Water Pump making noise! Along with a leak...

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
I sure wish you guys would stop talking about water leaks! Every time I read a new post about a water leak, I get one that develops soon after. This time we went on a short 3 hour trip to have some work done on the coach and we are staying in the area for the long weekend. Since we had water and enough room for the waste tanks I did not hook up anything except the Electric.

This evening we went out to diner and upon our return I noticed water leaking under the coach. After a closer look I found a lot of water in the basement area. I turned off the pump and did not see any leak. After my DW and I cleaned up the water, I hooked up the city water. The pump did not show any evidence of a leak but it was making a noise like it had water that was running through it. After shutting off the city water the noise stopped.

Not sure, but I dont think the pump should have water going through it when the city water is connected. Anyone have any ideas as to my problem? I also checked the fittings on the pump and they seem really loose, but I did not see any leaks on them. Are they suppose to be loose? I would think not, but I still kinda new at this stuff.

Any help would be appreciated!
 

rebootsemi

Well-known member
Sooooooooo where did all of the water come from? I think what you are hearing with the city water on is water back flowing through the pump and into your fresh water tank. There is a check valve in the outlet side of the pump to prevent water from back flowing.
So with city water on is there a leak anywhere in the basement? If not switch back to the pump to see if you can locate the leak. And no the fittings should not be loose.
I have gotten in the habit of turning off the water supply when leaving for any length of time.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
I just went out and checked it again. The pump has water underneath it. So I am assuming that it is leaking. Are you saying that water should not be going through the pump like that? It seems like if it does, it would fill up my fresh water tank and it would overflow. Do I need a new pump if it is leaking or can it be something that just needs tightening up?
 

rebootsemi

Well-known member
I just went out and checked it again. The pump has water underneath it. So I am assuming that it is leaking. Are you saying that water should not be going through the pump like that? It seems like if it does, it would fill up my fresh water tank and it would overflow. Do I need a new pump if it is leaking or can it be something that just needs tightening up?

While connected to city water with the pump off you should not have water flowing through the pump and yes it will fill up your tank in time. Is there a valve in the line into the pump if so turn it off and see if the sound stops. I would guess that the water is leaking from a fitting in or out of the pump. I assume it is a ShurFlo pump and the housing on one of these almost never leaks, you could try tightening up the screws around the outside of the housing. Don't touch the one in the middle it adjusts your pressure.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
rebootsemi is right on the money. As he said, there should be a valve in the inlet tubing between the pump and where it goes to the fresh tank. This has been a problem on a few threads over the last several years. Also tighten up the connections in & out of the pump. You might consider removing them first to make sure there is no debris in the connection.
Let your dealer know what happened and hopefully they'll get a replacement pump. You can also call Shurflo and they may just send you a pump. It's an easy R & R. You'll have to return the failed pump.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
I have looked at this pump again. With the City water on, the water flows through the pump. As said before this is not suppose to happen. I am guessing the back flow prevented is not working. Also when water is running through the pump either way it leaks. Do I need to contact Shurflo for a new pump? For now I am going to just bypass the pump with some kind of fitting. Going to go to big box to get a fitting. Since we live full time, we can keep having so much water in the basement.

This really has me wondering if there is any damage to the insulation and stuff below the deck there?
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Ok, a follow up to this issue, I went to the Big Box store and bought a 1/2 Gal. Nipple and bypassed the pump. This did not work as it soon filled up the fresh water tank and started spitting water out the vent. So I went back to the BBS and picked up 2- 1/2 inch threaded to 1/2 inch CPVC pipe fittings, a couple of 1/2 inch CPVC Caps and a section of pipe. Put it altogether so as to make a cap for each side of the pump and so far no leaks. I will be contacting HL or Shurflo tomorrow to see about a fix for the pump. I have been having leaks around that pump since I picked up our coach and tightened it up once or twice thinking it was not the pump, but maybe it was the pump all along. We will see.

Thanks for all the help guys,
 
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