Forum Discussion

w8lpn's avatar
w8lpn
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017

water pump and pressure issues

Hello all,
OK so here is my issue. We went camping last week and we had electric and water hookup. So i hooked everything up and that night the wife was in the shower and no pressure, the shower wouldn't work. So I put water in the tank and we used the pump. After looking there was hardly any water pressure at the spigot at the CG. After a few days we started to noticed that the pump was continuously running and the water was spitting between water and air, but mainly on the hot water side.

So my question is, is it possible that something is blocking the line, I have found no leaks anywhere. Also I have not inspected the pump yet. Just trying to get some ideas. And another thing, when hooked up to fresh water do u need to use the pump?

And one more point here, the water seems to be fine, pressure wise, using the sinks or toilet.

Thanks in advance.

9 Replies

  • OK so I emptied the water system completely and filled the HW tank the way suggested and it works fine now , good water pressure, pump works fine. Now onto the other issue of when Im hooked to city water I had pressure then nothing. I noticed the hose was really really hard, so i took the screen out of the connection on the TT side and the valve inside seems to be sticking. Are theses hard to replace? Thanks again
  • bobndot wrote:
    It's fine to check the screen but if it's the hw side then it might not be the screen .

    To properly fill the system. Let your connected water supply stop flowing before opening any faucet inside the RV.
    Once the water system is pressurized and not flowing, slowly open all of the cold water faucets to expel the air.
    Then, slowly open the hot water faucet furthest from the water heater until the air is purged from the line.
    Repeat the hot water valve opening for the remaining fixtures until all the fixtures flow without spitting air. The water heater should now have it’s air bubble properly formed at the top of the tank and the system is ready for use.

    Long term usage of the water supply will eventually diminish the water heater’s air bubble. The solution to this issue is to simply re-establish the bubble.
    (1) Turn off the water supply
    (2) Open the RV’s hot water low point drain and a hot water faucet for several minutes.
    (3) Close the drain and faucet and slowly reopen the water source.
    (4) Slowly open the hot water faucet until the air is expelled from the piping. The air bubble inside the tank should now be re-established.

    For full timers, a long term solution to this issue is to install a small thermal expansion tank into the cold water supply plumbing. The expansion tank will completely eliminate the need to maintain the water heater’s air bubble.




    This sounds about right. It worked fine for awhile but it is mainly the HW side. I might not have purged all the air out correctly. I will try this out when I get home. Thank you. I am also going to check the screens as well. But I think you might have hit the nail on the head here.
  • from the OP:
    "the pump was continuously running and the water was spitting between water and air, but mainly on the hot water side".

    If its not the filter, i was offering another possibility to check for an 'air bubble' on the HW side . It doesn't cost anything except a little time, so i figured , why not try it ?
    I had what i think was the same thing happen to me. After i did this procedure, it seemed to clear things up.

    I was thinking a spitting of air and water from the HW side might be an air bubble in the WH .
    I didn't know what to do and just took a stab at doing this , that's why i tried it . Who knows if it was the the correct thing to do or not but i now have HW and no spitting. :h
  • bobndot wrote:
    It's fine to check the screen but if it's the hw side then it might not be the screen .

    To properly fill the system. Let your connected water supply stop flowing before opening any faucet inside the RV.
    Once the water system is pressurized and not flowing, slowly open all of the cold water faucets to expel the air.
    Then, slowly open the hot water faucet furthest from the water heater until the air is purged from the line.
    Repeat the hot water valve opening for the remaining fixtures until all the fixtures flow without spitting air. The water heater should now have it’s air bubble properly formed at the top of the tank and the system is ready for use.

    Long term usage of the water supply will eventually diminish the water heater’s air bubble. The solution to this issue is to simply re-establish the bubble.
    (1) Turn off the water supply
    (2) Open the RV’s hot water low point drain and a hot water faucet for several minutes.
    (3) Close the drain and faucet and slowly reopen the water source.
    (4) Slowly open the hot water faucet until the air is expelled from the piping. The air bubble inside the tank should now be re-established.

    For full timers, a long term solution to this issue is to install a small thermal expansion tank into the cold water supply plumbing. The expansion tank will completely eliminate the need to maintain the water heater’s air bubble.

    This is ok advise when dealing with water heater issues, but how could it possibly affect water pressure? The only way he would be getting air would be if the "air bubble" was too large.
  • It's fine to check the screen but if it's the hw side then it might not be the screen .

    To properly fill the system. Let your connected water supply stop flowing before opening any faucet inside the RV.
    Once the water system is pressurized and not flowing, slowly open all of the cold water faucets to expel the air.
    Then, slowly open the hot water faucet furthest from the water heater until the air is purged from the line.
    Repeat the hot water valve opening for the remaining fixtures until all the fixtures flow without spitting air. The water heater should now have it’s air bubble properly formed at the top of the tank and the system is ready for use.

    Long term usage of the water supply will eventually diminish the water heater’s air bubble. The solution to this issue is to simply re-establish the bubble.
    (1) Turn off the water supply
    (2) Open the RV’s hot water low point drain and a hot water faucet for several minutes.
    (3) Close the drain and faucet and slowly reopen the water source.
    (4) Slowly open the hot water faucet until the air is expelled from the piping. The air bubble inside the tank should now be re-established.

    For full timers, a long term solution to this issue is to install a small thermal expansion tank into the cold water supply plumbing. The expansion tank will completely eliminate the need to maintain the water heater’s air bubble.
  • sounds good there. I havent had a chance to check anything yet but now i have a place to start.
  • Check any screens that may be in the water line/hose. I learned years ago to always turn on the hose bib before I attach the hose. Just for a few seconds to blow any bugs that may be residing in there out. Use a washer in your hose that has the screen in it. That way if you forget to "blow out" the hose bib first and you have poor pressure, you will know where to go to remove the drowned bugs.
  • Your water pump may have an inlet screen before the pump. Check for blockage.
  • Remove the aerator from the end of the faucet and clean it out. If you remove the area Raider turn on the water and see how fast it's flowing at the faucet. Sounds like it's just got some clogged debris keeping it from flowing. Happens often. I ended up taking one completely off the kitchen sink and just use it without it.