Water pump leak

[Roger H]

So, my '06 32 RQ has had a significant leak under the kitchen sink cabinets for some period of time... when I bought it, it shows some delamination of the cabinetry plywood under the cabinet front and also under the couch where the carpet has been saturated in the past. It has been dry since I've had it though, and I had (apparently wrongly) presumed that the dealer from whom I purchased it did a full systems test, pre-delivery.

In their defense, they have offered to repair the leak at no charge... other than me making the 400 mile round-trip to get it to them and home again.

Last weekend (my first outing with it) I hooked up to city water and had no leak issues. THIS weekend, we went to a state park and used the fresh water tank. The pump didn't shut down, and the system didn't pressurize. Suspicious, I checked initially but couldn't find the leak. We shut the pump off except when actually running it, and within a few hours, water began to seep out from under the sink.

So... using city water doesn't cause the leak... but using the pump does... but it's not AT the pump because I can see that. So... here's the question: many RVs just use the in-pump backflow preventer. Since the leak appears to be somewhere after the pump, but it doesn't leak when on city water, I presume that there must be a Born-Free installed separate backflow-preventer in the system that is between the pump and the rest of the system... and that the leak is occurring between the pump and the backflow preventer? Can anyone confirm that there is a separate backflow preventer outside the pump? That's the only thing that makes sense to me at this point...

I'll see if I can actually get into the plumbing later today and figure out what's really there and report back, but I thought I'd see if anyone has any experience they can share.

Thanks!

Roger

[randallrae]

Are you sure the pump is not cracked ?

[Roger H]

Are you sure the pump is not cracked ?

I'm not certain of anything without going over it more closely, but on initial inspection while the pump was running, it didn't seem to be wet at any of the fittings on the pump or around the pump body, so I presume that the pump is sound. The leak must be substantial because it doesn't merely bleed the line causing the pump to intermittently run; the pump won't shut off at all. It pumps water, but the lines won't pressurize.

I'll check more closely, of course, when I get out to actually troubleshoot it.

[shilohdad]

I have one thought, purely hypothetical as it has not happened to me. Could it be that the winterizing fitting plug is loose. In the attached photo that is the brass fitting near the center of the photo. This picture shows the cap on and the valve set to allow the pump to send water from the tank into the lines. To winterize with RV antifreeze, one removes the cap and puts a siphon attachment on the fitting, turns the valve the opposite way, puts the siphone pipe into the RV antifreeze bottle and starts the pump, thus sucking out the antifreeze and sending it into the lines.

Is it possible that the valve and cap were not properly replaced? I really don't know what would happen in this case, but perhaps it could present your symptom. Something to check, anyway.

[sw23185]

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[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Roger,

I blow out my lines with compressed air to winterize and I used to run the pump with the outlet disconnected to clear water from the pump. Several years ago I discovered this wasn't enough to clear the pump and we had freeze damage. The pump was leaking around the casing seams and the impeller had also been damaged so there was an internal back flow. The pump would run continuously, the faucets would work sorta OK but the pressure would never build sufficiently to engage the shut off switch. (We had to replace the pump.) This sounds suspiciously like your problem.

After that experience I began to use an air blower held to the pump inlet while running the pump for a few seconds. This clears the water in the pump very efficiently and we've not had a problem since.

Mike

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Roger,

I blow out my lines with compressed air to winterize and I used to run the pump with the outlet disconnected to clear water from the pump. 7-8 years ago I discovered this wasn't enough to clear the pump and we had freeze damage. The pump was leaking around the casing seams and the impeller had also been damaged so there was an internal back flow. The pump would run continuously, the faucets would work sorta OK but the pressure would never build sufficiently to engage the shut off switch. (We had to replace the pump.) This sounds suspiciously like your problem.

After that experience I began to use an air blower held to the pump inlet while running the pump for a few seconds. This clears the water in the pump very efficiently and we've not had a problem since.

Mike

[Roger H]

Mike, you may be onto something there. That's what the pump is acting like. I used to blow my lines out too, but for that very reason, several years ago, I just switched over to using RV anti-freeze. It's actually much faster to winterize than the blowing-out lines routine. And it solves that problem. My Bigfoot 25' trailer only used a gallon and a half of antifreeze, so it's not a big deal.

I checked the cap on the winterizing valve and tightened it. That may have been what was leaking... although I won't know for sure until I can actually pressurize the system with the pump again.

I called the selling dealer today, and they're shipping me a new pump. I'll pull this one out, replace it with the new one and see what happens. It's entirely possible that now the lines and/or the pump head just aren't being pressurized enough to re-produce the leak...

I'll keep you posted.

[sw23185]

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[Roger H]

You can get the same never-ending prime due an air leak on the intake side of your pump, whether due to a freeze crack or a loose fitting. Check the intake side visually and tighten all of the fittings before you go to the trouble of swapping out the old pump.

Thanks for the suggestions, Stuart. I've checked all of the fittings and they're tight. It's pumping water... just not pressurizing. It's an interesting problem. Apparently there is not another anti-siphon valve in the system. I'll know more after the new pump arrives and I can do a post-mortem on the current pump and see what happened.

[sw23185]

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[Roger H]

Epilogue:

So, I pulled the old Shurflo extreme 5.7gpm pump out and found that it has snap-in fittings. I think that the grease must have dried out around the fittings allowing the pump to leak. I couldn't find any other cause for the leak that has apparently been on-going for some time. I re-greased the fittings and re-installed the pump and it had no draw on the intake side, so I believe that the pump was shot. Doing some research, that pump was a great idea that had a lot of problems. I'm surprised this one made it nine years.

The RV dealer I bought the coach from finally sent me a ShurFlo 4008 Revolution 3gpm pump to replace the ShurFlo Extreme 5.7gpm pump that was stock. I tried to use the high-volume strainer from the original pump, but when I threaded the 1/2 pipe coupler onto the nipple on the pump body, the nipple cracked. I called ShurFlo and they insisted that it must have been cracked in shipping from the RV dealer as it was shipped in the retail packaging... I called the RV dealer and they said they always ship them that way, haven't had any problems, and they haven't done anything to replace it. I doubt that they will now.

I decided that if I was going to have to spring for another replacement pump myself, I might as well install what they're installing at the factory now. I called Kim at the factory to get some other service scheduled and asked what pump they're using in the new 33' Imperials, and found that they're using the 4008 as well. So, I ended up ordering another 4008 ShurFlo pump from Amazon with the appropriate strainer... about $80 total.

The new pump fit exactly in the old space, and the original plumbing mated to it perfectly. There were no leaks. The system pressurizes, and stays pressurized. The only think I can figure out was that the pump fittings or strainer themselves must have been leaking, and that simultaneously the pump just died.

In any event, all appears to be well with the new pump.