Update on our water pump problem and a few notes about de- and re- installing it.
After a conversation with Sureflo Customer Service we removed the pump and took it apart. There were no obviously damaged components. Sureflo thought we should try one of their repair kits but it needed to be purchased from a reseller and would have taken 2 weeks to receive. FWC sold us a new unit for about $86 and it arrived in 2 days. Going with a new pump may seem like an expensive option but, given the difficulty of getting the pump out and no obviously failed part(s), we did not want to mess with repair kits that 'might' solve the problem. I would go the same route again because getting it out and and back in is not a lot of fun.
A few comments here about the pump and to help anyone that needs to take their pump out.
- As mentioned in an earlier post, the water pump, at least in the Fleet, is a custom model made for FWC. It produces 20 psi. Similar pumps are available from Sureflo but they are rated for 50 psi. Customer Support at FWC said the higher psi pumps will work but it was less expensive to order the stock pump from FWC and we thought it was better to stick with the lower psi.
- In the Fleet, the water pump is mounted on a piece of plywood that is then mounted on the cabinet wall. Given the cramped space inside the cabinet and the screw locations, it turned out to be much easier to unscrew the plywood than unscrewing the pump from the plywood.
- When re-installing, do not fully tighten the mounting screws until you have attached and tested the input and output plumbing connections. Then test for leaks after each screw is tightened. We thought we had reinstalled the pump in exactly the same location but, for whatever reason, we fought with leaks on the outbound connection until we took the above approach.
Last comment is to compliment both the FWC and Sureflo Customer Service teams for their help with solving this problem. They were very informative and patient with my dumb-ass questions and I am still surprised at how quickly the new pump arrived.
Hope this helps anyone out there who has to deal with a failed pump in a Fleet. Happy camping everyone!
After a conversation with Sureflo Customer Service we removed the pump and took it apart. There were no obviously damaged components. Sureflo thought we should try one of their repair kits but it needed to be purchased from a reseller and would have taken 2 weeks to receive. FWC sold us a new unit for about $86 and it arrived in 2 days. Going with a new pump may seem like an expensive option but, given the difficulty of getting the pump out and no obviously failed part(s), we did not want to mess with repair kits that 'might' solve the problem. I would go the same route again because getting it out and and back in is not a lot of fun.
A few comments here about the pump and to help anyone that needs to take their pump out.
- As mentioned in an earlier post, the water pump, at least in the Fleet, is a custom model made for FWC. It produces 20 psi. Similar pumps are available from Sureflo but they are rated for 50 psi. Customer Support at FWC said the higher psi pumps will work but it was less expensive to order the stock pump from FWC and we thought it was better to stick with the lower psi.
- In the Fleet, the water pump is mounted on a piece of plywood that is then mounted on the cabinet wall. Given the cramped space inside the cabinet and the screw locations, it turned out to be much easier to unscrew the plywood than unscrewing the pump from the plywood.
- When re-installing, do not fully tighten the mounting screws until you have attached and tested the input and output plumbing connections. Then test for leaks after each screw is tightened. We thought we had reinstalled the pump in exactly the same location but, for whatever reason, we fought with leaks on the outbound connection until we took the above approach.
Last comment is to compliment both the FWC and Sureflo Customer Service teams for their help with solving this problem. They were very informative and patient with my dumb-ass questions and I am still surprised at how quickly the new pump arrived.
Hope this helps anyone out there who has to deal with a failed pump in a Fleet. Happy camping everyone!
