Shurflo Pump - not starting up fast enough

[Odana]

OK, we have got replaced our pump under guarantee when it was overpressured and making the PRV bang, and all was working fine for hours and hours.

 

Now when I turn the tap on there is a delay before the pump kicks in. This delay is getting longer and longer. I thought it might be the 5ltr accumulator being depressured (nope, that's fine), or the water running back down to the tank due to a vacuum leak somewhere (can't seem to find anything).

 

Has anyone got any other ideas? Tis a pig to get to the water pump, so I want to go in at the weekend armed with ideas to experiment with. If the pump cut-in pressure is too low, would this be getting worse like this? It is now a good 15-20 seconds before the pump kicks in - we get a little trickle at first then nothing through the tap at all, then it comes out.

 

The pump also seems to be pulsing a bit too much at times (rapid cycling) and water pressure is sometimes OK, sometimes less so. There is no crud that I can find in the filters etc.

 

Petulant Poppy needs your help.... Again.

[mrsmelly]

OK, we have got replaced our pump under guarantee when it was overpressured and making the PRV bang, and all was working fine for hours and hours.

 

Now when I turn the tap on there is a delay before the pump kicks in. This delay is getting longer and longer. I thought it might be the 5ltr accumulator being depressured (nope, that's fine), or the water running back down to the tank due to a vacuum leak somewhere (can't seem to find anything).

 

Has anyone got any other ideas? Tis a pig to get to the water pump, so I want to go in at the weekend armed with ideas to experiment with. If the pump cut-in pressure is too low, would this be getting worse like this? It is now a good 15-20 seconds before the pump kicks in - we get a little trickle at first then nothing through the tap at all, then it comes out.

 

The pump also seems to be pulsing a bit too much at times (rapid cycling) and water pressure is sometimes OK, sometimes less so. There is no crud that I can find in the filters etc.

 

Petulant Poppy needs your help.... Again.

 

Ahh just noticed you bought PP, I dont suppose there are two of that name did you buy if from Tony and Heida?

 

Tim

[Odana]

We did indeed. She is very nice but has given us nowt but trouble from Day 1. Does she have history I need pm-ing about?

[mrsmelly]

We did indeed. She is very nice but has given us nowt but trouble from Day 1. Does she have history I need pm-ing about?

 

pm on the way.

 

Tim

[bizzard]

This is probably a Surflow Aquaking pump which i've found are not keen on expansion vessels or regulators which seem to make them jerky and uncertain, try bypassing the reg or expansion vessel out of the system and see if things improve.

[Odana]

And in the meantime can anyone solve our plumbing mysteries......?

[frangar]

Not helpful but I have always found Jabsco pumps better than (un) Shurflo.....try a ParMax 4......

 

HTH

 

Gareth

[Iain_S]

(snip)

Now when I turn the tap on there is a delay before the pump kicks in. This delay is getting longer and longer. I thought it might be the 5ltr accumulator being depressured (nope, that's fine), or the water running back down to the tank due to a vacuum leak somewhere (can't seem to find anything).

 

If the pump uses its internal pressure switch, it could be the hole leading to the diaphram getting blocked. Needs the pressure switch removed.

 

Iain

[Odana]

How does one remove pressure switch for cleaning? Previous shurflo was still going strong after 10yrs. This one still has a year guarantee on so unwilling to switch just yet. But following advice here next one will be jabsco

[Smelly]

My last pump did as you described. The period until it started got longer and longer until it just didn't. That was a Shurflo it had survived 2 years.

[bizzard]

How does one remove pressure switch for cleaning? Previous shurflo was still going strong after 10yrs. This one still has a year guarantee on so unwilling to switch just yet. But following advice here next one will be jabsco

There are 4 philips head screws on the pipe inlet and outlet end of the pump, remove these and gently remove the switch unit then you will see a plastic cup with a hole in it , pick it out and you can clean it. Don't disturb the centre screw it is the adjustment and is pre-set.

[Odana]

Thanks all. That's John's Saturday sorted, while I mark student coursework and offer moral support.

Mrsmelly - shame we didn't get to meet you. Glad to know there's no 'history' - we are obviously just suffering bad plumbing luck and, more importantly, the effects of the builder not designing the insulation properly! The previous owners obviously didn't realise their condensationy set up was not normal! Nothing a few grand and much stress and disruption to fitout won't fix eh....?

