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Water Pump ... Shut it off? Leave it on?


SpaceNorman

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Ok .. new to RVing here. First couple of nights out with a new (to us!) coach. We're at a State Park campground and have "electricity only" service. No big deal ... there's 100 gallons of fresh water in the tank and empty holding tanks and it's a simple overnight stay.

 

Using my water means I need to use my water pump as well. I'm in the "turn on / turn off" the water pump when it's needed camp.. My wife is leaning towards the "we're connected to shorepower, batteries aren't an issue - leave the pump on!" school of thought.

 

What does you all do? What's your logic for doing it the way you do?

The Spacenorman

2012 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 43' DFT

2012 Jeep Liberty

Our Travel Website: www.penquinhead.com​

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Turn it off when you leave the rv. Leave it on when you're in or near the rv. That would be our advice.

Now....if we would just remember to follow our own advice........... :D

David & Sandi
2010 Silver Fox 29 5T
2011 Silverado 3500HD Crew, SB, SRW
Duramax, 6 spd Allison
2018 Polaris Ranger XP 1000

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We turned it off when leaving the RV since the 100 gallons of fresh water would overflow our 45 gallon gray/black tanks if something went wrong. Friends had their very nice motorhome totaled by their cat turning on a faucet, pump on and no sewer connection led to a flood.

 

We'd turn off the city water for the same reason.

 

The 24x7 power draw from the lights in your pump switch(es) can be a bit of an issue if you are critical on battery power and they have incandescent bulbs too.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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We treated ours exactly the same way as we did the city water supply when connected to it. The only real difference in operation is that the city supply is almost infinite while your pump is limited by the size of your potable water tank. Unless you go out and turn off the water after each use when connected to city water, what is gained by turning off the pump each time? The water pump will only turn on when you use some water while operating on the tank, as it is a pressure sensing device and as long as there is pressure in the system the pump will not operate. If it cycles when no water is in use, you are loosing pressure due to a leak or a back-flow through the pump and that is a concern when on city water as well.

 

We did turn off the pump when leaving the RV for more than a short period, but we also did that same thing with a city supply. We did not turn off either after each use, or at night, or just leaving for a few hours. If you do turn off the water supply then you might also turn off the water heater just to be sure you don't operate it when dry. We operated that way for many years, nearly 12 of them fulltime and we still do that same thing in our RV today, traveling seasonally.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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We treated ours exactly the same way as we did the city water supply when connected to it. The only real difference in operation is that the city supply is almost infinite while your pump is limited by the size of your potable water tank. Unless you go out and turn off the water after each use when connected to city water, what is gained by turning off the pump each time? The water pump will only turn on when you use some water while operating on the tank, as it is a pressure sensing device and as long as there is pressure in the system the pump will not operate. If it cycles when no water is in use, you are loosing pressure due to a leak or a back-flow through the pump and that is a concern when on city water as well.

 

We did turn off the pump when leaving the RV for more than a short period, but we also did that same thing with a city supply. We did not turn off either after each use, or at night, or just leaving for a few hours. If you do turn off the water supply then you might also turn off the water heater just to be sure you don't operate it when dry. We operated that way for many years, nearly 12 of them fulltime and we still do that same thing in our RV today, traveling seasonally.

X2

Dave & Tish
Beagle Bagles & Snoopy

RIP Snoopy we lost you 5-11-14 but you'll always travel with us
On the road somewhere.
AF retired, 70-90
A truck and a trailer

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion” -unknown

HoD vay' wej qoH SoH je nep! ngebmo' vIt neH 'ach SoHbe' loD Hem, wa' ngebmo'. nuqneH...

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If we're boondocking or dry camping (which we do 95% of the time), we always leave the water pump on unless we leave the RV. I can't imagine that a water pump uses any power when not actively being used. Or, if it does, it would be so minor as to be almost immeasurable.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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We left ours on all the time unless we were moving out of the RV--nothing like coming in with dirty hands and having to turn on the pump before you can wash them. Besides it is the best way to learn you have a leak in your system if the pump cycles when no one is using water. I consider that to be another alarm system. :)

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Only power when not in use is for the light in the pump switch and/or indicator panel. Swapping out an incandescent switch light for an LED one solves that problem.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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We're in the "turn it off unless you need to use the water" crowd. Comes from years of dry camping on the weekend before we retired, and the inevitable leaking backflow valve at the city water inlet we always seem to have. David

David & Donna Driver, Class of 2010
2017 Ford F350 Platinum CC DRW 4x4
2011 MS 36RSSB3 w/Vanity Slide

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We leave it on. Only time we would shut it off is if we were leaving for more than an hour or two. We like to be able to wash hands, flush the toilet , or whatever and whenever we want. There is no need to keep turning it on and off. You'll wear the switch out.

Pat DeJong

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We got a nice brass plug for the city water inlet, never leaked with that in place!

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Comes from years of dry camping on the weekend before we retired, and the inevitable leaking backflow valve at the city water inlet we always seem to have.

Interesting. Since the connection needs something in it to keep dirt and bugs out, we just used one of the easily available plugs that can be purchased at most any hardware department for just a few bucks... No lost water ever.

41lVwUKhzuL._AA160_.jpg

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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9 years. Never turn the water pump off when using fresh water tank. Only one switch in bathroom so we aren't interested in messing with it every time we want to use it. MH has a pressurized tank.

When on a hookup we only turn off water if we are going to be gone all day

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Interesting about the one switch in your Monaco. Mine has 4 switches and I guess I just assumed that all coaches were the same.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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We've had RVs in which the water pump occasionally comes on for no apparent reason. This used to annoy us, especially in the middle of the night and most especially when the water pump is under the settee you're sleeping on. So we always turned it off unless we needed water.

 

This has carried over to our current motor home which has one advantage in that the system has a pressure tank that will feed a couple of liters of water to a faucet even without the pump turning on. It's enough to flush the toilet after going #1 quietly; no pump noise until one of us turns the pump back on in the morning.

 

We have two switches. One in the bathroom and one in the galley.

 

WDR

1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks

1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires

Raspberry Pi Coach Computer

Ham Radio

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Leave it on most of the time especially if on the road so we can flush during pee breaks. Off though if we are going to be gone from the rig for long and also when the park pressure is so low it the pump keeps modulating off and on.

Later,

J

2012 Landmark, San Antonio

2013 Silverado CC, 3500HD, Duramax, DRW, 4x4

Backup, side and hitch cameras, Tireminder TPMS

 

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