No Water out of the Pump... Fixed then Not

[RMabus]

Hello All. I have a Forest River Micro Lite 25RBS. This is my issue. On my fresh water tank boondocks, I am having issues that my water supply simply runs out with the pump running consistently. Here is a progression of what happened.

1. Got to a boondock site. Plugged into Geny and fired it up. No water, pump ran constant.
2. Checked tank. Full
3. Checked pump. Running strong.
4. Emptied Filter, started again. Did not fill.
5. Took pump apart, re-installed
6. Blew with my mouth into tank hose and heard/felt gurgling.
7. Re connected and had strong water Friday to Sunday.
8. Sunday was rinsing off in the shower and the water came to a trickle and the pump fired back up constant again.

I have not taken it back apart again. My gut is something is getting caught in the water line. Not sure what but wondering.

Any advice on this. I have had calcium build up a few times at kitchen sink and at toilet when new, water pressure is variable at all fixtures.

Thinking vinegar in the tank but not sure what to make of this.

BUT if it is a sign my pump is going out then I am all ears. I am fairly competent mechanically but not good at routine maintenance.

[DougW]

There may be something in the fresh tank that is plugging the line to the water pump. When you blew on the line you pushed it back into the fresh tank and it may have gotten sucked into the pump feed line again. I would disconnect the water line from the input side of the water pump and see if I could pull water through it with suction.

It could also be an air leak on the inlet side of the water pump. Since air moves much easier than water it only takes a very small leak for the water to not flow.

[RMabus]

I will see if I can do that. Good advice.

[Thurman]

Debris in the fresh water tank is not out of the question. They mold these tanks as a whole unit then drill holes in them according to their application. Therefore a small circle of plastic, and plastic chips could be in the tank. A bad check valve on the water pump could also be a source for this problem. IF the check valve does not seat properly when blocking water from the downstream side of the water system it will allow water to just flow back and forth causing a loss of water pressure/flow. Rebuild kits for most brands of RV water pumps are easy to find, been there done that on my TT.

[stephensatt]

So my water pump burned out on my 2020 NOBO 19.1, and I think I found the problem, small pebbles, and sand in the fresh water tank.

What will happen is the shower water will run fine for a little while and get slower and slower to the point it trickles out. However, when I run a different faucet, it comes out good . Take the shower or faucet apart and see if you got rocks in it. Thats what happened to me, and it did eventually ruin the pump. I now carry an extra pump with me, at $50 on Amazon, when it goes, it just goes out on you right away, ruining your trip and its a 30 min or less repair if you have the part. When I took the pump apart the metal screen filter was also full of little tiny rocks and some was making it past the stainless screen.

I am now going to install an inline filter when I get the chance as its doing it again on the new pump.

I do use the blue Walmart hose line filter but not always when filling up the fresh water tank so I got some bad water somewhere. Some of these lakes we stay at say "non-potable" on the faucets so that means the water comes straight out of the lake.

Another thing to check is the suction line is good and tight and doesn't leak air going to the pump as the pump will run continuous with if its sucking any air. It primes and then stops automatically once it builds a certain amount of pressure so any leaks would cause it to run forever.

[pmsherman]

Another problem that could give these symptoms is a blocked vent for the fresh water tank. As you draw water from the tank, a vacuum forms and eventually the pump can't pull water from the tank. Fresh tanks are usually vented through the overflow pipe under the rig but some overflow pipes go up to the fill cap. An overflow pipe may have a shutoff valve or cap installed on it to prevent siphoning water from the tank. This needs to be removed when you start using water from the tank.The fill cap can be left a bit loose when not moving if that is where the vent/overflow is located.


Phil