Fresh water pump continues..

jviss · Jul 19, 2013

rfrye1 said:
The water pump on my 98 Hunter 376 keeps "burping" every 5-10 seconds. I have checked every pressure connection and no faucet leaks. I can't find any leaks. Could it be the pump? It's a Shurflo pump.

Suggestions?

Thanks. Bob.

Check your bilge. I had this problem, too, and it turned out that the water heater was leaking. Fresh water was ending up in the bilge. You might be due for a water heater.

Allan Frey · Jul 19, 2013

May be air in the system. Run water for a minute from each faucet (h and c) starting in the V and working back to the cockpit shower.

allan

kloudie1 · Jul 19, 2013

Could be the safety valve on the water heater drooling too. if you are sure there are no leaks in any of the lines or fittings... again while ya looking around the heater, look at that.. Another thing that can cause that if there is no leak in the lines, a small piece of trash in the pump diaphragm valves can allow a drooling loss of pressure back to suction.. make sure all the screws on the pump head are tight as well.

Bob S · Jul 19, 2013

Funny, I had the same problem for two seasons and couldn't find the problem. The admiral fried the pump leaving it running dry on our last outing of last season. I had the original Jabsco and replaced it this off season with a FloJet

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/flojet-quiet-quad-ii-water-pump/9372

The problem went away and I can't figure out why. Troubleshooting can be a real pain!

Bill Roosa · Jul 19, 2013

Pretty easy to test the pump. turn it off, take off the outlet fitting and plug it with your finger. Turn it on. Should develop pressure and shut off (duh!!) and not cycle. If it cycles then the pump valves are not holding water on the pressure side and a cleaning is in order. I have found that this is an every other year task as the chlorine put in the storage tanks tends to cause oxidation of the valve rubber. If it checks out then you have a leak somewhere. Don't forget to check the stern wash down outlet if so equipped.

Tim R. · Jul 19, 2013

Is it a VSD pump? Sometimes they do this when paired with an accumulator.

Ron-Anne · Jul 19, 2013

We have the same problem aboard our H30, new pump, new water heater and all fittings check, I'll have to try to "dead head" the pump next, hadn't thought of that. Nice to hear that we're not alone.

Ron20324 · Jul 19, 2013

Some pumps have an adjustment screw for the pressure regulator to eliminate that pumping.

Stu Jackson · Jul 19, 2013

Shurflo fresh water pump

You would do well to go to the Shurflo website, they have troubleshooting tips & tricks.

You most likely have the Shurflo 2.8 GPM -- Model # 2088-423-344, which Catalina and other builders put into most all of their midsized boats. That is what our 1986 boat came with.

A few years ago Shurflo discontinued that pump and replaced it with Shurflo Model 3901-0216. It's pretty much the same pump, same mounting feet and screw dimensions, and same water hose connectors, although you may have 90 degree elbows on the existing pump, the new pump comes with straight barb connectors, but you can reuse your old ones. It all depends on your layout.

Old pump: 2.8 gpm, 45 psi, New Pump: 3.0 gpm, 55 psi. Essentially the same.

You could also go to a new variable flow pump. Your boat, your choice, but the same footprint will make it easy to swap out.

I know all this stuff intimately, because I was working on it just last week!

My symptoms were a bit different than yours: my pump continued to cycle even though, after thorough checking, there were no leaks in the pipes, full tanks, no faucet leaks, etc. The pump always performed perfectly. We did not have any pump starts after it was off even with the main breaker on for the 15 years we've owned the boat. Rather suddenly two weekends ago it started acting up. It would pump water, but not shut off without the breaker being turned off.

I have concluded that the pump is bad. After 26 years, I figure both the PO & I got good service out of it!!!

It's a diaphragm pump and the three little water pump diaphragms do and can wear out. We use our boat weekly, anchor out and use that water pump liberally.

If the suggestions here & the Shurflo website don't help, you've done everything you can do.

If you can't fix it, then the other option is to buy a new pump!

I bought our replacement pump on sale in 2010 (I like to have backups just in case we're in the boonies when stuff breaks). My records show I paid $98.76 for it. You could find a good online price, better pricing at RV stores than marine.

