Water Pump slow flow & PSI & replacement questions

Topic: Water Pump slow flow & PSI & replacement questions (Read 430 times) previous topic - next topic

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January 30, 2018, 02:22:09 am

I start with info on current pump issue and at the end (I will put a big QUESTIONS there so people can skip right there if they want), I have questions including is there any issues with original fixtures and changing 45psi pump to 60psi pump and accumulator question.

Current pump issue:
Our water pump in our rig, a Sureflo 2088-422-444 that has a manufacture date of May 2003 (FG 5-02 is on label and Surflo said that was the date of the pump).

We tested it some but have not really used it until we prepared to go to Quartzsite last week.
We first tried to just flush thru out fresh water tank but the outlet at the bottom of the RV didn't let anything out and we were not for sure it went to the fresh water tank (turns out it did but was all gunked up with stuff so nothing flowed out).
So we thought just run it thru the pipes.

It turns out that while the fresh water tank was empty (and likely had been for a handful of years), it had some of the pink antifreeze in it (probably from when the LD lived in the NE where freezing happens a lot).
The water was pink, but it was flowing fine and becoming more clear.

However, as we got to the end of the fresh water tank, the water turned into pink foam. We shut off the faucets and ran city water thru them (had a good flow and water became clear again).
Then we filled up the fresh water tank again and ran that thru the faucets.
Now the water pump only put out a trickle of water with a little pink color which became clear pretty quickly.
Over about 10-15 minutes the water stream increased, but only about 1/2 of what it had been originally on the pump.

It has remained at that level (we got the fresh water tank outlet working and emptied all fresh water out before going to quartzsite and just used bottled water for everything, and when we got back into town again filled up the fresh water tank but while clear it is still running at half stream.

We do have a pressurized tank, it looks like about 2 gallons, as part of the system (psi on it says 40).
I can take pictures of everything if that would make it clearer.

I talked to Sureflo tech support. First thing he said is you have a very old water pump.
When I said it worked fine until we hit the pink foam at the end of the fresh water tank he said the pink antifreeze can leave a film and if a valve was already not perfect that could have been enough to have it sucking air into the system.

I ordered a new pump but figured before I installed it I would ask if anyone knew a simple quick magic trick that would get the pump water flow working strong again.

QUESTIONS:
1) Any simple quick magic trick that will get this old pump working again? The cost of a new pump is low so I don't want to spend a lot of time or money trying to get the old one working, but I thought someone might say oh, that happened to me and I did and voila.....

2) PSI - the old pump is PSI 45. We have heard pressure reducers set at 40 psi should be put between city water and the RV as the RV pipes and fittings won't tolerate higher pressures.
The new pump Shurflo said to get is the 4008-101-A65 which has 55psi and 3gpm - this seems to be the one most of you all are using.
Any problems with the older (1989) plumbing pipes/fittings/fixtures with 55psi?
I would like to do updates over time and not all of a sudden have to do several days worth right now because I put in a new pump.
What about using the 4028-100-E54 - 50 psi and 2.3 gpm? Is that a better choice when mostly boondocking?
Or use the stronger water pump and just reduce flow with aerators and fixtures that do low gpm since I plan to replace faucets, showerhead, and toilet in the near future (e.g. this year sometime).

3) Accumulators. In reading reviews for Amazon and this forum, I learned that Sureflo didn't like people putting accumulators with their water pumps even though they sell one.
We do have a pressurized tank, it looks like about 2 gallons, as part of the plumbing system (psi on it says 40 though we think that varies some).
I have not traced plumbing to see what goes where (we just figured out how to pull those kitchen drawers out all the way), but I would guess that was an accumulator and was installed to use with the original water pump when the first owners did a lot of improvements shortly after buying their new LD.
From discussions on this forum it sounds like it helps with surging and we should leave it in place.
Anyone have problems with theirs?
I can take pictures / do drawings of how this tank fits into the plumbing if needed.

Thanks for any help, shared experiences, idea/advice,
Jane