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Topic: Whale pump - not lasting

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feelyjordan

19/5/2012 at 4:11pm
Location: Washington UK
Outfit: Elddis Xplore 302

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Hi

We are just starting our second season with a new van and have just bought out third Whale submersible pump. The first was replaced under warranty - it was running continuously, while the second just did gave up pumping ( the motor still runs and it sounds OK). I had it tested by a dealer and they said that it was not strong enough - hence new pump.

We don't make excessive use of the water system, having only used the internal shower once. The pump is used in connection with cooking, washing dishes and hands only. It is switched off most of the time.

Are these pumps pretty unreliable or have we just been unlucky?

jeff juke

19/5/2012 at 4:19pm
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Something funny going on if you have went through so many pumps.ive had the same one for years and have used it in the van ive got just now.it gave up after about 10years of use a fortnight ago.

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Animals have feelings..

JEFF................

captainevo

19/5/2012 at 4:23pm
Location: BlackCountry
Outfit: Honda CRV & Bailey Pageant Provence

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how bizarre, never heard of pumps failing that quick. Only advice would be make sure the Aquaroll is rinsed out thoroughly before filling it up and make sure you dont let it empty before re-filling also I always drop the filter into the water before connecting it to the van.

jeff juke

19/5/2012 at 4:44pm
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Are you sure that your not letting the water barrel get low ?as this will cause the pump to keep running if the system works on pressure.

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Animals have feelings..

JEFF................

bowler70

19/5/2012 at 5:28pm
Location: Cornwall
Outfit: Toyota LC3 TDi 04 Abbey GTS Vogue 418

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Make sure taps are fully OFF after use. It is easy sometimes to miss that last bit of lever closing on the tap. Do you get a good flow of water through the taps or is it a dribble?
Check the tap end filters which you can unscrew.
The pump should only run when a tap is turned ON - it should NEVER run continuously.

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Mike

feelyjordan

19/5/2012 at 6:08pm
Location: Washington UK
Outfit: Elddis Xplore 302

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Thanks for the responses. There does not appear to be a reliability issue then.

The pump running continuously thing was solved with a new pump - I guess that the pressure switch was not working properly.

We do get a good flow of water through the taps, and it stops when they are closed. I always carefully fill the hot water system with both taps open until there is a steady flow.

I guess that I may have let the water level get too low in the Aquaroll on occasion, but if I hear the pump running I always investigate.

Will be super careful in future!

arc systems

19/5/2012 at 6:41pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: http: www.arcsystems.biz

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I would email Whale and ask them, they test all their products extensively because they take reliability issues very seriously.

tango55

19/5/2012 at 7:48pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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I would tend to agree that it sounds like you are letting the remaining water in the barrel get too low and as previously stated by Jeff that the pressure drops causing the the pump to run continuous. The pump needs to be submerged at all times because what happens is the sensor in the pump is calling for water when there's not enough there so make sure that you replenish the water barrel when it gets to just under about a quarter full. I use two water barrels so I always have one ready to put on when it needs changing which also helps if it's raining as you need to do it as quickly as possible. I have been using my existing pump for the last 5 years without any problem and only changed mine recently because I needed one with a higher flow rate mainly for feeding the height of the shower head. The other one I keep just as a spare now just in case the newer one fails at any time as there's nothing worse than a pump failing when all the camping outlets are closed out of hours.

michael

19/5/2012 at 10:38pm
Location: Lancashire
Outfit: Caravan now Sold

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first one sounds like the pressure switch needed sorting out.second one could have run out of water and got an air lock when refilled.had our pump 6 years.

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the only silly question is the one you do not ask.

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