Which Potable Water Transfer Pump for Dry Camping?

[lhuff35204]

[QUOTE=lhuff35204;1986365]I've used these bladders and pump for almost 2 years. The bladder and pump fold into a small pouch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Transfer pump: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-Vol...ump-63324.html

7 way converter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I updated the links

[Camp4two]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Camp4two, what I did was super easy and very cheap to do. What I did was replace the outside shower head with a fitting and a garden hose sprayer. When I want to add water from a jug to the fresh water tank the first thing I do is take off the garden hose sprayer and attach a white fresh water hose. In my unit (2504s) the outside shower is in the center of the back of the camper and the water tank fill is almost to the front of the street side so I need a hose. If yours is close enough you might get away with just taking off the shower head. Then I bought about a 5-6 foot of clear plastic hose and clamped an adapter to male garden hose which I plug into the antifreeze port. (And set the valve for the water pump to draw from the AF port.)Put the other end of the hose in the water jug and turn on the cold side of the outside shower. Sometimes I have to prime the hose but no big deal. No extra pump to buy or carry around. Jay

Wow, what an education on transfer pumps or just use the antifreeze inlet or outdoor shower and on board pump to fill the FW tank. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Our 2019 Rockwood 2511S has a similar plumbing configuration as Jay’s (quote) Rockwood 2504S (front FW tank, rear outdoor shower, rear antifreeze inlet). Our Shurflow 4008 water pump is in rear bathroom cabinet about 22 feet from the FW tank. Filling the FW tank through the outdoor shower seems to be an easy and cost effective way (no pump needed) to get it done (thanks Jay). Bladders/jugs/totes to transfer water are all good, bladders more convenient. 12v or 110-120v (with inverter or generator) transfer pumps will work too. Possibly buy the same water pump as the on board pump for backup, especially when dry camping. These are all good options.

My options:
-Fill FW tank from the antifreeze inlet and use my on board water pump.
-Fill FW tank from the outdoor shower and use my on board water pump.
-Fill FW tank at the tank’s water inlet (8 ft. water run) using a 12v or 110-120v water transfer pump and garden hoses or tubing.

Other considerations:
My FW tank capacity: 52 gal.
More running of my on board pump during many dry camping days.
We do not use the FW tank for our drinking water.

Three water pump comparisons:
1. My on board Shurflow 4008 12v pump:
-3 GPM (52 gal FW tank/3 GPM=approx. 17 min to fill empty FW tank)
-7.5 amps (90 watts)
-Water run: 22 feet

2. Drummond 12v Transfer Pump (example)
-Harbor Freight $45
-4.8 GPM (52 gal FW tank/4.8 GPM=approx. 11 min to fill empty FW tank)
-4 amps (50 watts)
-Water run: 8 feet

3. Drummond 120v Transfer Pump (example - dry camp use with inverter or generator)
-Harbor Freight $60
-5.3 GPM (52 gal FW tank/5.3 GPM=approx. 10 min to fill empty FW tank)
-2 amps (240 watts)
-Water run: 8 feet

A water transfer pump, fittings and hoses is not that expensive. It will fill our FW tank faster than our on board pump and save some additional wear on the on board pump.

I’m leaning towards a 12v water transfer pump.

Camp4two

[johntaylor]

I've been using this 12v pump from Amazon for over a year of full-time boondocking. It's had very good pressure until recently, but now it's running slower, so I think it's time to replace it. I'll get the same one again. Can't go wrong for $14.

I connect it to a length of white water hose, a Camco 90 degree hose elbow and a Camco water tank filler with shutoff valve.


I also have an adapter and short length of pipe from the Lowes plumbing department that I can screw into the cap of my Aquatainers, to pour directly into the fresh water port in emergency if the pump ever fails, but I've never had to use it.

[dontay]

For transfer of water from my 6 gal jug to the fill port on our rig I found a Wayne potable water 12V transfer pump. It has a fairly long 12V cord with alligator clips and comes with a short piece of garden style hose. I only carry about 5 gal in the jug depending how far the water source is from the camp site but it empties it in about a minute.
I already had a piece of pvc pipe with garden hose connectors on it for another project. But it was perfect to connect to the Input side of the pump and when inserted into the upright jug it holds the pump in place. That way I can focus on holding the output hose and getting the water into the filler pipe. There is an inline switch on the cord to control the pump.
This system has worked well for many years (since I could no longer lift the filled jug up to the filler pipe.)
The pump is self priming and is not very big. I can't remember if I bought it on Amazon or etrailer but you can just google it to see who sells them.

