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Water pump - Pete Masterson - 02-10-2008 11:50

As a normal practice, the water pump should be "off" when you're filling the water tank or when you're on city water. 

On my coach, when I switch to "tank fill" (which trips a Sporlan valve), then the water pump will run continuously -- but not be pumping anything. I suspect that isn't the best for the longevity of the pump.

If I turn on the pump while connected to shore water, then the water comes from the water tank and the shore water doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't seem to cause any problems -- and I've done this a few times when I wanted "better" water pressure. (Note: I have a variable speed Shurflo pump. It provides 65# pressure while the shore water is limited to 45#. From time to time, a "nice" shower with a little more water pressure is desired -- or some dishes are particularly dirty and a little more pressure from the faucet is appreciated.)

Your system may be plumbed differently than mine... (Always a possibility.)
Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
El Sobrante CA
"aeonix1@mac.com"
On Feb 10, 2008, at 12:37 PM, Donald Spithaler wrote:

Ernie
   What you are saying is the sporlan valve only controls the water
going into the tank & when you turn it off you get water from the pump
or city hose.  I thought maybe that is why I had trouble with my pump
is because a sporlan valve should isolate the pump from the city
water.
Don Spithaler
89 SP 36'
Butler, PA         Zephyrhills, FL


Water pump - pattypape - 02-10-2008 13:00

Hi Don,

On our 88 fc. The switch is tank fill, up position "ON",
Down position is "OFF". When hooked to city water, the switch can be
toggled On , Off ,On , Off, one can hear and see the hose pressure
turn On & Off. this means the tank is filling or it is not filling.
The Tank fill should always be in the Off position for city water
usage or tank water usage and using the pump for circulation
pressure.
Toggling the switch may help clear a debris build-up in the Sporlan
valve diaphraghm.
How is the frig?????

Bill 88 FC




--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Donald Spithaler"
wrote:
>
> Leroy my switch never had a marking as to fill on or off. I was just
> trying to make sure there wasn't a valve that kept the city water
> pressure off the pump when you were using the city water. I had a
> sensor on my Shur flo pump brake & I couldn't see what caused it
after
> 3 years of using it.
> Don Spithaler
> 89 SP 36'
> Butler, PA
>
> On Feb 10, 2008 3:37 PM, Donald Spithaler wrote:
> > Ernie
> > What you are saying is the sporlan valve only controls the
water
> > going into the tank & when you turn it off you get water from the
pump
> > or city hose. I thought maybe that is why I had trouble with my
pump
> > is because a sporlan valve should isolate the pump from the city
> > water.
> > Don Spithaler
> > 89 SP 36'
> > Butler, PA Zephyrhills, FL
> >
> >
> > On Feb 10, 2008 3:04 PM, wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Don, I believe the sporlan valve is controlled by the city
water fill
> > > switch.
> > >
> > > Ernie Ekberg
> > > 83PT40
> > > Weatherford, Tx
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > Who's never won? Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on
AOL Music.
> > >
> >
>

Water pump - timvasqz - 02-10-2008 15:02

Don, put a plug in it!!

The plumbing system in the coach is pressurized in two ways. One by
the introduction of city water pressure to the loop and one by the
pump taking water from the reservoir and pressurizing the loop.

If you pressurize the loop with city pressure there is a backflow
valve built into the sureflow pump that keeps the loop from
backflowing to the tank. by removing the pump and installing a pipe,
you allow the loop to feed back to the tank. The loop will never reach
pressure and the tank will soon overflow.

I think that is yhy you ask??

GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa



soon it will overflow--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Donald
Spithaler" wrote:
>
> Does any one know an answer to this question. I have a part ordered
> for my Shur-Flo water pump & while waiting for it I took the pump out
> & tied the in & out side of the water lines of the pump together & I
> am on city water right now. After I fill my water tank I put the
> switch in the position that you get water at the facet's if the pump
> is turned on or it is on city water. Question? Does the water pump
> being turned on open & close the sporlan valve or what control's the
> valve?
> Don Spithaler
> 89 SP 36'
> Butler, PA Zephyrhills FL
>

