Slow and surgy house water pressure

[Mikep]

My last boat gave me good solid consistent water pressure out of tap. My r31 gives me more of a high low discharge with every cycle of the water pump. Is this the way all of them are or is the pump on life support? Clogged filter?

 

[Matty]

lots of posts on this if you use the search function. But one that readily comes to mind is plastic shavings caught in the filter attached to the inlet line at the pump. should be a simple procedure to undo, clean and replace.

 

[pleeson]

Don't forget that every tap in the boat also has its own integrated strainer/filter. They all clog even with the pump filter working properly.

 

[Alpina]

My last boat gave me good solid consistent water pressure out of tap. My r31 gives me more of a high low discharge with every cycle of the water pump. Is this the way all of them are or is the pump on life support? Clogged filter?

Not sure if the issue you had was similar to mine. Whatever faucet (or shower) I used I would get extreme surges when the pump was cycling. I found out it was worst when I used all cold water vs. all hot water which led me to believe that there was a need for an accumulation tank. When I called RT they stated that they had recently changed to PEX and heard more of those complaints from owners. I ended up changing out the water pump to a variable speed version plus I added an accumulator. While I do experience a bit of pulsing, this new set up definitely solved the problem to a large degree.

Does your boat use PEX? I'd be happy to attach a picture of my set up if helpful.

 

[S. Todd]

Alpina, I am extremely interested in your set-up for solving the cycling/pressure problem on your R29. Will you please provide a picture of your upgrade and information concerning the pump and the accumulator tank you used? That is one of the upgrades I have considered doing on our 29S. Thanks!

 

[Alpina]

Alpina, I am extremely interested in your set-up for solving the cycling/pressure problem on your R29. Will you please provide a picture of your upgrade and information concerning the pump and the accumulator tank you used? That is one of the upgrades I have considered doing on our 29S. Thanks!

I’ve attached the pics of the before (2) and after (1). The pump is SKU: SHF4148-153-E75 (Shurflo by Pentair Aqua King II) and the accumulator is a Pentair Shurflo 182-200. I bought the pump on Hodges Marine and the accumulator on Amazon. About $210 for both. I can send you a video of what was happening before but I can’t attach to this forum (that I know of) so PM if you want to verify what I was experiencing is the same as you are.

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[Mikep]

I have pex. I was not able to open your attachments. Would love to see how yours looks. Thx

 

[Matty]

Try holding down on it to copy and paste. Worked that way for me.

 

[Alpina]

I have pex. I was not able to open your attachments. Would love to see how yours looks. Thx

I sent you the email with the images and video last night let me know if you got them.


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[PlanetoSea]

Hello, I am seeing the same issue with my water pump and it's getting worse, so I am getting ready to do this same upgrade with the accumulator. From the photos, it looks like you made some hose adjustments as well. Any tips or gotchas to watch out for as I dive in to this?

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

I also added an accumulator immediately down stream of pump (Johnson 2 liter) and changed out my freshwater pump (Johnson 5 gpm on demand variable flow) and new system eliminated 90-95% of noisy pulsation problem. I would recommend first adding the accumulator for effect, and if it doesn't resolve the issue, change out the pump.

Bob
The Doghouse 2

 

[Wee Venture]

Hello, I am seeing the same issue with my water pump and it's getting worse, so I am getting ready to do this same upgrade with the accumulator. From the photos, it looks like you made some hose adjustments as well. Any tips or gotchas to watch out for as I dive in to this?

Don’t know if this is a gotcha exactly, but make sure your wiring and breaker are adequate for the pump that you end up with. I switched out our OEM pump with the Johnson Flow Master 5.0. Both that pump and the Shurflo 4148 mentioned above call for a 15A fuse/circuit breaker. Our 2018 R-31CB came equipped with a 10A circuit breaker for the OEM pump. I thought maybe it would work ok as is but it has tripped the breaker a few times now. So I am currently upgrading the wiring to #12 and the circuit breaker to a 15A. (On a previous thread I incorrectly stated that the breaker needed to be upgraded from a 15A to a 20. It’s actually from a 10 to a 15A, at least on our boat.)

Also, interestingly, the Shurflo documentation discourages the use of an accumulator while the Johnson pump recommends it.

John

 

[nzfisher]

Just a quick comment that folks might not realize. Water is a non compressible fluid so the pressure is stored in your hoses in this case by their expansion. Apparently the new pex is rigid enough that it will not expand. Not a solution but perhaps the cause of the new boat issues.

 

[Alpina]

Hello, I am seeing the same issue with my water pump and it's getting worse, so I am getting ready to do this same upgrade with the accumulator. From the photos, it looks like you made some hose adjustments as well. Any tips or gotchas to watch out for as I dive in to this?

Not really if you are handy. Had to re-plumb a bit because the new pump geometry was different than the old pump. I added the pool noodles to prevent rubbing of the valve against the PEX. Did I need the accumulator? I could have change the pump first and tested but figured, while I was at it, to do both.


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[Firepara36]

I did the same fix in my 29, adding accumulator tank and fixed the issue for the most part. My new boat I had them add a variable speed pump which suppose to be another fix for that issue. We will see.

 

[PlanetoSea]

Thanks Alpina. I'm pretty handy, but not too adventurous with new territory for me. I'm a "watch a video and then can do the work pretty easily" person. In your photo with the pool noodles, did you install those valves in the lines there (the twist close valves)? I do not have those at all and if you put them in, I'm curious what drove that decision and what the benefits have been. I may just drain my tank, clean the tank and make a day of plumbing projects while I am in there. Thanks!

 

[Mikep]

I ended up fixing the problem by simply cleaning the fitting that connects the pull out hose to the kitchen faucet. There is a quick release on that as part of the design to make it easier to install, and that fitting had sediment clogging it, thus making the pump misread that for pressure. Love it when fixes don’t cost money!

 

[PlanetoSea]

Hello all. I finished the upgrade with the new pump and the accumulator. The pump gets power, but doesn’t seem to fully prime and pressurize. Also, the pump itself will not shut off. I’m not sure if I have an air leak in the lines somewhere. I do not see any water leaks when pressurized. Or, it could be that I have some other issue I’m not aware of. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should look for or check first? Thanks!

 

[Heronboy]

I would try removing the accumulator. When I installed my replacement pump (a variable speed Remco) I spoke with Remco directly. They where adamant that an accumulator NOT be used with their variable speed pumps. They discovered accumulators frequently cause issues with variable pumps. The pumps would constantly run or not reach full pressure.

Before you go thru the effort of removing the accumulator, you could also try fully filling the water tank. What you describe could also be a crack or split in the tank’s dip tube. If the tank were partially full and the crack was above it, the pump would have difficulty priming and reaching pressure.

 

[Alpina]

Thanks Alpina. I'm pretty handy, but not too adventurous with new territory for me. I'm a "watch a video and then can do the work pretty easily" person. In your photo with the pool noodles, did you install those valves in the lines there (the twist close valves)? I do not have those at all and if you put them in, I'm curious what drove that decision and what the benefits have been. I may just drain my tank, clean the tank and make a day of plumbing projects while I am in there. Thanks!

Sorry. Just seeing this. No I didn’t add those valves. They were there when I purchased the boat. They are to shut off the water to the outdoor shower. It’s located by the gate on the stern of the boat. Is it possible that your boat doesn’t have the shower?


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