[mzbrandi]

I just used a 12v one from Harbor Frieght. Works for me.

[Camp4two]

In addition to everyone’s posts, I read other FR Forum threads on transfer pumps and researched various pumps online. A good selection of pumps available, but I decided on Harbor Freight’s 12v water transfer pump. Already have short lengths of garden hose to pump from my water jugs into my FW tank inlet. Electrical cord length is 6 ft. (with and on/off switch) to reach my trailer’s deep cycle 6v batteries or connect to my TV battery. Overall, for my dry camping days this pump should work just fine.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-vol...ump-63324.html

Camp4two

[Jesse]

You may not always have availability of 120 volts.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Jesse

You may not always have availability of 120 volts.

Are you referring to someone's post?

[Camp4two]

Originally Posted by Jesse

You may not always have availability of 120 volts.

Who's post are you referring to? My pump from Harbor Freight will be 12 volts.

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Are you referring to someone's post?

Nope, I was referring to the original question he had asked. (part 1)
which was "Which type pump (12V/115V) are you using when dry camping?"

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by Camp4two

Who's post are you referring to? My pump from Harbor Freight will be 12 volts.

Looks like a good one!

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Nope, I was referring to the original question he had asked. (part 1)
which was "Which type pump (12V/115V) are you using when dry camping?"

Thanks for clearing that up.
After 29 posts since the OP, I wasn't sure.

[Jesse]

LOL yeah these things do take time.

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by Camp4two

I want to pump potable water from my water jugs into my new travel trailer’s 52 gal. water tank when dry camping. There are several 12V and 115V water transfer pumps for sale on Amazon, Harbor Freight, etc. I have a 1000W inverter, two deep cycle 6 volt batteries and a 100W solar panel to recharge batteries

Seems like either a 12V or 115V pump will work with my setup.

-Which type pump (12V/115V) are you using when dry camping?
-Which type pump (12V or 115V plugged into a 1000W inverter) has less drain on deep cycle batteries?
-Any make/model pump you recommend are appreciated.

Camp4two

12 Volt is more efficient than 120 Volt inverted.

I use a Shurflo 4008 as transfer pump, the same model as my onboard pump, reason is if the onboard pump fails I have a spare to replace it with.
To keep it super cheap you can use a $10 drill pump on a drill with preferably 2000 rpm.

[Dirtmaster]

Thanks Cypressloser, the $10 pump using the cordless drill I use on the trailer jacks is a great idea. One less piece of gear to carry, and I’ll bet that pump is light.

[Philkaty]

I use a 12v Harbor freight pump. no one has gotten sick. I put a filter inline after the pump.

[MichaelE]

Originally Posted by Philkaty

I use a 12v Harbor freight pump. no one has gotten sick. I put a filter inline after the pump.

Same, the clean water pump works and is pretty fast considering.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by MichaelE

Same, the clean water pump works and is pretty fast considering.

I'm in the midst of building my water transfer system. I just purchased a relatively inexpensive 3 gpm rv water pump and added hose fittings to the inlet/outlet.
To transport water I have a bunch of collapsible 5 gal bladders. When the pump suction is attached to the bladder spout with a piece of cut off water hose (white rv type) it sucks out the water and collapses the bladder as flat as it can get. Turn off spigot, move hose to next bladder, repeat.
I have 12 of them and prefer to just one big bladder as I need to distribute load. I can carry 6 of them in the rear seat of my crew cab if necessary.

I passed on the cheap "Jabsco" types with the rubber impeller as none are suitable for potable water. Most are for DIY oil changes and the rubber impeller fail with regularity. One vendor I saw even included a spare because they know they're going to fail.

[Camp4two]

Here is the 12v water transfer setup I went with. Everyone’s input to my original post on various water pumps and types of water containers used was very helpful, thank you.
I purchased Harbor Freight’s Drummond 12v water transfer pump. I did a test run of my setup. This pump is powerful. It emptied my 5.5 gal Rhino water jug in just over a minute. Owner’s Manual says to add 3-4 drops of vegetable or mineral oil into the intake to extend propeller life. The propeller requires lubrication. I use a small eye dropper bottle for lubrication. I also, made the outlet hose as short as possible.

My FW tank inlet is 5ft. from the ground, too high to easily pour water jugs, even with a step stool. The small table worked great to put the pump and switch on.