12v drinking water safe transfer pump?

[ependydad]

After spending the last 2 weeks boondocking, I've had an opportunity to fill my water tank a couple of times from a 60 gallon fresh water bladder.

I pumped it in by using the anti-freeze inlet and winterization valve of the camper to suck in from the bladder and then used the outside shower hose to fill into the freshwater tank. It worked but it was sloooooow.

I figure my camper's pump is good for up to about 3 gpm but by the time the water traverses the camper's water system and then gets squeezed down by the outside shower hose- that flow was knocked back by quite a lot.

I started looking at 12v transfer pumps, but I'm having a hard time finding any that are drinking water safe.

What do you use? Did you worry about it being drinking water safe?

[doc73]

I have seen several people just use another rv water pump as their dedicated transfer pump.

[5picker]

Just purchase a good hi-flow 12v RV water pump as your transfer pump.

[Pipeman]

That's what I use, a RV pump. I have it rigged to plug into the 7 plug receptacle on the TV with an on/off switch. It pumps into the gravity water feed to the tank in the RV. A cigarette plug on the end of the wiring on the pump works for me. https://www.amazon.ca/Reese-Towpower...9EW5F06QV6A5C2

Hope this works

[lswartz]

I use a DW .

Really, she holds the funnel & I dump it in from a 7 gallon water jug. We use just a bit more than 5 gallons a day & filling every other day (or whenever I remember it) covers a long camping trip.

[extremebike]

HI. I rigged up a cheap RV pump and got 1/2 inch to 3/4 garden hose adapters for the inlet and outlet. I use a small 3 A-hr battery with clips to power the pump.

I can pump 30 gallons in about 15 minutes. It's just enough time to get out the chair and start a beer.

[ependydad]

Well crap- y’all are telling me to not be so cheap and buy the right tool for the job...

[DougW]

Did you remove the flow restrictions from the outside shower? Found 2 of them in mine, 1 at each end of the hose.

Another possibility is to put in a T and a shut off in the water line on the pressure side of the water pump and run from that into the fresh tank.

[Tomgky]

DougW I like your idea of the T

[5picker]

Doug,
I plumbed these to the bottom of my low point drains.
They accept a standard garden hose.
If you had something similar you could use the winterization port on the intake side of the pump from the bladder and then from this into your fresh fill port. Utilizing the pump you have and without the restriction of the outside shower.

We often use these connections to wash the camper/kids/pets/rug/etc. Plenty of flow.

[shadows4]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Doug,
I plumbed these to the bottom of my low point drains.
They accept a standard garden hose.
If you had something similar you could use the winterization port on the intake side of the pump from the bladder and then from this into your fresh fill port. Utilizing the pump you have and without the restriction of the outside shower.

We often use these connections to wash the camper/kids/pets/rug/etc. Plenty of flow.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get those valves. I like the looks of that setup.

[Cypressloser]

The Winterizing won't put water back into the tank, the sanitizing setting is to slow.
A $50 rv pump is the way to go.

Edit: A 110 Volt pump may be cheaper and twice as quick if that's an option.

[DocRob]

Harbor Freight was selling a 12 volt pump with stainless housing that had garden hose thread input and output rated at 200-300 gallons per hour. Used mine last summer to fill my tank from a number of 5 gallon plastic containers.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by DocRob

Harbor Freight was selling a 12 volt pump with stainless housing that had garden hose thread input and output rated at 200-300 gallons per hour. Used mine last summer to fill my tank from a number of 5 gallon plastic containers.

That’s what sent me down this rabbit hole. I’m betting if you contacted HF that you’ll find that pump isn’t rated for drinking water.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

The Winterizing won't put water back into the tank, the sanitizing setting is to slow.
A $50 rv pump is the way to go.

Edit: A 110 Volt pump may be cheaper and twice as quick if that's an option.

110v is an option I’ve got a plug in my water bay that I can use. I have an inverter that I make all of the outlets in the house active on.

[RB19RR]

I don’t drink the water from my FW tank. I use thr Harbor Freight 12v pump and it pumps from my 30g tank in the bed of the pickup to the trailer in minutes. Fantastic.

[prairiecamper]

Originally Posted by ependydad

That’s what sent me down this rabbit hole. I’m betting if you contacted HF that you’ll find that pump isn’t rated for drinking water.

I don't know what would be in that pump that would make it unsafe for drinking water, it just has a couple of impellers. I use one like that but I also have a filter system on the output side of the pump. It works quite well.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by shadows4

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get those valves. I like the looks of that setup.

McMaster-Carr

[doc73]

Originally Posted by prairiecamper

I don't know what would be in that pump that would make it unsafe for drinking water, it just has a couple of impellers. I use one like that but I also have a filter system on the output side of the pump. It works quite well.

Being that it is most likely cheap Chinese (from harbor freight that is) it would probaly have substandard plastics with lots of leaching into the water, the metal could release toxins.. Remember the whole poisonous dog food from China incident.. Need I say more. I'd just get the Shur Flo pump and be done with it.

[Skyliner]

I just got back from our last boondocking trip of the year. We use a cheap harbor freight pump to siphon water out 7 gallon water containers into our fresh water tank. Although we have a large charcoal water filter for our RV, we never drink out of the fresh water tank. If we did, we'd probably use a PUR water filter or somethings similar.