 

She has a great bath though - once the plumbing is working again, I will appreciate it fully!

[RobinJ]

OK, we have got replaced our pump under guarantee when it was overpressured and making the PRV bang, and all was working fine for hours and hours.

 

Now when I turn the tap on there is a delay before the pump kicks in. This delay is getting longer and longer. I thought it might be the 5ltr accumulator being depressured (nope, that's fine), or the water running back down to the tank due to a vacuum leak somewhere (can't seem to find anything).

 

Has anyone got any other ideas? Tis a pig to get to the water pump, so I want to go in at the weekend armed with ideas to experiment with. If the pump cut-in pressure is too low, would this be getting worse like this? It is now a good 15-20 seconds before the pump kicks in - we get a little trickle at first then nothing through the tap at all, then it comes out.

 

The pump also seems to be pulsing a bit too much at times (rapid cycling) and water pressure is sometimes OK, sometimes less so. There is no crud that I can find in the filters etc.

There should be a filter on the feed side of the pump, if not, it is possible that something has got into the pumps valves/seals interfering with its operation.

The main filter is usually on the delivery side of the pump, with a rusty tank this could clog up quickly, soits worth checking.

A failed accumulator (punctured diaphrapm) could cause pump delay, but you would have to check the pressure with the system empty to make sure it was ok.

Failing all that, it leaves some short of blockage in the pipework, the only other thing that is worth checking (if this is on the hot side) would be the non return valve?

[smileypete]

There are 4 philips head screws on the pipe inlet and outlet end of the pump, remove these and gently remove the switch unit then you will see a plastic cup with a hole in it , pick it out and you can clean it. Don't disturb the centre screw it is the adjustment and is pre-set.

Just drill the hole out a little AND fit an auto relay between pressure switch and pump motor.

 

Job done, no more pressure switch problems. (The hole is small to begin with to help prevent the pressure switch chattering and wearing quicker)

 

Also connect the pump with long 'flexibles', then it can be pulled out at a moment notice to show off to dinner party guests!

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[Odana]

Just drill the hole out a little AND fit an auto relay between pressure switch and pump motor.

 

Job done, no more pressure switch problems.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

 

I love the way technically competent people (like wot I'm not) insert the word 'just' into these sentences... I would so much prefer to be good at plumbing and woodwork than at teaching planning stuff! What went wrong in my career path?

[Machpoint005]

>> What went wrong in my career path?<<

Lack of a decent scientific education, in common with 95% of the population?

(Not having a go at you, and nothing personal!)

[smileypete]

I love the way technically competent people (like wot I'm not) insert the word 'just' into these sentences... I would so much prefer to be good at plumbing and woodwork than at teaching planning stuff! What went wrong in my career path?

Nothings gone wrong, how much of precious spare time do you want to spend? Why not spend it doing something you really enjoy, and stand the odd bit of hassle and financial pain when something goes wrong?

 

OK it's nice to be able to fix things, but don't overlook the side effects of hanging onto and curating lots of 'useful' junk, spending time fixing things that probably aren't worth it, getting involved sorting stuff for other people, and all that...

 

I wouldn't say it was down to education, in the industrial revolution some of the real pioneers had no formal education, or couldn't even read and write to start with:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephenson

 

Anything is possible

 

Maybe there should be a GCSE on the philosophy and practice of Fixing Things. (ETA - maybe not, you enjoy things you pick up for yourself much more..)

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited January 11, 2013 by smileypete

[Odana]

When I worked less I had more time to tinker and learn and enjoy myself working out how to fix things. Now I work silly hours and am too knackered to spend mythical free time on tinkering , so I work some more to pay others to do what Id like to. This is all Very Wrong Indeed.

[Psycloud]

Not helpful but I have always found Jabsco pumps better than (un) Shurflo.....try a ParMax 4......

 

HTH

 

Gareth

 

Replaced our Shurflo with one of these today - much better! No jerky start/stopping and a fair bit cheaper.

[smileypete]

When I worked less I had more time to tinker and learn and enjoy myself working out how to fix things. Now I work silly hours and am too knackered to spend mythical free time on tinkering , so I work some more to pay others to do what Id like to. This is all Very Wrong Indeed.

