Shower pump not working.

[nb celestine]

I have an Attwood Sahara shower pump which has worked fine for the 2 years I,ve had the boat but it has been playing up.

It will pump out but not turn off. Looking through the installation manual it says there is a check valve, which I imagine is a non return valve, situated at the outlet nozzle. There isnt one. I dont know if its deteriated and then washed out the outlet or what. When I fill the box manually the water pumps away then wont click off so I disconnect a lead a small amount of water flows back into the box.

I,m wondering if the pump wants to click off but cant because the water is returning.

The check valve part number is 911404 but I cant find any sign of one on the internet. I,d like to find one of these before spending close on £100 for a new pump which may not be needed.

Any advice gratefully received.

[Grebe]

Or you could fit an ON/OFF or spring-loaded toggle switch.

[Ryeland]

I have an Attwood Sahara shower pump which has worked fine for the 2 years I,ve had the boat but it has been playing up.

It will pump out but not turn off. Looking through the installation manual it says there is a check valve, which I imagine is a non return valve, situated at the outlet nozzle. There isnt one. I dont know if its deteriated and then washed out the outlet or what. When I fill the box manually the water pumps away then wont click off so I disconnect a lead a small amount of water flows back into the box.

I,m wondering if the pump wants to click off but cant because the water is returning.

The check valve part number is 911404 but I cant find any sign of one on the internet. I,d like to find one of these before spending close on £100 for a new pump which may not be needed.

Any advice gratefully received.

The check valve is a rubber flap which is part of the rubber sleeve which fits between the pump outlet and the box. Remove the pump and gently ease the rubber part out of the box to clean it.

 

Richard

 

PS my pump wouldn't switch on reliably. I emailed them from their web site, and a new pump arrived FoC.

[Guest wanted]

I can't help with your pump but if you do decide to replace then go for a whale gulper, almost indestructable...

[Adora Belle]

I would recommend a gulper also, very good pumps and they can run dry also.

Regarding the other pump, it could be shunting water as you say hence not turning off, i assume if it turns on and off automatically there is a sensor? which may need cleaning, or a flow switch which maybe stuck? I used to deal with bathroom showers that had pump sensors in the gully over time they needed cleaning, but we found lemon juice or something acidic down the gully helped!

Otherwise it would be a manual pump with an on off switch?

[Ray]

Another option could be that the micro switch and/or associated mechanism needs a good clean.

 

This happened to us a year or so back. We ended up replacing the complete pump because we were about to go cruising for several weeks and initial attempts to clean it hadn't worked.

 

I had every intention of taking the old one apart, cleaning it thoroughly and then keeping it as a spare. However, the road to H*ll is, as they say, paved with good intentions and the old unit still sits under the bed on our boat because I'd forgotten what I intended to do.

 

Note to self, bring the old pump home to clean.

[nb celestine]

The check valve is a rubber flap which is part of the rubber sleeve which fits between the pump outlet and the box. Remove the pump and gently ease the rubber part out of the box to clean it.

 

Richard

 

PS my pump wouldn't switch on reliably. I emailed them from their web site, and a new pump arrived FoC.

 

Thanks Richard. I,ve had the pump off and cleaned evertwhere. The rubber grimmet at the outlet hasn,t got a flap on it. Dont know if it ever did. Going to fit a manual switch on it today. I,ll email the company to see if they will send a new pump. I,ve a funny feeling the switch terminals inside need a good clean but as its a sealed unit I cant get in to clean them.

Regards, Smelly Paul.

[Ray]

As far as I know, the pump sucks the water in through the various (not too fine) filters and expels it through the outlet which forms a kind of a male fitting into the side of the (sump) box. There is a rubber fitting between the pump outlet and the female part of the coupling in the box side. There must be some form of flap in the rubber otherwise the water would never get out of the pump.