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Old 12-07-2018, 11:28 AM   #1
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Which Potable Water Transfer Pump for Dry Camping?

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
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Old 12-07-2018, 11:46 AM   #2
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Hi,

Have you investigated whether your on board pump and existing plumbing can serve that purpose?

Rich Phillips
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Old 12-07-2018, 12:16 PM   #3
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I dry camp about five months out of the year in a State Forest. I don't use a pump to fill my tank. I have three six gallon Igloo Cargo water containers. On one of them I adapted the spout with a piece of 18" clear flexible tubing I purchased at Home Depot. The inside diameter of the tubing matches the external diameter of the spout and is held in place with two stainless steel screws. I cut the end of the tubing at an angle to make it easier to insert it in the filler port for the holding tank. You do have to be able to lift about 50 pounds to do this. Be sure to pull the vent plug on the container. I just transfer the adapted nozzle to whichever container I am using, but you could put an adapter on each nozzle.

You want to sanitize your jugs with about a half teaspoon of chlorine bleach on a regular basis, especially in warmer weather, whether you are using a pump, or my method.

As a side note I don't use water from the tank for drinking. I have two three gallon Primo water jugs I bought and fill at Walmart for $.39 a gallon. I upgraded from the manual pump to the electronic pump this year and love it. It recharges via a USB cable: Primo Portable Electronic Water Pump

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Primo-Port...Pump/469103805
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Old 12-07-2018, 12:38 PM   #4
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I have a similar set up to the above poster with the angle cut hose that attaches to my Scepter MWC with a water bandit. Lifting the MWC is about 50 pouns at first.

I also have a Shurflo 12 volt volt pump (exact match to the pump in the trailer, think spare parts) that I can connect to the water cans and run a hose to the fill point of the trailer tank for transfer purposes.

I put a “12 V tail” with Anderson connectors that hangs outside the front battery box to power stuff including the portable pump. It can plug inwith enough wire length to place the cans and pump at the tank fill point.
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Old 12-07-2018, 01:03 PM   #5
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I upgraded the factory 12V water pump to a newer, quieter Shurflo model and re-purposed the old pump for pumping water out of 6 gallon containers into the FW tank.
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Old 12-07-2018, 01:09 PM   #6
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Yes, with modifying the water lines. But I prefer not to go this route using my on board pump.
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Old 12-07-2018, 01:20 PM   #7
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back from my sailing days:
Try westmarine.com for the pumps.
They have pumps for 1 to 4+ faucets so you can choose how fast you transfer...
I would use the truck 12V outlet for that pump if it can handle the watts...
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Old 12-07-2018, 04:02 PM   #8
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Portable pump

Quote:
Originally Posted by Camp4two View Post
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

I use this one;

https://www.amazon.com/Rule-IL500PK-...pump+slim+line

I also have a portable jump battery from "Genius" that I use to power the pump amongst many other things. The pump will empty one of those 7 gallon jugs in approx. a minute an half. I bought some additional food safe tubing to go from the pump to the trailer. Works great.
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:32 PM   #9
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I’ve repiped my system so I can use my on board pump to move water from my antifreeze suction line into my FW tank by opening and closing some valves.
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:43 PM   #10
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I purchased a transfer pump from HD that is powered by my 12V Electric drill (same drill that I use to raise and lower the levelers).
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:52 PM   #11
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What works for me, since I only dry camp at national parks where water is fairly close by is a collapsible tank that is carried from the water source to my campsite. Gravity feeds the water from the tank to my RV tank. Here is a source of the tank I use: https://www.campingworld.com/portabl...tank-45-gallon

Jerry
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Old 12-07-2018, 07:14 PM   #12
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Thank you everyone for your feedback. From your replies I need to clarify some things:

-The water inlet for the fresh water tank on our Rockwood Mini Lite trailer is 5 feet above the ground. I have to use a step stool to reach the water inlet to pour water from our three 5.5 gal Rhino water jugs. This is not easy to do - water spills at the inlet all the time and maneuvering the jugs (weight) up two steps to pour them in is a PIA.

-Our on board pump/hoses/connections/everything are all under warranty for 9 more months so I don’t want to modify any connections to be able to use the on-board water pump to fill the fresh water tank at this time.

