Water Pump Problems

Though we did not know it, we have had problems with the water pump since the beginning. We attributed poor flow when using the pump to a low quality pump. We had no experience with RVs, so had no expectations for the pump.

After reading several posts on the Heartland Owners forum, we decided that we indeed were not getting the flow from the pump that we should. Here are the details on troubleshooting the water pump problem.

Step one: Realize that a problem truly existed. This one took the longest amount of time. Though I had a hunch in July, it took us from purchasing at the end of June until August to truly identify that we had a problem due to lack of experience.

Step two: Verify correct connection of hoses from FW tank to the pump. I opened up the access and traced as much plumbing as I possibly could. Everything looked fine, no kinks, and it seemed that the connections were correct. I could only trace the FW tank suction line to the point where it disappeared to the unknown.

Step three: Re-verify there were no valves that I didn't catch the first time I was tracing. I also checked the pump strainer and ran the pump through the winterizing line to verify that the problem was not with the pump. Pump worked great through the winterizing line and the strainer was clean.

Step four: Trace line in the 'unknown'. I had good information from the Heartland Owners forum and was able to sneak a peak at the hose without going through a nightmare of disconnecting things to get access below. I unscrewed a few screws and snuck a peak at the hose to find a kinked hose. I was relieved that the blockage was not in the tank, but irritated that there was a problem. Here's a photo.



Now that I found the problem, I needed to correct it. Here's the fix:

Step one: Buy some parts! I picked up a few 1/2" couplings, a box of self-tapping sheet metal screws (one broke off when removing), and a bag of stainless steel hose clamps.

Step two: I removed the winterizing hose at the coupling near the winterizing valve and removed the hose connector. I used this as a replacement hose for the kinked portion.

Step three: Next I disconnected the coupling for the supply line at the winterizing valve and connected it to the replacement hose with a coupling.

Step four: I then pulled the replacement hose through with the old hose. I removed the coupling and clipped the kinked supply line to the winterizing hose clip to keep the end above the FW tank to defeat gravity from draining the tank. Take that gravity!

Step five: Here's where you could use an extra hand. I cut the supply line hose before the kink and had Katie plug the hose with her finger. Yes, you could find something else to plug it up, but why do that when you have a perfectly good assistant!

Step six: Splice the replacement hose to the cut with a coupling.

Step seven: Reconnect the supply hose to the supply side coupling of the winterizing valve. Cut out the kink and connect the hose connector and connect to the winterizing side coupling for the winterizing line.

Results: A pump that works better than shore supply with a regulator and a winterizing line that may be slightly shorter than before. It works great and it's nice to have water on the road.

Something else I did that helped was to add some hose insulation to the lines around the pump. One water line was rubbing against the pump which made it almost as loud as the generator. After insulation...much quieter!

-Steve