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Water pump not working!!


Goneroaming

Water pump not working!!  

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Hi we have a Whale water pump in our Bailey 740 Approach which is not pumping water through to the taps. We’ve switched it on via the control panel and it spins but no air or water coming out of the taps, any ideas on the problem? We’ve sucked it through the pump to prime it but still no joy? Are we looking at buying a new one and if so any advice on where to purchase a replacement?

Many Thanks

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Sounds like maybe the pump impeller is not impelling, but possibly more likely to be a priming issue.

 

I often found the best way to prime a whale pump was to connect a hose and funnel to the tap and with the tap open pour water down, try it with the pump running, but beware of splashback!.

 

We had an Autosleeper with a Whale pump and it was a real beggar to prime, so much so that the funnel trick did not work and I usually had to end up sucking it through with the pump running to get the beggar to prime.

 

Had I ever needed to replace it I would have bought a Shurflo and modified the pipes to fit as I am most unimpressed with all of Whale's current products which is a shame because they used to be the best.

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Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Jane.

 

This MotorHomeFun forum thread mentioned the type of problem you seem to be having

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/no-water-from-taps.171430/

 

However, I think the pump being discussed there was a Whale “Watermaster” type (1st photo below) and that your Approach will have a Whale submersible pump (example in 2nd photo below) that is housed inside the motorhome’s fresh-water tank. If your Approach’s pump is the submersible type and you can hear it running (and as you’ve tried the ’sucking’ ploy) if no water will come from the taps, either there’s a blockage in the water feed between the pump and the taps or the pump (presumably now 7 years old) will need replacement.

 

If the pump is a submersible one, if you want to replace it on a like-for-like basis it would be best to fish the current pump out of the water tak, identify the pump’s model from the markings on it, and then shop on-line for a retailer. Or your nearest motorhome/caravan dealer may well keep these pumps in stock.

737970510_WhaleWatermasterpump.jpg.8dec352e583b52149527f152ffb34a1d.jpg

1937078213_Whalesubmersiblepump.jpg.09ff4a3fa0e6c2bad87c48a55ef6ec14.jpg

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Goneroaming - 2019-01-27 11:06 AM

 

Hi we have a Whale water pump in our Bailey 740 Approach which is not pumping water through to the taps. We’ve switched it on via the control panel and it spins but no air or water coming out of the taps, any ideas on the problem? We’ve sucked it through the pump to prime it but still no joy? Are we looking at buying a new one and if so any advice on where to purchase a replacement?

Many Thanks

 

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

the Autosleeper Owners Forum also has many posts on this topic as Autosleeper used this type of pump often. Personally, Ii you are thinking of buying a new one I would take the plunge and replace it with a Shurflo pump (of the appropriate pressure) as it is apparently a recurrent problem along with the pressure switch which is susceptible to changes in the battery voltage. Many users report having to alter the pressure switch if they have been on hook up for a while (with the battery charging at a high voltage) then trying the pump later when off hook up and finding the pressure switch struggling with perhaps only 12.7v.

 

David

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This ebay entry advertises a SHURflo Trail King 7 litres-per-minute/20psi water-pump (probably the SHURflo model most commonly fitted to motorhomes) together with a filter and hose-connectors

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/171547564513?chn=ps

 

and there is installation/operation guidance here

 

https://www.altestore.com/static/datafiles/Others/911-2088-574-534.pdf

 

Caravan/motorhome water systems are discussed here

 

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/caravans/articles/practical-advice/caravan-water-systems

 

As referred to by david lloyd yesterday, voltage-sensitivity of the Whale pressure-switch is mentioned (adding that ‘intelligent’ switches are now available to counter this) and this is also touched on here.

 

https://www.whalepumps.com/rv/siteFiles/resources/docs/resource-library/WhaleAdjustingyourpressureswitchb.pdf

 

To replace a submersible water-pump (housed inside the fresh-water tank) with a SHURflo diaphragm pump (housed (normally) within the motorhome’s interior) would require work - a lot more work than replacing a submersible pump with another submersible pump.

 

Modern submersible pumps are quiet (SHURflo pumps are not) should reliably self-prime and self-vent any air inside them, are generally reliable and are normally a good deal cheaper than a diaphragm pump. The pros and cons of both types of pump are explained here

 

https://www.truma.com/uk/en/products/truma-water-systems/guide-water-pumps-for-motor-homes-and-caravans.html

 

Whale is not the only manufacturer of submersible water-pumps (and SHURflo is not the only manufacturer of diaphragm pumps), so it would be practicable to replace a Whale submersible pump with an equivalent made by Reich

 

https://reich-web.com/en/products/water-pumps/

 

or Comet

 

https://www.comet-pumpen.de/en/products-rv/pumps/submersible-pumps/submersible-pumps-12-v.html

 

However, unless you disliked your Approach’s present Whale pump’s performance when it was working OK, replacing it with another same-type/same-specification Whale pump should be the simplest approach.

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