mind.

[craigav]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

It was cheaper than a new pump and easier to install. Peace of mind.

I haven't ever added a check valve to my RV's water pump although I have considered doing so. It would seem to me that the optimal location would be on the outlet side of the pump instead of the inlet side. Is there any reason I am not aware of that would make the inlet (or outlet) side a better location? ~CA

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by craigav

I haven't ever added a check valve to my RV's water pump although I have considered doing so. It would seem to me that the optimal location would be on the outlet side of the pump instead of the inlet side. Is there any reason I am not aware of that would make the inlet (or outlet) side a better location? ~CA

I installed a shut off valve on the input / suction side of my pump to prevent this from happening. We rarely use the pump and it is easily accessible. I just need to remember to open the valve when we do need to use it. I only have 1 switch so I put a label above it just in case.

I chose the input side just because it seemed logical to stop the water before it got to the pump. Didn't really give it a whole lot of thought until now.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by craigav

I haven't ever added a check valve to my RV's water pump although I have considered doing so. It would seem to me that the optimal location would be on the outlet side of the pump instead of the inlet side. Is there any reason I am not aware of that would make the inlet (or outlet) side a better location? ~CA

Yes, I installed the valve on the outlet side where it connects into the pipes coming from the city connect. I did it for a couple of reasons. It stops the pressurized backflow from the city connect, preventing it from getting into the pump. The leak I had was a fitting on the outflow side of the pump, so that’s eliminated. And if the internal pump check valve fails, it doesn’t matter as the new one stops the flow before the pump.

Putting the valve on the input side would work, but in my case it solved my nagging drip leak too. And the pump itself never gets filled with water. Less to worry about in winter. When I do use the pump for sanitizing etc, it works perfectly with strong flow.

I considered just a simple quarter-turn valve, but with my memory, it seemed safer to not have to turn it when I wanted to use the pump.

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

Yes, I installed the valve on the outlet side where it connects into the pipes coming from the city connect. I did it for a couple of reasons. It stops the pressurized backflow from the city connect, preventing it from getting into the pump. The leak I had was a fitting on the outflow side of the pump, so that’s eliminated. And if the internal pump check valve fails, it doesn’t matter as the new one stops the flow before the pump.

Putting the valve on the input side would work, but in my case it solved my nagging drip leak too. And the pump itself never gets filled with water. Less to worry about in winter. When I do use the pump for sanitizing etc, it works perfectly with strong flow.

I considered just a simple quarter-turn valve, but with my memory, it seemed safer to not have to turn it when I wanted to use the pump.

This makes total sense to me - I believe I will be moving my shutoff valve to the output side!

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

This makes total sense to me - I believe I will be moving my shutoff valve to the output side!

Unless yours is in a much easier place to access, you might want to consider hiring a tiny acrobat to do the work. I felt like a human pretzel!

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

Unless yours is in a much easier place to access, you might want to consider hiring a tiny acrobat to do the work. I felt like a human pretzel!

Fortunately my pump is one of the easiest things to access in my entire trailer!