Water Pump

[MikeGL]

Hey y'all. We have a 2012 Forest River Shamrock 21SS Hybrid. We do some boondocking and I want to up upgrade the water pump. Can someone tell me what the flow rate is on the factory one, since I cannot seem to find it anywhere and I can't run check as the trailer is in storage. I'm looking at a new one that's 4.5 GPM. But, I don't know how that compares to whats in there now. Thanks, appreciate it.
__________________

[Klueck]

I am another one that would recommend an Oxygenics shower head. It may solve your low flow problems.

[4x4van]

whiteeye42 wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that in the US, shower heads are limited to 2.5 GPM at 80 PSI per EPA regulations. A higher flow pump won't change that.

i don't know where you are from but where i live the water pressure is only about 45 psi at the tap not 80 that much pressure would blow your lines apart even in the house

My S&B home in SoCal has 120lbs of pressure. Haven't blown any lines apart in 25 years.

[64thunderbolt]

rjxj wrote:
Yes, 45 to 60 depending on the pump. The pressure switch is the regulator. There isn't an actual relief valve regulator in the system. The switch does it all.

It would be interesting to see how high the pressure would go before the motor locked up or something broke if the switch was bypassed. Any volunteers?

My faucet for the shower has a washer with a small hole for flow reg. I am gonna drill it out just a little @ a time till I get the desired flow.

[azrving]

Yes, 45 to 60 depending on the pump. The pressure switch is the regulator. There isn't an actual relief valve regulator in the system. The switch does it all.

It would be interesting to see how high the pressure would go before the motor locked up or something broke if the switch was bypassed. Any volunteers?

[64thunderbolt]

most rv's have a regulator set @ 45psi

[ScottG]

whiteeye42 wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that in the US, shower heads are limited to 2.5 GPM at 80 PSI per EPA regulations. A higher flow pump won't change that.

i don't know where you are from but where i live the water pressure is only about 45 psi at the tap not 80 that much pressure would blow your lines apart even in the house

More water pressure does change what you get from a given shower head.
Our's was pretty weak but I changed to a Sensor 5.7 GPM pump (I dont recommend this pump) and now it's very strong - in fact I have to dial back the faucet.

[azrving]

So if you disregard what the pattern looks like at the faucet, is the issue how long it takes to fill a cup with water?

You have two things, pressure and volume. If your pump is only 1 gpm that may be the problem. You could find out what the pump gpm is then compare it to how much is coming out the faucet.

If you use a stop watch and time your faucet flow and know your pump gpm, that will tell you if you have a pump problem or a restriction problem. You could have a pump that produces 500 psi but if the volume of that pump is only 1 quart per hour you would open the faucet and see an initial surge of water and it would quickly be reduced to a trickle. If you resized the faucet opening to say a hole only 1/64 th inch you would probably see a much improved solid jet of water.

Another example would be a diesel fuel injection system that uses 25,000 psi. If the injector with it's extremely fine holes was removed from the fuel line you would see a mere dripping of fuel. It's volume is extremely small but it's pressure is incredibly high.

Picture a finger pressing on a wall. Even when pressed hard (force) it will not leave a mark. Now picture a thumb tack with a small but flat end, it can be pushed into the wall with the same force. Picture two cylinders with pistons in them and equal forces applied to them, through the stroke of both of them one will move a larger volume of water but when the openings are closed the other will show a higher pressure on the gauge. Pressure equals force x area.

[whiteeye42]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that in the US, shower heads are limited to 2.5 GPM at 80 PSI per EPA regulations. A higher flow pump won't change that.

i don't know where you are from but where i live the water pressure is only about 45 psi at the tap not 80 that much pressure would blow your lines apart even in the house

[azrving]

EMD360 wrote:

rjxj wrote:
So it's slow at the faucets? Maybe check the screens at the aerator. Most rv pumps will deliver a decent amount of water. Mine is 14 yr old and the shower works fine.

Yes, I had replaced the faucets in the RV with regular home faucets and found the aerators were too fine for the lower flow in the RV so I took them apart and either left out one of the screens or drilled a larger hole in it!

I see that some of the sureflows are only 1 gpm. I cant imagine that would work well. if all your plumbing/valves are in order then maybe they put a real small pump in it.

[EMD360]

MikeGL wrote:
Yes, I was looking at the Oxygenics. Still may get one of those, they look awesome.

I bought the Oxygenics and like the upgrade but I also bought a new lower flow showerhead for the house and it works on the same aeration principal for much less money.
Niagara tri max showerhead This one has three settings, 1.5, 1 and .5 GPM. I find 1 GPM is a nice spray with just enough power to get showered although I sometimes use 1.5 to warm up the shower. This will use less water than the Oxygenics.

They also have a hand held in either 1.5 or 2.0 GPM that is not adjustable.

[EMD360]

rjxj wrote:
So it's slow at the faucets? Maybe check the screens at the aerator. Most rv pumps will deliver a decent amount of water. Mine is 14 yr old and the shower works fine.

Yes, I had replaced the faucets in the RV with regular home faucets and found the aerators were too fine for the lower flow in the RV so I took them apart and either left out one of the screens or drilled a larger hole in it!

[azrving]

So it's slow at the faucets? Maybe check the screens at the aerator. Most rv pumps will deliver a decent amount of water. Mine is 14 yr old and the shower works fine.

[EMD360]

I had to replace our pump last spring and bought this Shurflo.

Not sure if it matched the old one's flow rate (this one is 3.0 gallons per minute) but I was not trying to upgrade the pump. I put in a 1.5 gallon pressure tank to improve the flow and help extend the time between pump cycles. We had one of those tiny RV accumulator tanks and I didn't think it helped at all. The larger tank does improve flow and eliminates drop in pressure between pump cycles.

I just noticed this is the old pump--I tried to rebuild it first. A closeup of the label seems to read 2.5 GPM and 45 psi while the new one is 3.0 GPM and 55 psi. Our RV is a 2002 so since your rig is newer, your pump is probably closer to 3.X.

[MikeGL]

Yes, I was looking at the Oxygenics. Still may get one of those, they look awesome.