Whale Submersible Pump
Good evening. I'm hoping for yet more super advice from you all please 
I collected our new-to-us caravan last weekend and am now trying to get her cleaned and prepared ready for our first trip. I've bought a new Aquaroll and thought it would be a good idea to clean through the water system with some cleaning fluid (PuriClean I think it is) before using everything as I've no idea when the van was last used or the water system cleaned. The van came with a Whale Submersible Pump. Obviously running the PuriClean water solution through the pump from the Aquaroll is going to do some cleaning of the pump itself, but knowing what the inside of my fish tank pump gets liked - and how the cat's water bowl gets like if not wiped clean, I thought perhaps I should undertake a more thorough clean of the pump itself? Is that possible? How do I access it's internal workings? All tips gratefully received.
Daisy3
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Daisy. I use Puriclean. No need to attempt to take the pump apart, don't think it is possible anyway!!! Just do what it says on the product - dissolve in Aquaroll, ensure whole system is full of water/Puriclean and leave for 24 hours then flush out. Probably best to wait until this cold spell has finished!
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Hi, I agree with the others that the actual pump is sealed and trying to open it will probably ruin it.
However the inside of the blue pipe could be very unpleasant, because for hours at a time the water in the blue pipe is stationary, with any sunshine heating up the water and encouraging bacteria to grow.
You may not want to go to these lengths, but I removed the one-shot clips at either end of the pipe, slid the electric supply cable out and cleaned the inside of the pipe by using a length of wire to pull through a slim cloth which cleaned the inside, I then replaced the clips with jubilee clips, these need to be food grade aluminium so they won't rust.
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If I worried that much, I buy a new pump.
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Here's a picture of the slime inside the blue pipe adjacent to our Whale submersible pump - in a system which was 'cleaned by sterilising with Puriclens or Milton' before each trip away.
We had a problem with our Whale submersible pump and we had to buy another in France. Because we then had a working pump OH took ours apart to see what was wrong with it (he's an engineer and figured he'd got nothing to lose). When it was stripped down that's when we noticed the foul smell inside the pump and the connection part which fits into the caravan. He was horrified by what was inside and therefore he took the pipes off and we cut into those as well.
We don't drink the caravan water supply now, but we still keep it sterilised.
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The original ‘one shot’ clips which you refer to, are actually called ‘ear clips’. I mention this because internet searches using the correct name are likely to be far more effective. They are best tightened onto a pipe with special pliers which aren’t particularly expensive. We have found situations where jubilee clips are too bulky to fit, particularly when they are inside housings. Being set up with a small selection of stainless steel ear clips and their pliers might be a useful addition to your stash of rarely used tools 🙂
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Thank you all so much! The horror photos were exactly what I anticipated...hence wanting to clean :-). Really appreciate all the input. Having motorhomes for years I am amazed at the steep learning on getting our caravan...so really appreciate having you all for support! Daisy
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