Water pump started shutting off when showering

[ZachO]

It worked for the last month, just fine. Just yesterday, it was still working fine, then shut off in the middle of a shower. What I notice is that if I push the lever on the bathroom sink back down and cut off the water to the shower head, the pump comes back on. It works completely as normal when I use sinks. But once I push water back to the shower head, it dies.

Any ideas?

I didn't notice any obvious clogs or anything but I haven't had much time to look.

[C&G in FL]

Try removing the shower head and just running water through the shower hose. The fact that it stopped mid-shower leads me to believe that the head is somehow clogged.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by ZachO

... What I notice is that if I push the lever on the bathroom sink back down and cut off the water to the shower head, the pump comes back on. It works completely as normal when I use sinks. But once I push water back to the shower head, it dies.

Any ideas?

....

Faulty or out-of-adjustment pressure switch? Just a guess.

[steve dunham]

Is it possible that the shower head is acting as a restriction .When you open a faucet there is a sufficient pressure drop to activate the pump's pressure switch and start the pump .The shower head water flow may be to small to allow the pump to run continuously.
I would check the shower head for dirt or particles . I had a similar issue when the aerator on my kitchen faucet was plugged up.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Is it possible that the shower head is acting as a restriction .When you open a faucet there is a sufficient pressure drop to activate the pump's pressure switch and start the pump .The shower head water flow may be to small to allow the pump to run continuously.
I would check the shower head for dirt or particles . I had a similar issue when the aerator on my kitchen faucet was plugged up.

Yup. I was thinking low flow head.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Faulty or out-of-adjustment pressure switch? Just a guess.

Yea, I like the other suggestions better now that I think about it.. so I made a bad guess. But if clogging is not the issue then it is still a possible cause.

[Glenn Baglo]

If you take apart an aerator to remove debris, pay close attention to what goes where and which direction it faces. If you don't, it's like doing a jig-saw puzzle.
Anyway, cleaning the aerator on the kitchen sink is what fixed my pump.

[Jack L]

If your trailer has been sitting unused for a long period of time your fresh water tank could have some accumulation of debris which were shaken loose when you were going down the road. I would check the intake side of the pump, showerhead and kitchen faucet strainers for obstruction The pressure switch could also have some debris too. A tank rinsing might be needed.

[ZachO]

Ok! Thanks. I'll check the shower head first and go from there

[Dan Meyer]

Some shower fixtures have a vacuum breaker to allow the hose to drain, and it might be causing trouble. On my trailer it is located where the hose attaches to the hot/cold fixture.

--Dan Meyer

[ZachO]

Now any advice to unscrewing the aerator off the shower head? Brute strength or is there a method?

[piperjim]

A pair of channel locks, with one of those rubber jar-lid-grippers to protect the aerator might be a good place to start.

If that doesn't work, anything short of a cutting torch is allowed.

[ZachO]

Thanks. I got it off. Just needed to try for longer.

I didn't see anything obvious, but I'll try out the shower again. I found out we have showers at work so for now I'm using those anyways. I'll get around to trying my shower again and I'll see if maybe taking it apart did anything...

[ZachO]

Would you believe that I just didn't really know how to use my shower? Yes, I'll bet you can all believe that.

I've been annoyed that the shower didn't have an on/off switch on the head, which meant my "navy showers" involved constantly turning off the water at the sink tap, which has separate hot/cold controls, so I'd have to re-adjust the mix many times during one shower.

On the shower head there's a dial. Two settings. One has several lines, the other is one solid line. I figured that meant two flow choices. One more of a mist, the other a stronger flow. But no...One is on, one off I think while I was showering, the dial got moved just enough that it was getting into the off position, and shutting down the water pump.

Now I just need to figure how to put it back together right. I must have lost a part, because "off" is not really quite off...just enough water comes out that the pump stays on and I'm still wasting water when I don't need it. It's pretty simple inside the shower head and all I can figure is that a washer jumped out and lost itself somewhere...