working the water pump
Very new to trailer and learned a lot so far but do I have to turn my water pump on and off to get water from fresh tank? as it is now we have to turn the switch to the lit red position to get water. ...
Forum Discussion
Laredo67 wrote:
Billy W. I like you like having it quiet at night so I installed an accumulator inline but the accumulator I purchased was not the RV type I got mine at a local lumber super store. I was wondering if you had to install a check valve inline? The reason I ask is after installling the oversized accumulator, my pump does not shut down and I have checked every inch of the camper for a leak and find none. Checked the pressure in accumulator on the air side and it reads 40psi. Other than pump runing constantly I like the 15 seconds of full flow water. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciiated.
You might do some pressure testing. First, disconnect the accumulator. Then install a pressure gauge somewhere in the water system, close as possible to the pump. Record the pressure value where the pump turns on, and the value where the pump turns off.
Your accumulator pressure is going to need to be below both of those values, when filled with water (bladder fully compressed).
Most pumps have a pressure setpoint adjustment that you may be able to work with. My own pump for example, would begin not turning off quickly when the battery capacity was down 25%, when we were boondocking. Worked fine when voltage was high, or whenever we had electrical hookup. I was able to adjust the pressure setpoint down a little so that the pump could reach shutoff pressure even when the voltage was low. This did not perceptibly change the flow rate to fixtures. Just a little less pressure.
Your pump needs to fully fill the accumulator and spike the pressure before it will turn off. It cannot do that if the pressure in the air side of the accumulator is too high.
