Pump Problems

mandt

Ok, I've read previous post from all the people with pump issues. Tried some of the ideas that seemed appropriate. No luck.
Water sputters from all faucets: shower, outside shower, kitchen. Can't really tell if toilet sputters. Pump never shuts off.
Checked the filter and found a couple tiny pebbles of debris, certainly not much. No leaks detectable from underneath camper. I am using the fresh water tank.
What I tried was to fill up the FW tank to over flowing. Turn on the pump. Turn on the kitchen faucet and wait awhile. No luck. 

Then I drained the FW tank using the valve underneath the trailer next to the step. I also opened up the 2 valves near the Aldi that drain out underneath the trailer.
After completely drained I closed the 3 valves and filled up the FW tank again. And again I filled it up to overflowing. No luck.

Pump sounds normal. Hums quietly when faucets are off and louder when faucets are on.

Summation: water sputters and pump never stops running.

Any ideas here on the forum? Should I call someone at Nucamp, who?

2016 Max S

Thanks!

greggill

Is the pump running filling the alde or is it already full. I drained mine and it took quite a while to get it filled and the air out of the lines. If that's the case you might want to hook the city water up to it and use that to purge air from the lines.

ScottG

I went looking for this recent thread to help you out, but realized it's also your post asking what appears to be the same question.

http://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/76663

If it's a problem with trapped air in the system, draining everything will only put you back to square one.

On thing you might check that wasn't mentioned previously is the fresh water tank vent line. It's a clear plastic tube that runs from the top of the FW tank to a small hole just above the filler port. On my 2015, it was rather carelessly routed and was partially kinked. A blockage in that vent could create suction in the tank and make it hard for the pump to draw water.

Michigan_Mike

Fill up fresh water tank, you could hook up to city water for a bit, run shower, sink, toilet....  Unhook, run sink with pump on, shut off sink, flush toilet 2-3 times and leave valve open to get air out of line and let the pump prime.  And agree with Scott, draining the system only takes you back to square one.  

ScottG

When I had a similar issue, I also raised and lowered the trailer tongue a few times while running the water (the idea being that it might jostle out any trapped air).

The problem resolved itself, though I can't say for sure this contributed to the solution. It certainly didn't hurt.

mandt

So is the pump not powerful enough to blow out the air?

ScottG

mandt said:

So is the pump not powerful enough to blow out the air?

I suspect it can take a while, particularly if there is a pocket trapped somewhere in the system.

I'm not saying with certainty that's your problem, but I would take steps to rule it out before pursuing pump servicing or replacement.

BirdieJane

I think the pump is mounted to high above the water tank. In our old class c the pump was mounted right above the tank and we had no problems. Also I could use most of my fresh water supply without the fear of losing prime. In the Tab while still having 45% of my tank capacity left, the pump must run non -stop and it starts getting air in the line. When you only have 11 gallons to start, and you can only use 6 gallons before you need to fill or risk losing prime Seems like a design flaw to me.

Homebodyatheart

I can't help much on the pump, other than flushing the toilet four or five times help bleed the air from the lines. When you fill the fresh water tank from outside, you need to have the water running less than full force. If you leave it some "breathing room" then it doesn't choke up on you. You can heart it, just like putting gas in a car. The first time I filled it seemed full to overflowing, but I checked the level on the Seelevel and it was 44%, so I slowed down the flow, and managed to fill it over 100%. Took longer, but did the job. I have a Camco hose attachment for filling, flex hose with shut off valve at the hose end that I used to control the flow. Hope this helps!

mandt

No luck! FW tank is full to overflowing. Connected up citywater and let all the faucets run for awhile and everything worked perfectly. Turned off citywater and turned on pump. Faucet comes on with force and then diminished pressure then starts sputtering. After turning faucets off pump quiets down but never stops running. Rechecked filter and a little bit of stuff, but hardly anything.

Ratkity

@mandt, there sounds like there's an air leak in the pump or pump lines that's pulling air in. That air intake could be in the pump itself or in the connecting lines from the fresh water tank. A new water pump is about $50. 

Michigan_Mike

mandt said:

No luck! FW tank is full to overflowing. Connected up citywater and let all the faucets run for awhile and everything worked perfectly. Turned off citywater and turned on pump. Faucet comes on with force and then diminished pressure then starts sputtering. After turning faucets off pump quiets down but never stops running. Rechecked filter and a little bit of stuff, but hardly anything.

Have you tried using an air compressor and blowing the lines out?  I know that dale & Eric helped a lady out with a similar issue and am wondering if you've got the same thing going on, debris possibly jammed in the freshwater line coming up into the trailer?   I wasn't happy with my stock pump and was always needing to prime it, etc. and ended up buying a stronger pump on Amazon that has about 5# extra of thrust.  You might even try removing the pump, hooking a hose up to it and seeing if there isn't some hidden debris within it.   But would also force some air back down into the fFW tank and see if that makes any difference.  

What is your past history with the pump so far as it's former ability to prime, keep a prime and delivery of water within the trailer?   I would run some weed-whacker string down the vent hose area at the FW fill point as insects do some interesting work too.  And as a last resort I'd probably go over to Amazon and find a better pump.  but agree with RK, you could just have an air leak so check for any water remnants below the sink, inside the void behind and to the side of the shower, at the shower faucets, sink faucets, etc.  You have an access panel on the wall behind the shower head that unscrews, giving you access to those water lines and the fixtures since you have the S model and I'd pull that off and see if all fittings are tight.  You just never know!  

mandt

Ok, it is not the pump. I ran a hose from the inlet side of the pump to a bucket of water and everything worked perfectly. I don't see any leaks under the trailer.

