Why does pump run intermittently?

mandt

woke up in the middle of the night hearing the pump running for no apparent reason. Flushed the toilet and it stopped for awhile. Tank is 75% full. Water pressure is low and sputtering. No leaks on the ground. Pump comes on randomly. Using shore power. Has been working perfectly until now. Leaving the pump turned off until we need it. Any ideas to fix?

Sharon_is_SAM

Are you level?  Either your tank monitor is way off and your tank is much closer to being empty ( a lot of us see the sputtering when the SeeLevel says 25%) or you are not level and the water is not available to the outlet.  We always keep the pump turned off until we need it.

Sharon_is_SAM

You are on shore power but no city water connection, right?

mandt

No city water, correct. 

ScottG

This has happened to me, though the pump would come on for only a few seconds.

In my case, it was a first trip of the season and I believe it had to do with the plumbing lines not being fully bled of air. I speculate that as things cool down at night, the air in the line contracts a bit and the pressure drops just enough to trigger the pump.

Once I got all the air out, the problem resolved itself.

Sharon_is_SAM

Not sure why it would come on unprovoked.  Is the toilet flush handle returning to position?  Is the toilet closing completely after the handle is released?

mandt

Toilet is working fine. No leaks. Fully closing. 

BirdieJane

I think one item here is the pump switch should be in the off position until water is needed. The reason is when things like this happen you could be away from the trailer and come back to a pump that has gotten hot from constant running without water, not to mention a low battery. Secondly, it sounds possible you have Pex tubing/Styrofoam derbies in your filter or in the line just before your filter. It also collects at the base of the fresh water line in the tank. The reason is when the system is originally built Pex Tubing shavings and Styrofoam remnants are not flushed out of the water tank and lines. I have had my pump replaced 2 times since buying a new trailer in March of this year. I recently found Pex material and Styrofoam in my water filter and in the opening of the filter during a low flow episode again. The symptoms were similar to your description when my pump power switch was activated even with a full water tank.
sorry for the saga here but Nucamp needs to work on this quality issue, there Is enough material being left in the tank and Pex lines after construction causing these problems.

ChanW

We also try to keep the switch off unless using the water. I read a tale about someone leaving for a hike and coming back to a flooded floor, due to a leak and the pump continually running. The plumbing is bouncing around a bunch when on the road, which can stress those connections. It wouldn't hurt to shut off the city water connection while away from camp also.

Verna

Ed and Marvin at nüCamp recommend the pump be turned off except when using the water. 

Marceline

Verna said:

Ed and Marvin at nüCamp recommend the pump be turned off except when using the water. 

I have an older CSS that has the pump switch in the galley. If PV hasn't moved this switch into the cabin by now, they ought to. 

ScottG

I agree that the pump should be kept off when not in use to avoid any possibility of a flood. I also turn off city water when away, for the same reason.

Regardless, the ghostly start-ups and sputtering flow should not be happening under normal conditions. Assuming no leaks and all connections are tight, if the problem doesn't stem from air trapped in the lines (and that includes the Alde HW tank) than something is likely wrong with the pump.

My first guess would be a leaky check valve, but I would only pursue that after being absolutely certain there are no leaks or loose connections (particularly at the pump), and that all the air was bled from the system.

Sharon_is_SAM

BirdieJane, might be debris, but the pump activating by itself?

Z_G

Does pump run when you jostle the trailer? All stabilizers fully down... could see the pump being tricked on running if the trailer is jostled and the conditions were on the margin for running in first place

BirdieJane

In our case the pump would run and run n until it pressurized the system much like it does when you are low on water and getting air in the system causing a vapor lock.

mandt

We did 2 things for the first time just before this happened. We used the furnace and we used the outside shower. Does that narrow down where we should look?

Ratkity

@mandt the furnace wouldn't influence water level or your water pump, but using the outdoor shower might have drained your water tank down to 25% and your SeeLevel wasn't showing the true amount of water in your tank. 

I grew up with VWs where the gas gauge was a sorta estimate of how much gas you had left. It may or may not be right. You kept an eye on mileage driven. Same with my old Harley Sportster. No gas gauge. You did the slosh test to get an idea how much gas was left in the tank OR you kept an eye on the mileage you've ridden. 

The reason why I'm saying this is because many people rely heavily on the SeeLevel panel indicators, just like propane gauges. Neither are accurate for different reasons. The best indicator is to do a weekend of boondocking and see how much water you use with nightly showers, dishes, hand washing, flushing before you've exhausted your water supply. Much like doing the same thing with lights and accessories and measuring when you hit the ~50% magic discharge number on the battery charge. 

Check screen on pump filter to make sure no debris is there. Fill up your water tank again to full, then run the pump until no more air comes out of the spigots. Is the pump hot? There may be a problem. If not and it sounds fine, there's a good chance your SeeLevel was lying to you