Maybe when there's a bit of time at weekends just skim over a few likely looking discussions in the boat building 'n maintenance part of the forum, might not make a lot of sense always but hopefully highlight where the problems can be, the 'here be dragons' sort of thing. Don't be afraid to ask any questions too, anything, like - what IS a ratchet crimper?

 

cheers,

Pete.

Edited January 11, 2013 by smileypete

[Odana]

There can be nothing nicer than waking late on a Saturday, dreading having to sort 'that bloody pump' out again, and finding that one's husband has followed all instructions on forum about stripping down and reassembling pump and filter, and completed the task while you dozed.

 

Except possibly waking to the above, plus the smell of bacon. Which I did.

 

Today, John is Officially Awesome.

 

We have not yet reassembled access to pump, as we don't trust it to keep behaving. But for now there is this the most amazing thing going on in our boat. You turn a tap and, as if by magic, WATER comes out. Bliss!!!

 

Thanks all. Fingers crossed.

[Tuscan]

There can be nothing nicer than waking late on a Saturday, dreading having to sort 'that bloody pump' out again, and finding that one's husband has followed all instructions on forum about stripping down and reassembling pump and filter, and completed the task while you dozed.

 

Except possibly waking to the above, plus the smell of bacon. Which I did.

 

Today, John is Officially Awesome.

 

We have not yet reassembled access to pump, as we don't trust it to keep behaving. But for now there is this the most amazing thing going on in our boat. You turn a tap and, as if by magic, WATER comes out. Bliss!!!

 

Thanks all. Fingers crossed.

 

 

On behalf of the rest of the men on this forum I would like to thank John for ruining the rest of our weekend......

[trackman]

See previous posts by me on several other threads. I've just had my second pump replaced under warranty after buying a replacement Shurflo AquaKing about 2 years ago. The first new one failed by leaking very soon after I fitted it. The second had a faulty pressure switch system. The effects of this were much like what you describe, but went on to include random running at any time of day or night when no water was used, and worse still, occasional complete failure to stop, resulting in the PRV on the calorifier spraying water all over the place!

 

Someone posted a while ago that there has allegedly been a batch of these pumps recently with defective pressure switches, so back I went to the supplier for the second time to ask for a free replacement!

 

To be fair to Elite Motor Homes (as they now call themselves) they have been brilliant throughout all of this, and both times they have sent me new pumps free of charge with very little discussion. The latest new pump seems to be OK so far (but we're only about three days in).

 

I don't intend to buy another Shurflo pump if I do need to buy another pump in future! I chose them because the boat's original pump was one of theirs and it had been excellent for 4 years. In fact I suspect that its failure resulted from frost damage in the pre Christmas freeze in 2010. However, the quality control at Shurflo appears to have done a dive in recent years from my experience.

 

Well done Elite Motor Homes though!

 

 

[jelunga]

See previous posts by me on several other threads. I've just had my second pump replaced under warranty after buying a replacement Shurflo AquaKing about 2 years ago. The first new one failed by leaking very soon after I fitted it. The second had a faulty pressure switch system. The effects of this were much like what you describe, but went on to include random running at any time of day or night when no water was used, and worse still, occasional complete failure to stop, resulting in the PRV on the calorifier spraying water all over the place!

 

Someone posted a while ago that there has allegedly been a batch of these pumps recently with defective pressure switches, so back I went to the supplier for the second time to ask for a free replacement!

 

To be fair to Elite Motor Homes (as they now call themselves) they have been brilliant throughout all of this, and both times they have sent me new pumps free of charge with very little discussion. The latest new pump seems to be OK so far (but we're only about three days in).

 

I don't intend to buy another Shurflo pump if I do need to buy another pump in future! I chose them because the boat's original pump was one of theirs and it had been excellent for 4 years. In fact I suspect that its failure resulted from frost damage in the pre Christmas freeze in 2010. However, the quality control at Shurflo appears to have done a dive in recent years from my experience.

 

Well done Elite Motor Homes though!

Probably coupled with their "assembled in Mexico" marking now. We have just bought one frkm Sawley Marina with a 3 yr guarantee. We shall see how it works.