Ris Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 This 4xxx9 Shurflow pump is fitted to a 2014 Autotrail Savannah and has recently developed a very annoying problem. Most notable when showering the pump intermittently stops for a second and then restarts but the water is scalding hot for a second then runs normally until it stops again. Taps have not moved when the scalding hot water comes. Any suggestions please as to what to do to cure this fault. Must point out that the shower is not run continually when showering. Thanks Ris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 First thing to do clean and descale the shower head to make sure it flows without restriction, and also any mesh filters fitted in the hose connections. next check the internal tube in the hose is not collapsing. Basically does water flow fast if you remove the shower head. If the above does not work then you may need to look at increasing the pump cutoff pressure very slightly using the pressure adjustment screw on the end of the pump. I think you screw it clockwise to increase the pressure and will only need a very small angle of turn, say 5 degrees at a time. Note original position so you can put it back where it was. I find the best way to do this adjustment is to run a tap very slow so the pump hunts on and off, then adjust the screw so the cycling on and off slows down a small amount. I am confident though it will just be the shower head needing cleaned and you have not noticed the gradual decrease in flow. Hope this helps you. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ris Posted June 16, 2017 Author Share Posted June 16, 2017 Thanks Jon for your swift reply, will try the descaling first as this is the easiest. Ris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I should also have explained why it gets a burst of hot when the pump stops. When the pump stops the cold water will stop flowing almost immediately, the hot tank/boiler will have air trapped at the top and the pressure from this continues to force hot water through the pipes and shower, pressure drops and pump turns on again and now everything is back to normal with this pocket of very hot water coming through the shower hose. If it continues to be an unresolved issue then one way around it is to fit an expansion tank after the pump to even out the pressure pulses as the pump starts and stops. In the meantime if you need to get around the fault/issue then open the basin tap (on cold) just enough to stop the pump switching on and off when shower in in use, and make the pump run continuously. Probably only need a small trickle of cold water so not too much wasted. Might be worth testing this anyway just to prove a slightly higher flow rate solves the issue. Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Ris I’m not sure about your “4xxx9” reference, but the SHURflo pump usually fitted to motorhomes is a Trail-King model as shown in the following advert: https://www.leisureshopdirect.com/water/caravan-water-pump/shurflo-pumps/shurflo-trail-king-pump-series-spare-parts/shurflo-trail-king-7-pump-20psi-12v Besides following Jon’s suggestions, check that the filter attached to the pump itself is clean (see next link for general installation/operating advice on SHURflo pumps) http://www.holdsworth.vwt4camper.info/SHURfloWaterPumpInstallationAndOperationManualT4WM.pdf Is your shower-head an “Ecocamel” product? http://bbtv.baileyofbristol.co.uk/Video/Component-Focus-Ecocamel-shower-head In recent years these have been commonly fitted as original equipment to motorhomes/caravans and have the potential to produce similar symptoms to those you’ve described. Ecocamel shower-heads are OK in leisure-vehicles fitted with pressure-sensitive water-pumps (eg. the SHURflo type) provided that the showering technique employed involves a high water-flow and running the water continuously. If the person showering restricts the water-flow by using the shower-control, and/or turns the water-flow off and on while showering, when the water-flow ceases (because it has been deliberately turned off or the water-pump stops pumping) an Ecocamel shower-head will begin to drain itself of water through the ‘air-intake hole’ at the base of the shower-head’s handle. When the water-flow resumes (when the showerer turns the shower-control back on and/or the water-pump restarts) the Ecocamel shower-head refills and (in my experience) the temperature of the water that then emerges from the shower-head can be very unpredictable. I’ve mentioned this in earlier discussions and, in my posting of 27 May 2016 9:25 AM in the following forum thread http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Auto-trail-Delaware-shower/41882/ said that the only satisfactory countermeasure I had found was to replace the Ecocamel shower-head with a conventional type that remains ‘full’ when water-flow ceases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ris Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 Thank you Derek, the numbers quoted are from the "Installation and Maintenance Manual 4xx9 Series Pumps" supplied with the vehicle. The shower head is not like that shown in the attachment to your reply, ours is more like a torch 8inches long with a diameter of 1.25 inches without any obvious air hole in the end. Having removed it, it does looks somewhat gunged so I will soak it in a descale substance and see how we get on. Failing that will replace the shower head before trying the pressure switch where the screw adjustment seems very difficult to get to, at the bottom close to the floor. Ris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 OK - the installation/maintenance document you mention can be viewed here https://www.caravansplus.com.au/pdf/shurflo_4009_manual.pdf From on-line comments it seems that the exact method of adjusting the pressure-switch differs slightly from that of ‘traditional’ Trail-King pumps, though the principles involved are identical. The shower-head I fitted to my Rapido motorhome (to replace the Ecocamel original shower-head) is a cheap plastic ‘stick’ similar to the one in the attached photo, and it works fine. (If the descaling/cleaning procedure you’ll be trying doesn’t cure the problem, I’m doubtful that replacing the shower-head would.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ris Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Thanks, yes that is the same shower head as fitted. have now done the descale but unable to try out until next weekend so will come back after then. Do have a another shower head to try if no better. Ris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 ‘Stick’ shower-heads are widely marketed at hugely varying prices. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=stick+shower+head&tbm=shop&spd=0 Mine came from an E.Leclerc hypermarket in France and I don’t know its manufacturer. I do know, though, that it only cost around €8 and an equivalent in the UK would be this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Single-Mode-Universal-Microphone-Stick-Shower-Handset-in-Chrome-for-Bathrooms-/121521381747?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ris Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Thanks to Jon and Derek, just back from a weekend away and pleased to advise that the descale worked, no problems encountered. Many thanks for the advice. Ris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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