Flojet vs. Shurflo - No water pressure..

Hi All,

Made a 3 day/3200 mile run to Montana last month to pick up a pristine, barely used 2010 Hawk. We're getting ready for our first trip and all systems are working except the on-board water pump. It appears the Flojet water pump is dead even though it runs. I've searched and read several related threads and talked to FWC. Disconnected the inlet and don't feel any suction. Hot water tank is already full from testing shore water hookup.

A few questions before I order a new pump..
- It looks like FWC switched to Shurflo pumps shortly after my unit was made. Is there a reason I should make the switch? Does anyone know if the quick release fittings and the dimensions of the pumps are interchangeable?
- My pump is mounted upside down according to the pump paperwork (and the writing on the pump), could this be a problem?
- The water system prob hasn't been used 5 times by PO, could lack of use contribute?
- I have the lined, alum water heater with no anode rod so there shouldn't be much debris in the system. There's also a inline screen filter at the inlet of pump which is clean.
- Is there such thing as rebuilding the pump section of the unit? I can see the replacement Flojet pump on Amazon for $53 so maybe not worth the effort.

Gotta say, I was a little underwhelmed by FWC service dept. The only info/advise I could get was turn on hot water first with pump running and don't turn on cold until you get flow. He gave a number for pump manuf but it was to Shurflo and the next number given for Flojet was no good.

Thanks in advance!

Here's a pic of our rig on the way home

Okay-this may or may not help, but every time I hear of a new water pump on a new rig not working, I remember the problems I had with my new Granby nine years ago. No mater what we did( talking/emailing over the phone with FWC) we could not get the water pump to work, so we ordered a new one-and installed it and still no luck-no water- no suction. Someone, either my buddy helping me or someone down there suggested we disconnect the actual water pipes to check for a stoppage or some other problem and guess what we found. The check/stop valve -the thing that keeps the water flowing in one direction and keeps the water from backing up into the system- was in backwards-Yep, installed wrong (mine i think was in one of the elbow curves) and we just turned it around and the system started to work and i have carried around an extra water pump since then and have had no problems. It may be worth a look ! anyway it could be worth a look. Have fun and enjoy your pop-up!

Smoke

Hello DYNOBOB

We had so many problems with the Flojet pumps not working, we switched back to the Surflo pumps.

It seems like many of the on-demand water pumps on the RV market have their quirks from time to time, but most of the Surflo pumps seem to be working well for our customers.

If the pump swap fits, I would suggest switching over to the Surflo for long term reliability.

But if you need quick & simple, putting the same model Flojet in there might be a choice for you.

I would also suggest calling here when you have time and ask for Terry Budd. Terry used to be our service manager and might be able to help you to the next step, and answer some of those other specific questions for you.

Terry Budd = (800) 242-1442

Other than that, maybe try filling the fresh water tank, them hook up city water to the camper, run the hot & cold water valves through the sink faucets, run the hot & cold water through the outside shower if you have one, maybe take the small tip on the sink faucet off to see if that helps, (trial & error), take the electric water pump out if you need to, pour a little water in both side of the tubing, put it back together, and see if it comes back to life. If the pump just needs a prime, it might help. If the pump is bad, the pump will just need to be replaced.

Hope this helps a little.

Thank you.

Stan



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Over the years I have found that it only takes one little piece of plastic shaving stuck in one of the pump chambers to make the pump useless. As mentioned here, check that there is water flow available to the pump. If so, I would remove the pump and carefully take the cover off of the pump chamber. Pay attention to the parts inside and check out the little rubber flaps to make sure that they all seal tight with nothing stuck in them. IMO there should always be a filter in the water line just before it enters the pump. This will catch the junk before it clogs the pump.
Check all of the fittings between the tank and the pump too. A small leak will prevent the pump suction from pulling water to the pump.
Good luck, Bigfoot Dave

Thanks for the suggestions guys. We did our weekend trip to a CG with no water hookups so it was a bit of a pain having no water. The experience was worlds better than living out of the motorcycle trailer though! I'm going to pull the pump and take it apart this week to see what I find and will report back.

Youtube videos like this might help you along and provide you some helpful things to look at as well . . .









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In an emergency, you can still get water from the tank drain at the back of the camper. A bit of a pain, but at least you have water.

I pulled the pump and took apart today but cant see any reason it's not working. No debris and the checks all look fine. Put back together and powered up on bench but don't feel even a hint of suction when I cover the inlet w/ finger. My best guess is the check valve rubbers have hardened from sitting unused and aren't sealing. New pump on order tonight. I did some checking on a rebuild kit but it was basically as much as a whole new pump. Will post up if the new pump solves problem.

This is what the insides look like.

Update: New pump solved problem. Got water pressure in ~5 seconds. Thanks for the guidance and suggestions!

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