House water pump issue

skihor · November 02, 2006, 08:43:53 PM

Well for the second time since, replacement, my house water pump fails to shut off completely. It is a FloJet, 2.8GPM @ 45 psi. (on demand) We leave the switch on 24/7. The first time I attributed it's failure to being new and/or Murphy's. I pulled the head off and all was well. This time I figured it due to being cold ou,. 20F or so. As I thought about it today I do have a possible common denomenator: Both times I had low batteries. I thought maybe it was because of the pump malfunction. But with more juice in the batts it works fine.
I don't have a proper charging set-up for the house batts due to being removed by P.O. I use a car smart charger on 2 amp setting and have been fine so far.
I guess my ramblings are leading to this:
Will low voltage cause a pump to not have enough power to "pump-up" and shut off ?
I didn't measure the voltage this time but IF it happens again I will.

Thanks
Don & Sheila

gumpy · November 03, 2006, 04:50:32 AM

I can't say with 100% certainity, but my gut feeling is yes. I think it could lead to premature failure of the pump motor, also.

And, you're going to ruin your house batteries if they are that low and you leave them uncharged.

DrivingMissLazy · November 03, 2006, 05:02:22 AM

I agree with gumpy. Low voltage will reduce the hp of the pump so that it can not bring the pressure up to shut off the pump. This would leave power applied to the pump and would almost certainly burn it out, since is would be stalled with voltage applied.
Richard

Quote from: gumpy on November 03, 2006, 04:50:32 AM
I can't say with 100% certainity, but my gut feeling is yes. I think it could lead to premature failure of the pump motor, also.

And, you're going to ruin your house batteries if they are that low and you leave them uncharged.

Dale MC8 · November 03, 2006, 01:43:29 PM

I don't know the history of your problem, but if you can clamp off the output line and the problem goes away, you probably have a leak in the system. HTH.
Dale MC8

D+C4106 · November 03, 2006, 05:32:09 PM

We also have a FLojet pump, It does the same when the power supply is low. We have not had any more serious trouble with it, but we turn it off between uses when this occurs. Good luck, Denis

eglluvr · November 06, 2006, 09:48:30 AM

From the Jabsco?Flo-Jet Site

TROUBLESHOOTING
Failure to Prime - Motor operates, but no pump discharge
• Restricted intake or discharge line. Open all line valves, check for "jammed"
check valves, and clean clogged lines.
• Air leak in intake line.
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Defective pump check valve.
• Crack in pump housing.
• Debris in check valves.
Motor Fails to Turn On
• Pump or equipment not plugged in electrically.
• Loose wiring connection.
• Pressure switch failure.
• Defective motor or rectifier.
• Frozen cam/bearing.
Pump Fails to Turn Off after Discharge valves are Closed
• Depletion of available liquid supply.
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Discharge line leak.
• Defective pressure switch.
• Insufficient voltage to pump.
• Debris in check valves.
Low Flow and Pressure
• Air leak at pump intake.
• Accumulation of debris inside pump and plumbing.
• Worn pump bearing (excessive noise).
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Defective rectifier or motor.
• Insufficient voltage to pump.
Pulsating Flow - Pump Cycling On and Off
• Restricted pump delivery. Check discharge lines, fittings, valves and spray
nozzles for clogging or undersizing.

With regared to low voltage frying this pump, I think the rectifier would prevent that, also this is proven pump for the S&S Crowd, And lots of those run from batteries that are probably not a well cared for as some coaches

FWIW

Jim

Buffalo SpaceShip · November 06, 2006, 11:18:55 AM

Don, get a disconnect for your house DC system to remove any phantom loads while stored. Also, get a decent 3-stage charger. A float charger probably isn't good enough. Wally World or Sams sells cheap ones if you need it cheap for now. By contrast, new house batts are NOT cheap.

HTH,
Brian B.

DrivingMissLazy · November 06, 2006, 12:30:52 PM

Why would there be a rectifier in a DC circuit?
Richard

Quote from: eglluvr on November 06, 2006, 09:48:30 AM
From the Jabsco?Flo-Jet Site

TROUBLESHOOTING
Failure to Prime - Motor operates, but no pump discharge
• Restricted intake or discharge line. Open all line valves, check for "jammed"
check valves, and clean clogged lines.
• Air leak in intake line.
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Defective pump check valve.
• Crack in pump housing.
• Debris in check valves.
Motor Fails to Turn On
• Pump or equipment not plugged in electrically.
• Loose wiring connection.
• Pressure switch failure.
• Defective motor or rectifier.
• Frozen cam/bearing.
Pump Fails to Turn Off after Discharge valves are Closed
• Depletion of available liquid supply.
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Discharge line leak.
• Defective pressure switch.
• Insufficient voltage to pump.
• Debris in check valves.
Low Flow and Pressure
• Air leak at pump intake.
• Accumulation of debris inside pump and plumbing.
• Worn pump bearing (excessive noise).
• Punctured pump diaphragm.
• Defective rectifier or motor.
• Insufficient voltage to pump.
Pulsating Flow - Pump Cycling On and Off
• Restricted pump delivery. Check discharge lines, fittings, valves and spray
nozzles for clogging or undersizing.

With regared to low voltage frying this pump, I think the rectifier would prevent that, also this is proven pump for the S&S Crowd, And lots of those run from batteries that are probably not a well cared for as some coaches

FWIW

Jim

skihor · November 06, 2006, 08:41:47 PM

Thanks to all for your replies. I've decided it was low voltage. Boy does that pump get hot when it is stuck mid cycle.
Brian B. We live in our bus full time and usually I keep the charger on the 2 amp setting. I never have to add water. In the summer I get by with approx 100 watts of solar. Our 12 V needs are simple. Someday I'll get a real inverter/converter. I've been running a pair of Interstate 6V golf cart batts for near three years with no issues.

Don & Sheila

eglluvr · November 07, 2006, 04:31:49 AM

Oh, You Must be using the "Old" DC

Lol

Bad assumption on my part, I get so used to dealing with "Plugging In" that I sometimes forget you can get DC from a battery

Jim

Quote from: DrivingMissLazy on November 06, 2006, 12:30:52 PM
Why would there be a rectifier in a DC circuit?
Richard

Quote from: eglluvr on November 06, 2006, 09:48:30 AM
From the Jabsco?Flo-Jet Site

With regared to low voltage frying this pump, I think the rectifier would prevent that, also this is proven pump for the S&S Crowd, And lots of those run from batteries that are probably not a well cared for as some coaches

FWIW

Jim

Buffalo SpaceShip · November 07, 2006, 08:24:22 AM

Sorry, Don, I was under the assumption that the batts got low in storage. If they're getting low while the coach is in use, then something's up with the charging, batts, and/or loads on the DC system. Without spending $ on a charger or monitoring system, you'll have to do some troubleshooting with a digital meter. Find out what kind of voltage your charger is putting out, and then start shedding DC loads to see if the charger can keep up with demand.

As you probably suspect, the car "smart" charger probably isn't smart enough to be used in a house batt situation. It's more for floating start batteries left in storage or keeping a genset batt topped off. You can spend $70 for a cheap three-stage charger or spend that much (or more) periodically for new house batts... pay 'em now or pay 'em later.

Your batts are probably in dire need of an equalization charge... unless they're already shot.

My $0.02, anyways. Keep us posted,
Brian B.