Michigan_Mike

mandt said:

Ok, it is not the pump. I ran a hose from the inlet side of the pump to a bucket of water and everything worked perfectly. I don't see any leaks under the trailer.

Have blown air back from the source side of the water or tried drawing/sucking water up from the FW tank that way?  

mandt

Mike, I'm sorry I don't know what you mean. 

mandt

Ok, so I stuck my arm way down below the pump as far as I could reach and it seems a little wet down there So maybe there is a leak. Big question is how do I get access to that area?

Michigan_Mike

mandt said:

Ok, so I stuck my arm way down below the pump as far as I could reach and it seems a little wet down there So maybe there is a leak. Big question is how do I get access to that area?

It could be that the leak originates at the pump fittings, possibly an O-ring isn't seated properly, etc.  Jam some towels below the pump and seal the area off as best you can or wrap some paper toweling around the hoses and see if it leaking that way.  I don't believe you can access the area below the pump other than through the side panel on the sink, beneath the bench area behind the shower (you can see beneath the the wall of the trailer and shower) and the wall next to the shower head.  Have you checked all the faucet fittings?  

hammerstone

Mike, i had a cracked housing in the pump, caused by an incomplete drain and a freeze.  had the same symptoms as you; the leaking water was running under the floor of the trailer and much was sucked up in the carpet.  The pump I have has a removeable plastic cover over the screen filter, and it was this plastic cover that had a crack in it; barely visible but caused the problem.  On mine, you can access the pump from the bottom cabinet if you are somewhat of a contortionist.   I have a 2007 T@B in the L shape, and if i remove the water jug, open the bottom cabinet and remove anything there, i can put head and shoulders in and reach the pump.  the one i have removed easily once you got to it.  Quick connects on the tubing and the whole thing came out with 2 screws.  

Michigan_Mike

hammerstone said:

Mike, i had a cracked housing in the pump, caused by an incomplete drain and a freeze.  had the same symptoms as you; the leaking water was running under the floor of the trailer and much was sucked up in the carpet.  The pump I have has a removeable plastic cover over the screen filter, and it was this plastic cover that had a crack in it; barely visible but caused the problem.  On mine, you can access the pump from the bottom cabinet if you are somewhat of a contortionist.   I have a 2007 T@B in the L shape, and if i remove the water jug, open the bottom cabinet and remove anything there, i can put head and shoulders in and reach the pump.  the one i have removed easily once you got to it.  Quick connects on the tubing and the whole thing came out with 2 screws.  

Good point!  If it were me I would probably replace the pump, but would first eliminate the fittings, use air to blow back into the FW tank and troubleshoot those areas first.  The new pump I installed made a huge difference and was like night and day.  

dsatwork

@mandt when did this problem start? Did it ever work correctly?

dirtseeker

I have the exact problem so if you found a solution would love to hear what it was. Trailer was purchased new and not used much. Problem occurred after spring start up. I replaced pump and still faucets sputter. I put a hose on the inlet side of the pump to a bucket and everything worked fine. Hook the hose back up to the inlet side of the pump and sputters. Guessing it has something to do with the inlet line, check valves or? 
Please help

dsatwork

@dirtseeker it sounds like the exact same problem I had. What I did to fix it was, take a compressor hose and blast the inlet line back into the freshwater tank. I did this to clear the line out, but I also let the tank drain completely. This will remove any shavings that were left inside, that could plug the line. It didn't seem like very many shavings came out when I drained it, but I just don't know how much it takes to clog the line. I haven't had any trouble since I did this procedure. Good luck

4ncar

Having similar issues, but my twist is...it worked fine before, AND...now the pump is primed and has shut off. Dollars to donuts, it cavatates again....grr

danp212

When bleeding the air out of the water lines, try making sure your shower & faucets are set to the cold water positions and not hot.

When prepping for a trip, after filling the freshwater tank full I usually connect the hose to city water connection, then turn on the faucet & shower to bleed the air out of the lines. Then I disconnect city water hose, and turn the pump on. Usually it takes a bit to pressurize (can be longer if you drained Alde lines). After the pump runs for a bit I turn on the faucets to bleed any remaining air out of the system. This usually works well for me. However last time I was doing this, I got really low water pressure and constant sputtering of air, and the internal pump would not seem to shut off. I then realized I was trying to draw hot water form the faucet, so I turned the faucet to cold water and everything quickly pressurized properly again. 

Maybe this helps, just thought I was worth sharing my recent experience. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@danp212 , I would add that while initially hooked to city water, open the hot water taps to draw water into and air out of the Alde.    That way, the entire system is emptied of air and you will avoid what you encountered when you opened the hot tap while on pump.

4ncar

So, after two days of use, wouldn’t I think that all the air would be out of both hot & cold side? Sure enough...used the water...pump’ cavatating again...I just shut it off...smh.

RollingBnB

Our pumps have a pressure shutoff adjustment on them. I lowered mine so the pump can shut off sooner. Having to pressurize all the lines and the Alde is just to much for the pump the Tab came with. No more pulsing.

dsatwork

@RollingBnB are you saying that you changed the standard pump to one that has a pressure adjustment?

RollingBnB

@dsatwork No, factory pump has an adjustment

dsatwork

RollingBnB said:

@dsatwork No, factory pump has an adjustment

Didn't know thanks

T@Balong

Where is this adjustment located?  Do we need to remove the pump in order to make the adjustment?