Scamp demand water pump stopped!

[BatDude]

Hi all,

1 yr old Scamp 16' and pulled into the Jekyll Island camp ground and discovered that the demand water pump is not working.

We have full hookup so not an issue at the moment but needs to be solved ASAP as we continue our travels in a few weeks.

The pump was working at the last stop as I had inadvertently hit it when setting the furnace to ON.

Immediately shut it off since there is no water in our fresh water tank.

In any case I again hit the switch reaching around while standing nearly in the doorway since I had not yet removed shoes in order to keep carpet clean.
Result was braille method of finding the thermostat for furnace.

As I realized I hit it while turning on the furnace I realize it was quiet, i.e. did not come on.

I checked the breakers and the fuses in the power compartment and all are fine.

Opened the compartment under hte bed next to the tank and all wiring is attached, also pulled the spade terminals off the switch and reattached and no difference.

Rumor has it Scamp has/had "hidden" fuses in line on older models but not sure about the more recent ones like our form 2014.

I called Scamp and when transferred to Service Dept. had to leave voice mail.

Not sure if they called back or not since the entire campground is now w/o power as a main transformer providing power to this part of the island (including camp ground) blew out this afternoon.

No telling when power will be back.

Our Internet Hotspot battery is good for a few hours as are our laptops so able to send this post.

Any ideas out there?
I have not yet put a meter on the switch or pump to see if power is reaching these areas.

After our first after breakfast hour + morning walk DW needed to spend several hours removing ticks from Esme.

Guess we will not be taking the trail through the woods again.

Oppps almost forgot to switch the fridge over to propane as the 110 is out!


Cheers

Bat Dude

[Eddie Longest]

If you have city water hooked up and water pressure on the trailer the pump will not come on.
Eddie

[BatDude]

Tnx Eddie!


Seems Occam's razor is at play here.
"Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected."
Your reply clearly is simpler than my hypothesis.
I was looking for a power/switch issue solution that would have been more complex when none would be found.

I will verify this in the morning by disconnecting the water and pressure.

I will sleep well tonight knowing that this rank newbie does not have a pump problem per se.

Cheers, Bat Dude

[Cathi]

The water pump can be damaged if run while hooked up to city water. When hooked up to city water, we put tape over the water pump switch so as to not use it.

[Bob Miller]

I agree with post #2. Try turning off the shore water, opening a faucet, and turning on the pump. But I have never heard of the claim made in post #4/

[Glenn Baglo]

My recollection is that the manual that came with my Escape in 2008 said not to run the pump with city water connected.
However, I just looked up the manual on ETI site and it says not to run the pump with the fresh water tank empty, but doesn't warn against running it with city water connected.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Cathi

The water pump can be damaged if run while hooked up to city water. When hooked up to city water, we put tape over the water pump switch so as to not use it.

Wouldn't the pressure switch on the pump prevent the pump from coming on if you had city water pressure in the lines and then turned on the on/off switch?

Speaking of the pressure switch, if you do find the pump is not working (off city water) then in addition to checking the voltage you can try to bypass the pressure switch to run the pump just long enough to see if it works.. isolating the problem to the pump or the pressure switch.

[Paul O.]

Hi Bat Dude, the pump ON switch only enables the pump. There is a second switch in series with it on that wire (+12v) which does the cycling and turns it on only when the pressure in the plumbing is low, off when high. The city water pressure is high enough and that is why you did not hear it come on.

Last year I started using a pressure reducing valve and was surprised at first that the pump came on when connected to the city water. Then I remembered that the pressure reducer is set to about 15 psi, obviously lower than the Scamp pump switch. I grabbed it from some old stuff lying around since I had my home heating system repaired and soldered the hose threads to it. 15 psi is still good enough for all Scamp needs.

Re: #4 post - you could damage the pump if the cycling switch never turned it off and it eventually stopped turning. The motor might burn out and some pipes burst in the process, but the city water would have nothing to do with it.

[Cathi]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

My recollection is that the manual that came with my Escape in 2008 said not to run the pump with city water connected.
However, I just looked up the manual on ETI site and it says not to run the pump with the fresh water tank empty, but doesn't warn against running it with city water connected.

It may have been in the older manual but we are looking at a newer one now.

I just saw a reference to the Shurflo pump being damaged by city water pressure but could not bring it up.