Water pump - Gregory OConnor - 02-10-2008 15:10

The waterpump has a backflow valve built in. The bus plumbing loop
will not presurize with city water if a pipe is used inplace of the
pump. Use a plug on both hoses to the old pump


GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Donald Spithaler"
wrote:
>
> Does any one know an answer to this question. I have a part ordered
> for my Shur-Flo water pump & while waiting for it I took the pump out
> & tied the in & out side of the water lines of the pump together & I
> am on city water right now. After I fill my water tank I put the
> switch in the position that you get water at the facet's if the pump
> is turned on or it is on city water. Question? Does the water pump
> being turned on open & close the sporlan valve or what control's the
> valve?
> Don Spithaler
> 89 SP 36'
> Butler, PA Zephyrhills FL
>

Water pump - Gregory OConnor - 02-10-2008 15:57

Sporlan is a name brand for the electric valve that fills the
potable water Tank. On many other campers, there are two hook up
points for water. one point fills the tank and the other is for
connecting city water to pressurize your plumbing loop. Wanderlodge
has only one hookup point.

The one hookup point is passivly connected to the loop so by hooking
in and presurizing the connection hose, you are only pressurizing
the plumbing loop. while hooked up you can fill the tank by activly
energizing the electric Sporlan valve. when the valve opens it dumps
water into the tank.

The problem with Sporlan valves are that if the valve fails and
stays open you have a opening in your plumbing loop. when the 12v
pump comes on it takes water from the potable tank and pushes it
into the loop but the open sporlan is dumping most of that water
back into the tank. I wish BB put a backflow valve on the city water
input line after the input flow passes the sporlan tankfill tee
branch. the backflow valve is all the way at the female hosebib
hookup at the bus.

The sporlan in my 94 tankfill is a diaphram valve like a lawn
automatic sprinkler valve. (some sporlans differ) On a lawn system
there is always pressure up against the valve waiting for it to get
a signal to open. the diaphram valve needs pressure on the input
side to stay closed. In the bus the pressure is often turned 'off
and on' which allow the valve to float open and slime builds on the
seals making them hard to reseat once there is pressure to close
the valve.

GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa

Water pump - Macy Neshati - 02-11-2008 01:08

Thanks
Gregory, I have engineering looking into the backflow valve location you
suggested in this post.

Travel
safely

Macy

Macy Neshati

www. completecoach.com http://www.thelegacyreturns.com
http://www.bluebirdcoachworks.com

email: macy@...

Cell: 951 836 6525 Office: 951 684 9585 Fax: 951 684 2023

1863 Service Court

Riverside, CA 92507



Water pump - Donald Spithaler - 02-11-2008 02:48

Greg
Thanks for the info on the water valve plumbing loop. If I have to
replace or rebiuld that the sporlan valve I know where mine is.
Unfortunately it is in my curbside bedroom closet behind my chassis
heater. It is hard to see let alone get to. I that because Randy
replaced one a few years ago in an SP.
Don
89 SP 36'
Butler, PA Zephyrhills, FL

On Feb 10, 2008 10:57 PM, Gregory OConnor wrote:
>
> >
>
>
> Sporlan is a name brand for the electric valve that fills the
> potable water Tank. On many other campers, there are two hook up
> points for water. one point fills the tank and the other is for
> connecting city water to pressurize your plumbing loop. Wanderlodge
> has only one hookup point.
>
> The one hookup point is passivly connected to the loop so by hooking
> in and presurizing the connection hose, you are only pressurizing
> the plumbing loop. while hooked up you can fill the tank by activly
> energizing the electric Sporlan valve. when the valve opens it dumps
> water into the tank.
>
> The problem with Sporlan valves are that if the valve fails and
> stays open you have a opening in your plumbing loop. when the 12v
> pump comes on it takes water from the potable tank and pushes it
> into the loop but the open sporlan is dumping most of that water
> back into the tank. I wish BB put a backflow valve on the city water
> input line after the input flow passes the sporlan tankfill tee
> branch. the backflow valve is all the way at the female hosebib
> hookup at the bus.
>
> The sporlan in my 94 tankfill is a diaphram valve like a lawn
> automatic sprinkler valve. (some sporlans differ) On a lawn system
> there is always pressure up against the valve waiting for it to get
> a signal to open. the diaphram valve needs pressure on the input
> side to stay closed. In the bus the pressure is often turned 'off
> and on' which allow the valve to float open and slime builds on the
> seals making them hard to reseat once there is pressure to close
> the valve.
>
> GregoryO'Connor
> 94ptRomolandCa
>
>

Water pump - birdshill123 - 02-11-2008 10:29

Greg: Did you know Sporlan Valve is Swahili for Devil Valve??


