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RJsfishin's avatar
RJsfishin
Explorer
Sep 22, 2016

Shureflo pumps overheating,.....but not really.

I replaced a pump that under restricted flo, would thermally shut down for 1 minute,...... while 1/2 way thru a shower. checking it, it was hardly warm to the touch.
After 2 years, the replacement is doing the same thing.
A call to shureflo, didn't help a bit,.....told me it had to be adjusted, which I did just to please her, no change at all.
So I tore into the 1st one, found the thermo......stat....what ever it is, it says 120 degrees printed right on it. If skin temp is 91 degrees, I'd guess it was shutting down at maybe 100 deg F.
So, cut that puppy right outta there, (in series w/ the #1 brush wire) just soldered the wires together.
I'm going to switch the pumps, I'll fix the newer one later.
Just curious, am I the only one to have this problem, much less have 2 of them ?

9 Replies

  • ksg5000's avatar
    ksg5000
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    Never read a post where anyone complained about temp shutdown on Shurflow pump .. if you had it happen twice then I suspect the problem is within your rig. I would start at the converter - had mine go bonkers and put out too much juice - just throwing **** at the wall- might stick/might not.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    Old-Biscuit, this was thirty-years ago. And a burned armature smells awful. The pump was less than a year old. Maybe six months in use. I did not even try to submit it for warranty. The armature bloomed and was frozen in the housing.
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    Well its good to know that they don't have a history of heating, as that means I am quite safe. And I believe KT has it right,.....as it was usually during the dribble flow mode that it would shut down.
    But one of the pumps would shut down even at full flow, just took longer.
    I tried it again, let it run 30 minutes at dribble flow, again barely warm.
    So it seems I have the only 2 pumps w/ defective thermo protectors in them.

    Thanks for the replies.
  • Kayteg1's avatar
    Kayteg1
    Explorer II
    Sep 23, 2016
    Never had one overheating on me neither.
    But the note about pump running dry for days made me thinking. I measure my pump draws 2.6 amp running freely and 5.6 amp when coming to cut-off pressure.
    When we take shower, we just open the valve, so with lower pressure the pump runs constantly with lower resistance.
    I can imagine that when you try to save water and let it drizzle from the faucet/shower - the pumps constantly works at higher pressure/resistance what has to make it hotter.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Sep 23, 2016
    Had a lot of Shurflo pumps and none have ever shut down on thermal.

    Had a few that ran dry for couple days and no motor overheated.

    And YES done a lot of camping in 100*F PLUS temps
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    This is the closest that I found to whats in those pumps. But no 12v,....maybe 120v works. I didn't see the voltage on it.
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Sep 22, 2016
    Well its fixed.....both of them. I didn't switch them, just pulled the other one off, cut the thermo out, and put it right back on. Ran it 20 minutes under very restrictive flow, and it hardly got warm to the touch.
    Thermo safety is good,.....but if they can't do it right, then I'm forced to do it my way. I'll just hope it never runs outta water !
    And now I have a working spare pump too.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Sep 22, 2016
    I went to an alternative brand because I wanted motor protection. I did have an instance of a Shur Flo burning up back in the eighties. I was on the beach. A line broke, the system pumped dry and kept running in 110F heat. Eventually the shorted motor failed a fuse. 120F my work for some folks; but not in the tropical lowlands.

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