I want hook up a portable 12v (direct to battery) or 115v water transfer pump (plugged into my 1000W inverter) and connect a garden hose from the pump inlet to our water jug and another garden hose from pump outlet to the fresh water tank inlet. The 12v or 115v electrical wires run from the pump to the battery or plugged into my inverter is less than 6 ft. It is also a short run from the pump to the fresh water tank inlet.

For my situation (also refer to my first post), is a separate 12 volt transfer pump a better way to go than a 115v pump?
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Old 12-07-2018, 07:55 PM   #13
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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
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Old 12-07-2018, 09:42 PM   #14
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Hi Camp4two,

I am not familiar with your specific unit.

But if you already have the capability for winterizing with your internal pump, there could be a way to pump into your tank without modifying plumbing and impacting your warranty.

Just a thought...

Rich Phillips
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Old 12-07-2018, 10:30 PM   #15
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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
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Old 12-07-2018, 10:39 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by richp View Post
Hi Camp4two,

I am not familiar with your specific unit.

But if you already have the capability for winterizing with your internal pump, there could be a way to pump into your tank without modifying plumbing and impacting your warranty.

Just a thought...

Rich Phillips
Yep... if you have a winterizing port, you can use the onboard pump to pull water out of the jug instead of the fresh tank by simply turning a valve. The pump doesn't care where it sucks from.

The draw back is you need to swap jugs after every 5 gallons of use.... or... you can hook up as I just suggested and use the outside shower hose (remove/unscrew the head and use the hose to go to the fresh water fill port) and fill the fresh tank.

If your shower hose is too short, you can extend it or connect one to the low point drain if more convenient.

I prefer to just use out of the jug since you then only pump the water once, saving battery resources. If you fill the fresh tank with the onboard pump, you then pump it a second time when you use it out of the fresh tank.

I have a short hose that goes from the antifreeze port on the side of the 5th wheel and set the jug(s) next to the rig on the ground. It's pretty easy to swap between jugs.

Someday I'm gonna get a small bladder or plastic tank for the tailgate area and replace my three five gallon jugs.
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Old 12-08-2018, 12:33 AM   #17
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If I were going to purchase a separate pump to fill my water tank, I'd buy the same pump that's used in the rv. It'll run on 12V from the rv and, if the rv's internal water pump ever fails, you have a replacement on hand. This, to me, is a critical item for a boondocker.

Phil
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Old 12-08-2018, 06:22 AM   #18
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I built a water transfer system using the 12 vdc pump. It has minimal battery drain and a great flow rate. It worked great at Burning Man where I pumped water to several trailers and motor homes, one was about 30 feet away. Here’s what I’m using and got it form Amazon:
Bayite 12V DC Fresh Water Pump with 2 Hose Clamps 12 Volt Diaphragm Pump Self Priming Sprayer Pump with Pressure Switch 4.5 L/Min 1.2 GPM 80 PSI Adjustable for RV Camper Marine Boat
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Old 12-08-2018, 07:06 AM   #19
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I use a 12 V RV water pump to transfer water from my 2 bladders. I plug it into the electrical plug at the rear of my truck. I installed an on/off switch to control the pump. Years ago I used a slew of 5 gallon containers. I used an air compressor to move the water from them into the trailer. The 12 V pump works a lot better....
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Old 12-08-2018, 07:24 AM   #20
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Model 331

While not rated for potable water use, I have used the Liberty 331 transfer pump for years — both at work, for non-potable purposes, and at the RV for potable purposes. The pump I keep for potable purposes is used only for potable purposes for my personal needs. It is the best 1/2 HP, 115 volt transfer pump I have ever used. It is well-made, pumps fast with a great head and suction distance, and it lasts forever. All consumable parts are easily sourced and easily replaced, but rarely needed.

I have tested clean water before and after it has gone through this pump, and I have tested water that sat in the impeller housing for over one week three times at different times of the year. Each test has resulted in no significant amount of impurities, metals or pathogens that would render the water non-potable. The only reason I performed these tests was to prove a point to a friend (and RVer) who told me I was going to die because I use this pump to transfer water to my fresh water tank. I own the necessary testing equipment for use at work, so it was no big deal to do the testing and prove him wrong. My friend is a true believer that everything with a CA Prop 65 warning attached to it will kill you.

I am still alive.

Bruce
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