We took Old Sallyvan out for her first outing of this year over the BH weekend and despite lovingly tucking her up for the winter under a cover (tree issues so we have to cover her) and getting her all spik and span inside, leaving taps open on last journey, etc etc as advised somewhere on here, something has gone wrong with the water pump.
It was working OK for the first few hours after pitching up but then it started playing up.
Here's the problems forgive me if these are common and obvious to fix we are still learning:
The light for the pump flashes on and off continuously even when then taps are all closed and outside you can here the pump going. I read the manual for the 'van and it says that might happen if the power is too low but we were hooked up to the onsite power so shouldn't have been an issue.
The water pumps fine when you open the taps.
Bits of debris are coming through the taps.
Things we've checked so far:
Tried cleaning out the end of the water hose
We have just been turning the pump on as and when we need water as not sure why its flashing and powering constantly? It has always done an occasional short set of 'clicks' every few hours like its pressuring the system or something but I assumed that was normal?
I think there is a slightly bad connection where the hose plugs in to the side of the van but holding it in the 'good spot' doesn't solve the problem.
Switched the pump on and checked under the van for any obvious leakages of water.
No signs of wet patches in the van so don't *think* we have sprung a leak. However it was SO cold whilst we were away the hose outside the van did freeze solid as did all the stand pipes on site. Could this have anything to do with it? Perhaps we have a brand spanking new leak thats not showing any outward signs via damp patches and mouldy smells yet.
As if that wasn't enough the flap on the side of the van went missing on the way home and we can't seem to source another one as we have an old 'van (1992 Lunar Venus).
Never having owned a Lunar I don't know which system they use, but basically there are two generally used methods of activating the water pump. 1) micro switches fitted to each individual tap which completes the circuit when turned on. 2) a pressure switch operated by hydraulic pressure. This would be situated probably under a seat close to the water inlet and is adjustable. It sounds as though you have the second system if the pump light is flashing on and off so I would guess it's a simple job of adjusting the valve. It will look something like an in line tap, gently turn it one way and if the red light comes on, turn it back till the light goes out and the pump will stop. Then try turning on a tap and the change in water pressure should activate the pump. Mind you, I could be totally wrong, but I hope you get sorted okay.
Mick
Mick we have the second type I think because there are instructions in the booklets about adjusting the pressure by turning an adjuster. We will definitely have a try at that.
Jeff, I can always rely on you to try and answer one of my questions :) thankyou! when you say loose hose where should I be looking? Honestly I know nothing about this stuff yet, but I am learning ;)
What about all the 'bits' in the water, any ideas what that is all about?
You have a pressure switch system. I`ve gone over to that bypassing the microswitches (one of which still works lol). It could be your pump needs priming, or, as been pointed out, the switch needs adjusting slightly.
If when you replenish your water barrel, you leave your pump dangling by the short and curlies (so to speak) some water can come out and then priming may be needed. A bypass manual switch in the electrical circuit can facilitate "pump on" which should prime it nicely!
------------- Peripheral people don`t have as much excitement but they sure live longer
We did have a lot of air in the system on arrival and the taps took AAAAGES to have water coming out and only then after much gurgling and spluttering (and me twitching and worrying this might be damaging the pump). Would that have anything to do with it?
So if issues with priming the pump I need to start fiddling with the electrics? I get a bit brown trousers about electrical stuff, electric scares me. It also manageds to complete outwit me.... I am STILL working out what switch is set to what on the power management in the 'van. The husband and I can't agree which way is correct. My way makes the battery charge and everything working off the mains hook up (despite the switch being on 12v and he says it should be flipped across for 'mains power'). His way ends in the lights going dim and an almost flat caravan battery, which I think confirms that my way is right.
He he I do love our late nights in the caravan juggling a sleeping baby and tripping over teenagers whilst trying to get the bed out 'discussions' because something's gone off that should be on or something's come on that should be off
"whats that noise?"
"I dunno! what have you touched??"
"why is that light on under there?!"
"I dunno, but have you been FIDDLING with things again Mr madspaceangel?"
we must sound very amusing to those in the 'vans around us.
You sound pretty normal to me, we've all been there at some stage. If there were to be a loose pipe connection, I would have thought with the intermittent running of the pump, that at some stage water would be expelled at that point and a leak would be in evidence....Mick
The random running of the pump does suggest the pressure switch could be out of adjustment, but then it will usually kick in if it detects a reduction in pressure.
