Water pump issue.

carlandjan
carlandjan Forum Participant Posts: 6
edited March 2016 in Caravans #1

Just recently bought 2010 Elldis avante 362 caravan.On our first trip we found every time we turn the taps off the pump carries on pumping for about 10 seconds .??Is this normal.We made sure there were no airlocks in van.(Your thoughts please).

Comments

  • Vicmallows
    Vicmallows Forum Participant Posts: 580
    500 Comments
    edited March 2016 #2

    Your query intrigued me as I also have an Avante 362, though mine is 2005. The (external, submersible) water pump on mine is simply switched on and off by the microswitches in the taps.

    It sounds as if you have a pressurised system on your 'van, in which case a 10second delay while the pressure builds would be quite normal.  I have looked at the spec for a 2010 model and it doesn't suggest this was standard, but quite possibly a previous owner either specified a pressurised system or updated it?   Do you have an external pump, or an internal?

  • GodivaNige
    GodivaNige Forum Participant Posts: 606
    500 Comments
    edited March 2016 #3

    10 seconds is a long time for the pump to rebuild pressure. The pump ideally should run on 3-5 seconds after you close a tap. You should have an adjustable pressure switch mounted close to your water pump inlet, usually under the offside front seat but can sometimes be found in other areas in some vans. If you can find it, adjust the rotary knob on the switch about 1/8th of a turn anticlockwise and test again. Continue adjusting to obtain a shorter run on time. If this switch is adjusted to give too high a pressure cut off, it could put the various pipe connectors in your van at risk of blowing apart and leaking the contents of your water hog all over your van floor.

  • Vicmallows
    Vicmallows Forum Participant Posts: 580
    500 Comments
    edited March 2016 #4

    10 seconds is a long time for the pump to rebuild pressure.

    There might be a decent sized pressure resevoir?  (If not, I don't really see the point in having a pressurised system to start with ......am I missing something??)

    Ah.....I've got it!.......it saves needing (expensive) taps with microswitchesSealed

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #5

    I have a pressure system in my Bailey Senator and it does both these things!  When it has been pumping water around, such as filling onboard tank, etc there is a long overrun on switch off - probably about the 10 second mark.  However, when using taps to
    dispense water the overrun is much shorter - 4 seconds or less.

  • richardandros
    richardandros Club Member Posts: 2,694 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #6

    10 seconds is a long time for the pump to rebuild pressure. The pump ideally should run on 3-5 seconds after you close a tap. You should have an adjustable pressure switch mounted close to your water pump inlet, usually under the offside front seat but can
    sometimes be found in other areas in some vans. If you can find it, adjust the rotary knob on the switch about 1/8th of a turn anticlockwise and test again. Continue adjusting to obtain a shorter run on time. If this switch is adjusted to give too high a pressure
    cut off, it could put the various pipe connectors in your van at risk of blowing apart and leaking the contents of your water hog all over your van floor.

    This ties in with my experience as well.  Just after we picked up our new Barcelona, last year, we had a problem with filling the inboard water tank.  We went back to the dealer and the technician located the problem and sorted it.  However, in the process,
    it was necessary to reset the pressure switch on that particular pump and he was saying that it should cut off at somewhere between 4 and 8 seconds - which he did in the manner you describe.

  • carlandjan
    carlandjan Forum Participant Posts: 6
    edited March 2016 #7

    Your query intrigued me as I also have an Avante 362, though mine is 2005. The (external, submersible) water pump on mine is simply switched on and off by the microswitches in the taps.

    It sounds as if you have a pressurised system on your 'van, in which case a 10second delay while the pressure builds would be quite normal.  I have looked at the spec for a 2010 model and it doesn't suggest this was standard, but quite possibly a previous
    owner either specified a pressurised system or updated it?   Do you have an external pump, or an internal?

    Write your comments here...

  • carlandjan
    carlandjan Forum Participant Posts: 6
    edited March 2016 #8

    Your query intrigued me as I also have an Avante 362, though mine is 2005. The (external, submersible) water pump on mine is simply switched on and off by the microswitches in the taps.

    It sounds as if you have a pressurised system on your 'van, in which case a 10second delay while the pressure builds would be quite normal.  I have looked at the spec for a 2010 model and it doesn't suggest this was standard, but quite possibly a previous
    owner either specified a pressurised system or updated it?   Do you have an external pump, or an internal?

    Write your comments here...Good evening ,thanks for the info you gave me.I might have been a little over the mark with the 10 seconds ,it probably was only 5 seconds the pump continued to work.I am not over experienced on technical issues,my worry was after
    using the van for the first time that the pump sounded noiser than previous van we had.I will keep aware of the situation,ps It looks like the van has aqua source filter next to the heater,should i change this every year,if not could it damage water pump.
    Thanks for help.

  • chrisn7
    chrisn7 Forum Participant Posts: 72
    edited March 2016 #9

    If you have the white Whale type pressure switch with the wheel on top, the correct way to set this is turn the wheel clockwise, until it won't go any further, then back it off again, until the pump stops, then back off a half turn further. This gives a
    datum point from which you may need to adjust very slightly either way.

    Note that this type of pressure switch will almost certainly require adjusting in the same way again, if you move from EHU to 12volt

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
    1000 Comments
    edited March 2016 #10

    I'be never had a van with a presurised system.  Always having microswitches on the tap, which admittedly can be a pain to replace when the wires break.   But what is the advantage of a pressure system?   They seem temperamental and need lots of adjustment. 

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,311 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #11

    I think the pressurised system gives a better flow rate and ours has not required any adjustment in 2.5 years. I am not sure why an adjustment would be required between EHU and 12 volt as the pump runs off the leisure battery all the time. Unless of course it's to do with the charge state of the battery. When our micro switch went wrong on our last van, it could not be replaced and a new tap cost £100. However, a replacement internal pump for our new van costs £90, compared to £30 for the micro switch version on the old van. So now we no longer carry a spare. Seems to be pros and cons to both systems.