Whale Waterpump

[Toro]

Hi all,

I have just upgraded my Whale Premium submersible pump to a 921 High Flow, but Iam having some trouble with the pressure switch,when I have the electric hookup on, the pump does a lot of clicking when the hot tap is closed. Do not have any problem when it is only on battery, so is there just another fine adjustment to make to the pressure switch, or is there something that I should be aware of?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tom,

There is probably nothing wrong your system, and just a small adjustment of the pressure switch with any luck should reduce or cure it.

Just to be sure, take a quick look at all the pipe joints to make sure there are no leaks.

The pumps ability to develop pressure is determined by the supply voltage. When the caravan's battery charger/power supply is running, the battery will be producing about 13.8V. Remove the mains power and the battery voltage will fall.

The pressure switch is made adjustable to help compensate for different supply voltages.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi tom

it sounds like you will have to tweak the pressure switch to stop it clicking now you have fitted a high flow pump I had exactly the same problem when I fitted one along with a new filter housing. I dont know the type of system you have but on mine it is the small micro swith with a yellow knob right next to the drain ****, clockwise closes it anticlock wise opens it try closing it 1/4 of a turn to start with if that is too much or not enough adjust in small increments untill the clicking stops but does not reduce water flow then it will be fine.

there is a procedure for correctly adjusting the micro switch that you could try if all else fails but I found that the water flow was reduced too much, ok for the sinks but the shower was awful I could have pee'd faster, which rather spoils the reason for having a high flow pump in the first place.

let us know how you get on.

colin

 

[Toro]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your replies, and I've got it so that it is perfect on the cold taps and about 3 clicks on the hot. I can live with that. The reason for the pump change is hopefully to improve the pressure at the shower which was rubbish with the premium pump. Just need to get away now to try it out

 

[Toro]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your replies, and I've got it so that it is perfect on the cold taps and about 3 clicks on the hot. I can live with that. The reason for the pump change is hopefully to improve the pressure at the shower which was rubbish with the premium pump. Just need to get away now to try it out

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tom,

This all sounds quite normal now.

The hot taps are likely to do that. The reason is the water heater has a non-return valve in its inlet and this causes a slight restriction to the flow into the heater. The pump can probably deliver more water than the NRV will allow to pass, so the pressure on the pump side will increase and can trip the pressure switch. as the water is still continuing to flow a little into the heater, this will drop the pump pressure and it will turn on again. As you describe this may happen a few times until the tank and pump pressure are equalised.

The other thing that can cause the pump to run momentarily is; as water heater cools down either when it is turned off, or you use some hot water, the water in the tank will contract. This will reduce the pressure in the tank, and this may cause the pump to run for a moment.

Something else you may need to be aware of, As the water heater heats the water in its tank, it expands. It can do this because the tank and its inlets and outlets are designed to trap a pocket of air at the top of the tank. as the water expands it pressurises the tank to a higher pressure than the cold water supply. Consequently, if you turn on a mixer tap, the hot water being at a higher pressure will be discharged first until the tank pressure drops and the cold water can also flow. The slight danger is that you may get a slug of hotter water than your were expecting. In some systems the additional compressible volume of the hot water tank can cause alternating hot and cool water delivery to mixer taps.

The solution is to fit a surge damper to the cold water pipes. This mimics the air volume in the hot tank, and minimises the surge effect.