As per Jeff's suggestion check for hoses, but you could also potentially have a duff non-return valve. This will be in series with the cold inlet feed and "does what it says on the tin", in as much as it ensures the water flows inwards only and shouldn't seep back. If you experience water seeping back into your Aquaroll, then the non return valve is not sealing fully, hence periodic priming of the system by the pressure switch.
This is what i do to get the water up to the taps.
1....fill the barrel with water,
2.....place the pump in the barrel till it hits the bottom.
3......connect to van.
4.....i open one tap only (cold)at the sink till it stops
to sputter.
5......i open the rest of the cold taps one by one.
6......I go back to the sink and open the hot tap till it
stops to splutter..then the rest one by one.
If the pump sounds as if its working but no water comes
up,i shake it in the barrel to get rid of any trapped air.
On the pump end you have a hose that feeds the water in,this has been known to come off.
BTW..when anything does go wrong the mrs always says to me "alright what did you touch or will you leave things alone..it was working fine till YOU touched it"
Firstly, the bits of debris coming through the taps is usually one of two things and that's either bits of carbon in the filter (if you have one) breaking down from ice contamination especially if it hasn't been removed during the winter lay up or it's limescale deposits coming from the hot water tank. What I did was use an application of Truma Aquastar 1+2 which a special caravan formulation for removing limescale from the hot water tank and when I did mine two years ago I was amazed just how much green limescale was flushed out and seen in the washroom hand basin. It's not a cheap product but once the application has beeen conducted it won't need doing for several years again but the system has also been disinfected too to remove any harmful bacteria but the sterilisation is a seperate application after the 1+2 application. See the link below for information on the product but the advice is to shop around as it can vary in price at different outlets.
Regarding the water pressure, the rocker car/van rocker switch needs to be switched to van (onboard leisure battery) and there is another on/off switch solely for the water pump (with the red light). The red light illuminates when there is a drop in water pressure ie. when you turn on a hot or cold tap so if there are no taps turned on then this is evidence that there is a drop in pressure. However, it's not unusual for the pump to re-pressurise occasionally which means that the red light illuminates then de-activates a few seconds later. Make sure that the 'O' ring at the water pump is sealing against the housing and if you detect even the slightest leak then renew the 'O' ring but also make sure that there is no dirt or fine debris against where the 'O' ring seals otherwise this can also create a pressure loss. If all is well then the pressure switch may need adjusting slightly but you have to balance the cold with the hot supply. The way of doing this is to turn off all the taps securely (including the shower), turn on the water pump switch then the dial on the pressure switch clockwise GENTLY until the pump just runs. When it does then turn the dial back about half a turn so that the red light goes out. Turn on the nearest cold water tap to the pressure switch and the red light should illuminate then turn off the tap and count the seconds it takes for the red light to distinguish. It should be around 6-8 seconds so then it's the same procedure with the hot tap but the light may take a little longer to distinguish because the run from the cold water supply is shorter than that of the hot as it comes via the hot water tank. It took me a while to understand this myself after encountering problems with water pressure but I got my information from reading books such as the Haynes 'Caravan Manual' and also from experienced fellow caravanners.
Brilliant! Loads of great suggestions to try. I am going to print them all out and then the Mr MSA and I can work through them and get it sorted.
BTW the debris coming out of the taps is black solid flecks.
Our water system does have a filter on it but the folks we bouhgt the van from said they never bothered replaing it as they didn't drink or cook with the water. I guess its something we should pay some attention to rather than following other peoples bad habits
We have a "Whale" tap and the problem was the square plastic drive inside the handle had fractured. No matter how much we moved or adjusted the mixer, the pump was still running due to the microswitch not being activated as you closed the tap. New tap was our solution.
------------- Some days you are the dog,
some days you are the tree.
No idea what tap is fitted? Will have a look today. am also going to clean the system with milton. What is the best way to do this? I don't want to muff it up.
Quote: Originally posted by madspaceangel on 11/4/2013No idea what tap is fitted? Will have a look today. am also going to clean the system with milton. What is the best way to do this? I don't want to muff it up.
To clean fill all the water system as you would on site.after one or two hours drain off fully and do it again with clean water.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
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Topic: Water pump issues.