Bruce
1988 FC35

Water pump - Gregory OConnor - 02-12-2008 14:22

I got a phone call from a member looking to bypass the electric tank
fill and install a fresh water tank fill port independent of the
sole shore water hookup. MarkD 1988pt40 said his tank takes forever
to fillup like there is a restriction some place. Curt and others
posted about this issue also. Then I remember Macy post the
term "Engineer" and realized there must be more to it.

I notice that tankfills on sob's are not dripless threaded on. I
wonder if this design is to keep the fill water hose pressure from
splitting the fresh water tank??????

I also wonder if the slow fresh water tank fill common with the
Wonderlodges is a design limit???? to keep the overflow above the
design limit of the input???????

I can see that with the 110 psi one inch meter at my yard I could
split a tank if the overfill could not keep up with the 30 gpm!!!
This is a consideration with modifying the fill setup

GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa





--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Macy Neshati"
wrote:
>
> Thanks Gregory, I have engineering looking into the backflow valve
location
> you suggested in this post.
>
>
>
> Travel safely
>
>
>
> Macy
>
> Macy Neshati
>
> www. completecoach.com http://www.thelegacyreturns.com
http://www.bluebirdcoachworks.com
>
> email: macy@...
>
> Cell: 951 836 6525 Office: 951 684 9585 Fax: 951 684 2023
>
> 1863 Service Court
>
> Riverside, CA 92507
>

Water pump - Pete Masterson - 02-12-2008 14:54

The shore water (on my coach) passes through a pressure reducer that's built into the inbound water connection. As a result, both the shore water (when directed to the plumbing system) and the tank fill (when the Sporlan valve is set) are limited to about 45 psi, regardless of the pressure at the shore water faucet. 

I note that pressure reduction and flow rate are related, but pressure regulators with that minimize flow rate loss seem to be a bit more expensive than what is likely installed on the WL and some other RVs. (I've never looked too closely at the water input on an SOB.)

The out bound overflow pipe seems to easily handle the 45 psi pressure -- but it may be likely that a larger overflow pipe would be required for a higher pressure. I note that the overflow pipe on my coach takes a rather circuitous route to the overflow point and seems to be a mixture of plastic plumbing pipe and tubing that's attached with simple hose clamps. Obviously not intended for any serious water pressure.

This article explains the difference between water flow and pressure:
Here are some pressure regulators, some that will maximize actual flow rates:
Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
El Sobrante CA
"aeonix1@mac.com"
On Feb 12, 2008, at 6:22 PM, Gregory OConnor wrote:

I got a phone call from a member looking to bypass the electric tank 
fill and install a fresh water tank fill port independent of the 
sole shore water hookup. MarkD 1988pt40 said his tank takes forever 
to fillup like there is a restriction some place. Curt and others 
posted about this issue also.  Then I remember Macy post the 
term "Engineer" and realized there must be more to it.
I notice that tankfills on sob's are not dripless threaded on. I 
wonder if this design is to keep the fill water hose pressure from 
splitting the fresh water tank?????? 
 I also wonder if the slow fresh water tank fill common with the  
Wonderlodges  is a design limit???? to keep the overflow above the 
design limit of the input??????? 
I can see that with the 110 psi one inch meter at my yard I could 
split a tank if the overfill could not keep up with the 30 gpm!!! 
This is a consideration with modifying the fill setup
GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa
--- In "WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com", "Macy Neshati"  
wrote:
Thanks Gregory, I have engineering looking into the backflow valve 
location
you suggested in this post.
Travel safely
Macy
Macy Neshati
www. completecoach.com  http://www.thelegacyreturns.com 
email: macy@...
Cell: 951 836 6525  Office: 951 684 9585 Fax: 951 684 2023
1863 Service Court
Riverside, CA 92507
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