My spouse wants me to turn the pump off after I am done doing dishes, washing hands and then turn it back on when I need it again, is this a have to or can it be left on at all times?
ANSWER: Hi Nicole, as long as your RV is not connected to city water you can leave the fresh water pump on. When you are not hooked up to city water the water for your RV is pumped from the onboard Fresh Water Holding Tank.
The fresh water pump in your RV is an on demand pump in other words the only time the pump will operate is when you turn on a faucet or flush a toilet. As long as the pump is operating properly it will not use any power when there is no demand for water.
When you are hooked up to city water you do not need the pump as you want the water to your RV to be provided by the city water connection. On most RVs, if you leave the pump on when connected to city water you will continue to pump the water out of your fresh water holding tank when a faucet is turned on or a toilet is flushed.
The key to making sure that your RV's on-demand water pump works properly is performing some routine maintenance on the water pump annually. Take a look at the video below from RV Expert Mark Polk from RV Education 101 to see how easy this routine maintenance actually is.
Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.
Most of the replies here are common sense. But a few are from the wise and experienced. Thanks.
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Adding to a good blog by: Greg B
Turn the water pump off when moving from one camp site to another. We have a vertical lever faucet at the kitchen sink and left the water pump on while moving down a rough road to Monument Valley. When we stopped, we found a full grey water tank and sink. The vertical level had vibrated to the on position. We have now added to our predeparture check list to assure water pump is off and hair band is around faucet riser and lever.
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fresh water tank by: Master Guns
fresh water tank is filled when I turn on the city water, did not do this until I increased the psi from 45-50 to 58 psi. Help
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Using pump when on city water by: gary
If on an external water supply, I use the pump when showering to get move volume and pressure. I know, adjust the water pressure regulator. I only want higher pressure when showering, and it doesn't bother me to refill the water tank every few days.
I also turn on both the electric and gas water heater switches to speed up recovery.
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water pump on or off by: Anonymous
so... you're saying that not one bit of my battery is being used unless I turn the water facet on? or flush? I can't believe it! But I am a newbie. I just assumed having the switch flipped to ON, would automatically cause it to drain my battery a little.
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Water pump/plumbing idea by: Anonymous
Why don't they use regular PEX plumbing & home faucets in these RVs instead of cheap low psi rated plastic parts? PET is able to freeze w/o busting. Don't weigh any more than what they already have. Then we could have better water pressure w/o the hose regulator.
I was running my pump to clean & flush my lines & tanks and faucets. While plugged into my home, when I notice my water pump started running slower. Found that it had drained my battery. How? and Why? Thought as long as I'm plugged in, my battery stays charged????
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Small inconvenience for Large protection by: Cochise49
We follow the on when home (in the RV) and off when away. Reasons for leaving on....inconvenient to turn pump on just before needed running water (especially if the switch can't be reached from the "best" seat in the house)...ice maker needs a water supply to work....pump will short cycle if there is the smallest of leaks in the fresh water line.....Reasons for leaving off...if a line breaks, you will return to a flood....if the valve for the toilet flush fails, they black tank may overflow into the rig, literally destroying your RV. BTW...Also turn off city water when away if you are connected to that.
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Our Pump Modification by: LiveWorkDream.com
When boondocking, we leave ours on during the daytime but always turn it off at night and when we're away. This is why: http://www.liveworkdream.com/2014/02/13/rv-freshwater-pump-boondocking-modification/
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Water Pump options by: 1/2 time RV'er
we turn ours off at night or if we are going "out" for the day, but when we are around the camper we leave it on.
When we leave the unit for any amount of time, or no one is in the motorhome, we turn off the pump. The reason being that the "on demand" pump will continue to pump until the tank is empty in the event of a leak. This happened to my parents in their unit. Someone closed a cabinet and pushed some dishes into the hose causing a leak. The pump interpreted this as an open faucet and pumped all the water out through the leak. Just something to think about
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