2018 17B Escape Water Pump Worries

PleinAirCedar · 09-19-2020, 01:27 PM

Hi All,

I am worried that my 2018 17B water pump is not working correctly. It is making an annoying noise that I never heard before. Or at least never really noticed. It seems to be struggling to pump the water when I have the faucet in the kitchen sink open, no matter a trickle or all the way. It doesn't make that noise when I have the kitchen sink open all the way and the toilet open all the way, but seems to be good at full throttle.
I recorded the jerky water pattern plus the noise and put it on a youtube video for your viewing pleasure, it anyone is interested in helping me.
https://youtu.be/7tvEI60NRkE
Its driving me crazy as I am worried it will break when I am out in the Utah desert for a week.

Thanks so much!
-Cedar

Bill and Earline · 09-19-2020, 01:46 PM

You have a water pump that is cycling on and off, making that rmm, rmm sound.

It takes a very slight adjustment with an Allen key. It's a very small size, like 5/64s or something.

Luckily there is a video that shows how to do this, assuming you have the tool.

Go to Escape Trailer Industries home page. From there click on "Owners" then "Orientation Videos" then in the red banner at the top of the page click where it says "For additional videos" go to the youtube choices.

There you are looking for "Water Pump Troubleshoot". It's 7min16sec long and has had 54k views, so you're not alone.

Reace explains how to make that slight adjustment, and why.

Better yet, watch the video, get the tool, then have someone who has done it before oversee your efforts.

Bill

gbaglo · 09-19-2020, 03:28 PM

And, when did you last clean debris from the faucet aerator?

Perry Butler · 09-19-2020, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

And, when did you last clean debris from the faucet aerator?

I only clean ours when someone reminds me.

Better go down to the camper and check the aerator!

Enjoy,

Perry

fudge_brownie · 09-19-2020, 06:10 PM

All good recommendations given. It those fail it could be an issue with the pump. StaRite Pentair does sell a repair kit and there are a number of videos dealing with stuck valves. I recently had issues with frequent pulses that I could not resolve and replaced the entire pump. For the cost of the repair kit and the disassembly of the pump head to check the valves a new pump was faster and easier.

Not to say that you should not try other options first, but only that pump repair was not on my list of things to do.

Bill and Earline · 09-20-2020, 05:22 AM

That suggestion to clean the sink aerator is a really good idea.

I recently cleaned the outside shower sprayer for the first time in 6 years. It was easy, having one screw and then concentric plastic rings that come apart. It had very fine grit that was then easy to remove after the rings were disassembled.

Don't forget to do the kitchen and bath sink, although it sounds like your kitchen one needs it the most. I haven't ever done the shower. Maybe its holes are larger.

I'm not sure how grit ever got in the system since I thought I always use a filter. It turns out when I flush or clean the fresh water tank at home, I think I just use my longer white hose that doesn't have a filter. That'll teach me to race Dave to the finders keepers hose at a campground.

rubicon327 · 09-20-2020, 07:29 AM

The pump sounds rougher to me than just quick on/off cycling. If it were me I would try a new pump and then clean/rebuild the other pump to carry as a spare. It sounds like you could use one anyway given your length of time out boondocking. I’m still trying to figure out a way to configure another onboard pump that would pull water from a container and put it in the fresh tank (like Oliver’s boondocking inlet). That pump could be used as a spare house pump with either a creative valving arrangement or physically swapped into place of the broken pump.

PleinAirCedar · 09-26-2020, 12:52 PM

Thanks so much to all of you for your suggestions!!!! Yay. It was a super easy fix. Bill and Earline, much thanks for the recommendation of the ETI youtube videos. I watched the one you mentioned and thought to check the screen of the pump. OMG there were sharp hard jaggedy crystal things in it that required a scraping with a toothpick. I put the cover back on the pump and turned it on. After a quick start up it is now running smoothly! Thanks so very much to you all!

jadams · 09-26-2020, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PleinAirCedar

It doesn't make that noise when I have the kitchen sink open all the way and the toilet open all the way, but seems to be good at full throttle.

Thanks so much for posting and providing a video. My pump does the same extract thing. I thought it was just normal. Now I some solutions to work with.

PleinAirCedar · 09-26-2020, 01:10 PM

You are welcome, jadams. Hard to imagine something this small could cause the problem! This is the crud:

jadams · 09-26-2020, 01:13 PM

Wow, thanks for posting the picture. I'm excited to take a look at this tomorrow.

Patandlinda · 09-26-2020, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubicon327

The pump sounds rougher to me than just quick on/off cycling. If it were me I would try a new pump and then clean/rebuild the other pump to carry as a spare. It sounds like you could use one anyway given your length of time out boondocking. I’m still trying to figure out a way to configure another onboard pump that would pull water from a container and put it in the fresh tank (like Oliver’s boondocking inlet). That pump could be used as a spare house pump with either a creative valving arrangement or physically swapped into place of the broken pump.

Dave when you get that figured out please post because I also thought that was the bomb on Oliver too! Pat

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