Water pump runs during the night

[urnmor]

Our water pump seems to have a mind of its own lately and turn itself on even if no faucets are open. Can anyone explain why?

Thanks

[CBWELL]

You either have a very slow drip at one of the faucets, a drain valve dripping, toilet valve passing water into the toilet, or the check valve in the pump is not holding. Could be any one or a combination. I would check the pump to see if it is the check valve with a bit of grit first. Good luck, Chris

[kscherzi]

Mine does that sometimes. Maybe once a night. I've never found a leak.

[Aage]

Why not just put in a switch to kill the power at bed-time?

Assuming this only happens when you are boondocking? On our '74, the pump is not needed when we're on city water...

[Sbb]

I only turn my pump on when I need it, then turn off, weird little habit.

[cwf]

If the pump is coming off and on, then the pressure must be dropping. Since it is not a leak, it must be the check valve going weak. They don't seem to 'totally fail'.. but instead just 'leak/bleed down'.

I also turn off the pump until I need it.. One 'flood' is all I need..

[Tim A.]

We had a pump that did that until it slowly died. Replaced it with a new one rather than trying to figure out what was wrong.

Tim

[RAH]

if the water pump turns itself on during the night, chances are it will during the day too. As the others have said, it may be a leak inside the pump. Mine had such a leak on our first camping trip. Also when we were hooked up to City water, water would leak out the other side of the trailer through the fresh tank overfill. It turned out that the same internal leak to the pump was causing both problems. My leak was a lot worse than yours however - the pump came on every 60 seconds or so, for only a second or 2 to re-pressurize the system. I installed the new water pump myself rather than take the trip back to the dealer or factory. Now that was fun! Good luck on tracking down the cause and with the fix.

[Goin camping]

Ours has been doing that since new. Pressure leak somewhere.

Since we boondocks most of the time. Turning off the pump when we don't need water is just one of the things we do not to burn elec.

Also only turn the water heater on when we plan on wanting hot water.

[ckottum]

Our pump has not come on by itself, but we do leave it on during regular inspections of the systems to ensure the plumbing is tight. Otherwise we turn it and the water heater off at night, or when not being used during the day.

cheryl

[dznf0g]

I guess this is just another instance of my anal retentive perfectionist coming out. Water systems should be completely free from leaks of any sort. I'd also suspect the pump check valve, but I couldn't accept it and turn the pump on and of. I'd have to fix it.

[Jammer]

They sometimes do come on as a result of the water pressure dropping as the water cools, especially if you shut off the water heater at night.

Cold water is less dense, takes up less room, so the pump runs.

It's the flip side of the situation where you can sometimes end up with the relief valve dripping a little bit as the water heater heats up.

[tyggeln]

Originally Posted by Jammer

They sometimes do come on as a result of the water pressure dropping as the water cools, especially if you shut off the water heater at night.

Cold water is less dense, takes up less room, so the pump runs.

It's the flip side of the situation where you can sometimes end up with the relief valve dripping a little bit as the water heater heats up.

Actually, cold water is more dense - to a point and takes up less room - to a point.

The density of water is greatest at about 42 degF. As you get colder, the water will expand - and break pipes if a suitable pressure relief is not found, or the pipes are kept warm.

[HowieE]

If the pump is coming on YOU HAVE A LEAK.

My system will hold pressure for several days and I do that every spring to ensure I have not developed a leak.

A leak will eventually rot the floor. My daughter never used her pump, city water every time, and after the front of the trailer rotted off the floor I discovered the leak was on the output side of the pump. While hooked up to city water it just dripped for 4 years. Never enough to drip on the ground over a weekend just saturate the floor.

Find it now or fix it later.

[JCWDCW]

I'm with everyone above...It could be a leak...very serious and wood floors are expensive and messy to replace...or it could be just the check valve in the pump. Your pump is not that old. Maybe it picked up a bit of dirt or fiber in the check valve. You can purchase a new head and repair the pump...much cheaper than a new pump. But I would be watching under the belly pan for evidence of a water leak...got to do this when it is dry out since all kinds of rain water dribbles under the pan. The Pex plasic piping fittings are known to leak on occasion, but fortunately most fittings are visible under the counters or closet spaces

[dznf0g]

IIRC, you can get to the check valve in many pumps and inspect/clean. I know I did on a really old Surflow...like 1993 vintage.

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Our water pump seems to have a mind of its own lately and turn itself on even if no faucets are open. Can anyone explain why?

Thanks

******

If you do not flush the air from your hot and cold water lines, you probably have some air trapped in the line. Most likely the shower as that is the last place I even bleed the air out of our system.

If you have considerable amount of air in the system, it will run and not get to pressure to stop running.

If it is a small amount of air in the line somewhere, toilet, sinks or shower(s) the pump will run for a second or two and quit.

Take a water hose on and attach it to your outside "city water" fixture. Run water into the system and bleed your interior fixtures any air. It will spit and bubble. When it begins to run clear, go to the next. Then when they all seem to be bled, one more time. Sinks, toilet and shower. Even the outside shower could be the culprit. The water pressure from your outside hose will do the job.

When traveling ALWAYS have the water pump OFF.

When pressure is not needed, just flip the pump to OFF. When pressure is needed, ON.

Since we are usually off the grid, we are on battery power and do not need the water lines under pressure until we need it to be.

I flush the water lines every time we are ready to leave home. You also need to have enough water in your fresh water tank so that the water pump does not push air back into the system. Otherwise, you go back to the beginning of this post and bleed them again.

This works perfectly... if not, then you can go to option B to Z.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

I guess this is just another instance of my anal retentive perfectionist coming out. Water systems should be completely free from leaks of any sort. I'd also suspect the pump check valve, but I couldn't accept it and turn the pump on and of. I'd have to fix it.

Haha,

I used to be exactly the same! if the tiniest thing was not working properly on any piece of mechanical oe electrical equipment I owned, then whether I used it of not I could not rest until it was fixed because it was "Just not right!"


I do find however that as I age, these things fade into having less significance, I'm not sure if it is just a philosophical thing or just increasing laziness coupled with less energy!

Brian.


PS - we only switch on our pump when we need use it, otherwise it is off. (But it doesn't seem to leak down anyway whenever I have tested it.)