Water Pump Output

otrfun wrote:

tenbear wrote:

otrfun wrote:

tenbear wrote:
I don't know about the Camco shower head, but we have the Oxygenics Shower Head. It gives great pressure.

You can find lots of threads here saying how good the Oxygenics is.

Yup, there's some excellent reviews on the Oxgenics on Amazon. From what I gather it has a much more concentrated, focused stream of water, which I'm not sure I'd like. The Camco has a quiet, broad stream of water (head is over 4" in diameter and uses lotsa small water jets) which I prefer. What ultimately pulled me to choose the Camco was the stream pattern and the much lower price.

I guess we have different goals. When I am using the pump, dry camping, I am more interested in having a reasonable shower with a minimum of water than having a great shower and using more water. Different strokes...

In terms of water usage I believe we do have the same goal. I could be mistaken, but I believe both the Camco and Oxygenics, if connected to the same TT, would very likely deliver the same amount of water in one minute. I believe the difference is the Oxygenics infuses air with the water to increase the water velocity (one of the reasons they're a bit loud). Granted, the increased water velocity may give one the sensation you're actually getting more water than you are, which may result in one turning down the water flow. This could indirectly save water.

On the flip side, the Camco has a very efficient passive system that also gives the sensation of more water flow vs. the OEM unit. Although the Camco provides a distinctly better shower experience than the OEM shower head, it doesn't use any more water in the process. On my TT both shower heads fill-up the gallon jug in the same amount of time.

You're right, both shower heads pass the same amount of water. What I find is that the Oxygenics gives me a passable shower with the water turned way down. Yes, its a little noisy but that doesn't bother me. I guess we won't really know how they compare unless we buy both shower heads :h. I don't plan on that.

tenbear wrote:

otrfun wrote:

tenbear wrote:
I don't know about the Camco shower head, but we have the Oxygenics Shower Head. It gives great pressure.

You can find lots of threads here saying how good the Oxygenics is.

Yup, there's some excellent reviews on the Oxgenics on Amazon. From what I gather it has a much more concentrated, focused stream of water, which I'm not sure I'd like. The Camco has a quiet, broad stream of water (head is over 4" in diameter and uses lotsa small water jets) which I prefer. What ultimately pulled me to choose the Camco was the stream pattern and the much lower price.

I guess we have different goals. When I am using the pump, dry camping, I am more interested in having a reasonable shower with a minimum of water than having a great shower and using more water. Different strokes...

In terms of water usage I believe we do have the same goal. I could be mistaken, but I believe both the Camco and Oxygenics, if connected to the same TT, would very likely deliver the same amount of water in one minute. I believe the difference is the Oxygenics infuses air with the water to increase the water velocity (one of the reasons they're a bit loud). Granted, the increased water velocity may give one the sensation you're actually getting more water than you are, which may result in one turning down the water flow. This could indirectly save water.

On the flip side, the Camco has a very efficient passive system that also gives the sensation of more water flow vs. the OEM unit. Although the Camco provides a distinctly better shower experience than the OEM shower head, it doesn't use any more water in the process. On my TT both shower heads fill-up the gallon jug in the same amount of time.

otrfun wrote:

tenbear wrote:
I don't know about the Camco shower head, but we have the Oxygenics Shower Head. It gives great pressure.

You can find lots of threads here saying how good the Oxygenics is.

Yup, there's some excellent reviews on the Oxgenics on Amazon. From what I gather it has a much more concentrated, focused stream of water, which I'm not sure I'd like. The Camco has a quiet, broad stream of water (head is over 4" in diameter and uses lotsa small water jets) which I prefer. What ultimately pulled me to choose the Camco was the stream pattern and the much lower price.

I guess we have different goals. When I am using the pump, dry camping, I am more interested in having a reasonable shower with a minimum of water than having a great shower and using more water. Different strokes...

otrfun wrote:
I have a Shurflo 4008-101 water pump in my TT. It's rated at 3 gpm. It puts out decent pressure--like a lot of things you'd take more if given the choice. I realize the 3 gpm rating is probably with ideal voltage and flow rate measured right at the pump's output nozzle (and water source next to the input). Anyhow, I took the shower head off and did a quick test with both hot & cold both completely open. Got 1.5 gallons in one minute. About 1.25 with the shower head on. Just curious if anyone else has tested their water pump's realworld flow rate?

look carefully at the specs. In most cases the rated flow is with the pump having the water source at the inlet (not having to suck water from the tank) and the outlet unrestricted. NOT a condition you'll ever likely experience in the trailer. So having to pump from a few feet below the pump inlet and then pumping through a line with some restriction reduces the output, often considerably.

In other words you can have lots of flow, but no pressure filling a bucket) . or good pressure and reduced flow (taking a shower)

tenbear wrote:
I don't know about the Camco shower head, but we have the Oxygenics Shower Head. It gives great pressure.

You can find lots of threads here saying how good the Oxygenics is.

Yup, there's some excellent reviews on the Oxgenics on Amazon. From what I gather it has a much more concentrated, focused stream of water, which I'm not sure I'd like. The Camco has a quiet, broad stream of water (head is over 4" in diameter and uses lotsa small water jets) which I prefer. What ultimately pulled me to choose the Camco was the stream pattern and the much lower price.

I don't know about the Camco shower head, but we have the Oxygenics Shower Head. It gives great pressure.

You can find lots of threads here saying how good the Oxygenics is.

That's the head we have and we like it.

Well, I started this thread wondering how my water pump stacked up against others. My shower was a less than flattering experience and I wasn't sure whether it was the water pump or what. According to my local RV tech the 1.2 GPM I was getting out of my shower head is slightly above average--average being 1.0 GPM. So, I surmised that maybe a different shower head might make a difference. Anyhow, I'd heard good things about the Camco shower head, so I figured I'd give it a try. Well, tried it out last night. Gotta say, I was impressed with it! The spray pattern is a substantial improvement over the OEM shower head. I can even turn on the bathroom faucet at the same time and still get a decent spray pattern. If I did this with the OEM shower head the water would just dribble down the shower head. I give the Camco shower head a big thumbs up!

If I can get clean and still have water I'm happy. I could see running out quickly when dry camping.

Jetstreamer wrote:
If you reference a flow vs. amp draw chart for a typical rv water pump you will see that its highest rated flow occurs at 0 pressure and decreases as pressure rises. So at a typical line pressure of say 25-30 psi the charts show a flow rate of only 1.5 gpm. for a pump that claims a +3.0 gpm.

Interesting info, Jetstreamer, thanks! Kinda sounds like my pump is working properly.

Specs (factory claims) and subjective observations (dribbles, too much pressure, works ok, etc.) aside, IMO how much water flows out of a shower head, faucet, etc. in one minute pretty much says it all. 2 gpm out of a shower head or faucet is going to fill a gallon bucket in the same exact amount of time in my TT, your TT, and your neighbor's TT.

I was hoping for more replies referencing "realworld" gpm rates---this paints a very clear, objective picture.