Good luck.

jviss · Jul 20, 2013

Rather amazing anecdote.

So, I commented on the water heater as we just had that replaced about 10 days ago, and arriving at the boat last night was the first time we had left it for a week since the replacement. When I turned on the water pump breaker, nothing - silence. In all the time I've owned this boat, it would always run for a few seconds to build pressure back up that had leaked down over the five days with the breaker off. This time I suspected the pump had failed or something.

It turns out this thing had held the pressure all week, without being powered up! I was amazed.

Not bad for a pump that's likely original equipment on a 1984 boat.

Skipper · Jul 20, 2013

rfrye1 said:
The water pump on my 98 Hunter 376 keeps "burping" every 5-10 seconds.

Maybe someone put beer in water tank

If you have an accumulator, you may need to remove the vent screw at the top, and then drain the accumulator tank (check the manual for your model). Over time, the water in the tank can get saturated with air, which causes it to do axactly what you are describing. A good test would be to let the pump continue with its intermittent action, and see if it stops after a couple of minutes. If it does, then I'd service the accumulator.

Also, low pressure is a sign of a malfunctioning accumulator.

Stu Jackson · Jul 20, 2013

Good story. We got into the habit of turning off ther breaker then opening a faucet to relieve the pressure. 1986, but seems like ours may have bit the dust based on my earlier post.

Ain't it great when something GOOD happens?

jviss said:
So, I commented on the water heater as we just had that replaced about 10 days ago, and arriving at the boat last night was the first time we had left it for a week since the replacement. When I turned on the water pump breaker, nothing - silence. In all the time I've owned this boat, it would always run for a few seconds to build pressure back up that had leaked down over the five days with the breaker off. This time I suspected the pump had failed or something.

It turns out this thing had held the pressure all week, without being powered up! I was amazed.

Not bad for a pump that's likely original equipment on a 1984 boat.

Rich Stidger · Jul 20, 2013

I've been following this thread with some interest. I have a Shurflo 2088 pump and just this year it has started running a quick "burp" every 5-10 minutes. Previous years it has been about every 30+ minutes. I haven't timed it, just my estimation.

Last year, or maybe the previous year I replaced the three-chamber pumping diaphragm thinking that it was seeping at the valves and allowing pressure to drop triggering a burp. The replacement did not fix the burp issue, and the timing didn't change. I wrote it off and turned to fry bigger fish.

So far this year I have ignored it as well, thinking that if a diaphragm replacement didn't work that maybe it is just the nature of the beast.

Yes I have checked all faucets, water heater, P-T valve and looked at all line fittings that I can see with no cause found.

Annoying that I can't find the solution, but I still have bigger fish.......

Bad Obsession · Jul 20, 2013

Pump your bilge dry, place an absorb towel by the packing gland to keep water from getting to the bilge from that source.

If you come back the next day and find water in the bilge then you have a leak somewhere in the fresh water system.

If you are lucky you can trace the source of the leak by looking for the moist area.

Ron20324 · Jul 21, 2013

jviss said:
...It turns out this thing had held the pressure all week, without being powered up! I was amazed.
...quote]

When i leave the boat, I shut off the pump breaker and open a faucet to relieve the pressure on the water system. A few seconds to rebuild pressure is nothing.

jviss · Jul 21, 2013

Ron20324 said:
When i leave the boat, I shut off the pump breaker and open a faucet to relieve the pressure on the water system.

Why?

As to my post, I think you missed the point. I'm not glee-ful at not waiting for pressure to build, I'm remarking that it is truly leak-free.

Stu Jackson · Jul 21, 2013

jviss, I understand. And am glad it's worked for you. Leak free is good, so's the new hw heater.

I do that for the same reason I open the gas valves on the stove after I shut off the stove fuel tank.

I figure anything that sits unnecessarily under pressure when being UNUSED is, well, unnecessary and might just last longer.

Stu

jviss · Jul 22, 2013

Stu Jackson said:
I figure anything that sits unnecessarily under pressure when being UNUSED is, well, unnecessary and might just last longer.
Stu

I understand why you may feel that is logical, but it's usually better to leave some positive pressure in a pressurized system while it is idle so that no foreign material can enter.