Water on, Water off, Water on, Water off

[lloyd&pamela]

Curious thing has been happening with the water lately. The water flows fine, then all of a sudden it stops. The pump is on. The tank is full. No sound from the pump. Then the next morning the water works fine. Then again tonight the same thing.

Any ideas what is going on? Thanks.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Lloyd,

Based on what little I know of your water system the answer lies in how the system has been set up.

We discussed this previously. You probably should (as a starting point) sketch the system as currently installed. I suspect you will find your water has the potential to flow in a circle, out of the pump and them back into the pump which is likely why your pumps at one time would not shut off.

If the pump will not turn on it is possible you also have something in the system that maintains pressure at the pump pressure switch, but not downstream at the fixtures. (Perhaps a misplaced check valve?) I think when you have sketched out the system you will understand what is happening. The next step will be to revise the plumbing so it works as required. Copy other coaches if need be.

[tdelorme]

Lloyd, some times you have to read between the lines when Jon gives you an answer. What Jon just told you was this, "Lloyd, I like polished copper water systems in a coach. You need to replace the whole plumbing system with copper and keep it polished."
Before you do that, I would wait until the next time the pump fails to kick on and go out and tap on it with a screwdriver handle. If it still fails to work, jiggle the wiring around and see if she works. Sounds to me like the pump has some crud (sand) in the impeller chamber that is locking up the impeller. When the pump motor gets hot it shuts down. When it cools off, the startup is strong enough to dislodge the sand and all is well for a while.
Find your book on the pump and see what it takes to get the impeller chamber open, if it is not a wiring issue. Then change all the filters on the water system.
Or, spend weekends for the rest of your life replacing and polishing copper.

[truk4u]

Lloyd,

If you suspect the pump after checking the filters, I'll send you one to try before you buy a new one. I replaced both of mine as a PM measure and have two good pumps, one if which I promised to Mango for his next water problem.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Lloyd has bigger problems than the lack of highly polished copper piping or the need for a water pump or two. I think somebody decided to improve upon what CC did and they did not do a good job.

Worse, he has portions of his water system in two bays and I am guessing that is not the way CC first built it. In addition to resolving some of the issues he has had, Lloyd needs to determine if both bays are protected from freezing if he is going to continue spending time north of the border.

I think Joe C. may poke around in there a little when Lloyd is in Chicago.