Water System

travelandcanoe · Post by **travelandcanoe** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:16 am

My pump runs a lot even when no water is being used. No leaks found. Could the pump be the problem?
Don
2007 BF24

Trisha · Post by **Trisha** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:44 pm

I doubt it (personal opinion). You must have a leak somewhere. It's a "closed" pressurized system. When you open a tap, it removes some water, putting a "vacuum" on the system, which the pump reads, and it starts until the total air + water pressure is at a set value.

You either have air leaking out or you have water leaking out, most likely water. Have you traced all the lines even back to the shower and bath areas? Have you inspected for water damage? Checked all the drain valves.

In a closed system, your pump wouldn't activate without the pressure dropping.

I suppose it's possible, theoretically, for a pump to malfunction and run on its own, but intermittently? Hm....that would be strange. Others with more experience in that area would have to speak to that.

I'd keep looking...

David and Susan Bratt · Sat Jul 18, 2009 2:32 pm

We have the exact same thing happening. We have looked all over for leaks and have found none. But the pump will come on for just a few seconds every once in a while. So we try to keep it shut off. Our's sounds really "growly" Is that normal?

Trisha · Post by **Trisha** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:53 am

Which water pumps do you have?

If it comes on like that, for a few seconds, and then off for a while..you have a very slow leak. Drip style leak....like a fitting that came loose but isn't off, and it's seeping.

Or maybe even a pin-hole size puncture in the plastic tubing.

Which reminds me... check the outside shower when you're looking for leaks. And the tubing leading to it. Check for dampness on the pipes around the water heater.

When I run my waterheater, I usually release a small amount of hot water from a tap about 2-3 minutes into the cycle, because water expands as it heats and the pressure builds up. You can tell when you first run hot water. So check all your hot water piping.

Feel the floor and the actual pipes. Maybe run a dry cloth over them (do this in sections) and then in 5 minutes, run you hands over them again and see if they're still dry.

(I'm just free-writing ideas here).

Leaks (in plumbing or otherwise) can be exceptionally hard to find.

I sure hope others with more experience jump in. (My dad was a plumber tho...)

Trish

Mike Jean Bandfield · Post by **Mike Jean Bandfield** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:40 pm

There is a high pressure safety valve on your water heater that can sometimes leak a little. It is on the outside of the coach under the white water heater panel. Different brands and makes have different styles and placements but most are recognizable as a valve on a pipe that opens to the air and are usually tagged with a warning. When the WH is hot, small leaks in this area evaporate quickly and may not be easily noticeable. A little seepage here is not unusual and causes no harm and can result in your pump cycling occasionally.

On rare occasions mine have collected calcium deposits that have caused unsightly stains on the side of the coach under the WH and/or became a nuisance. When this happens, aggressively working the valve re-seats it and clears the problem. I've never had to replace this valve.

BE CAREFUL! Manually working this valve with hot water in the tank can release large amounts of hot water under high pressure that can severely scald you.

PS. I had a suburban WH once that required an air pocket to be maintained at the top of the tank to prevent hammering. The safety valve was also in this area of the tank and would often lose the air gap. It was a pain in the wazoo - noisy and difficult to control proper flow. The Atwood we have now is much better.

Mike

bfmc4fun · Post by **bfmc4fun** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:20 pm

Hi Don,
I can't find my manual right now, but I remember something about an adjustment on the front of the pump. I think this stops this problem. You might check this out.
Bud

Trisha · Post by **Trisha** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:14 pm

About 3 minutes after turning my hot water heater on, I usually open a tap and release a little of the pressure. Totally forgot about that valve.

Keep us posted....

travelandcanoe · Post by **travelandcanoe** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:56 pm

Hi
Thanks for the suggestions. I did find that when I overfilled the water storage tank, that I got water on the floor next to the water tank. So I assume I have a leak in the vent line. Hard to access, so for now I just stop filling before it fills completely.

This did not explaine the pump running however. The water heater was in the bypass mode, when I put it in line, the problem with the pump running greatly decreased. I guess this provided a pressure reservoir for the system.

Don Jacobs

Trisha · Post by **Trisha** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:24 am

Continued good luck. These things can be most annoying. Big problems are easy to find. It's the teeny ones that are so difficult. Must be our eyesight....

Just kidding. I do wish you best of luck.

David and Susan Bratt · Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:40 pm

Here's another idea for this old topic. As we purchased a new water pump to take back to Amsterdam with us, the dealer suggested that since our pump is 7 years old, the valve inside may be leaking a tiny bit of water back into the fresh water line. This would account for the occasional running and not finding any leaks anywhere and makes me feel a whole lot better. We'll probably just give the new one a nice long ride with us. Sue

harrisgowing · Post by **harrisgowing** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:25 pm

We have the same problem off and on. In the past it has been either the hot water tank valve or one of the shower faucets not totally turned off. Now it is a very slow drip that has developed in the kitchen faucet so check all of your faucets. Good luck - it drives me nuts until I find the source!

Judy

shilohdad · Post by **shilohdad** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:39 pm

Just to add to Sue Bratt's post. We had a similar problem on our 2006 about 2 years ago. We checked EVERYWHERE and could find no leak. We bypassed the hot water heater, just to get it out of the loop, and the problem was still there. We called Kim at Born Free, and he talked to the boys in the back, and they said they thought it might be a bad check valve in the pump (probably the valve mentioned by Sue). They sent us a new pump, and it has worked just fine through 2 traveling seasons of use.

So, the moral of the story is: check REALLY carefully for leaks - if none found, suspect your pump!