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Old 02-24-2017, 12:59 AM   #1
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water pumps questions

Hi Everyone,

Currently my bus is parked on a ranch where I have access to pressurized water. I am currently building the off grid part of the water system however. I've installed a shower and have an L5 eccotemp heater which is working great with pressure from the hose.

I'm wondering if anyone has installed a 12 volt water pump or other types on their bus and which ones tend to be reliable and work best.

I have a 12v battery bank charged with 300 watts of panels on the roof, so I can do dc or ac with my inverter.

Any thoughts?

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Old 02-24-2017, 08:44 AM   #2
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I use an Ecotemp 5 in my bus but had to go with the Ecotemp recommended pump to get it to work right. I also use two pumps, one for hot, one for cold with the hot connected to recirculate the hot water when the heater is heating

You may want to Google this question to the forum as there is a lot oif information on this subject here--just hard to find.
Jack.
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Old 02-24-2017, 09:17 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ol trunt View Post
I use an Ecotemp 5 in my bus but had to go with the Ecotemp recommended pump to get it to work right. I also use two pumps, one for hot, one for cold with the hot connected to recirculate the hot water when the heater is heating

You may want to Google this question to the forum as there is a lot oif information on this subject here--just hard to find.
Jack.
I really like the idea of recirculating pump for the hot water. I have wondered how to save all that water waiting for the water to warm up. How did you plumb all that up?
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Old 02-24-2017, 11:21 AM   #4
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CD. Pretty simple really (or I'd never have figured it out). I ran the water from the tank to the hot water pump, through the heater, to each spigot and then looped back to the top of the water tank. I installed a solenoid valve (ebay) in the return just before it dumps back into the tank. I used a two way switch, one in the bath and one in the kitchen so I could operate the system from either place. As it turns out, I usually leave the solenoid valve open all the time the heater is in use. That does lower the hot water pressure somewhat but then I'm not trying to put a fire out with the flow. Insulating the hot water pipes from the heater to the last spigot helps keep the water temp more even.
Jack
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Old 02-25-2017, 09:04 PM   #5
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That's an interesting move, I was actually thinking of doing something like that. What are the eccotemp reccomended pumps? I was thinking of getting a seaflow 35 psi dc pump. Do you think that will work?
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Old 02-25-2017, 10:04 PM   #6
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I dont have bath or shower access on my bus yet.
I made due with the ultra low tech off the grid eco-friendly method of my own design.
An one gallon jug, drilled holes in the top and attached to a tilt board with jungee cord. Mixed some hot water from the stove or tea pot in with some tap water and boom instant shower.

The little tilt bucket design saves a ton of water, the temp is easy enough to regular once you get the 1/3 to 2/3 and feel to the touch routine.
I just stand in the shower stall, put the jug up and tilt, soap, shampoo, tilt, blah blah, tilt and done. Worst case have a second jug on standby.

All together $1.99 jug.

Future plans are generally based on the same concept now. Heat my own water, wood stove or electric tea pot, mix with fresh water, SS&S, off to work.
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Old 02-26-2017, 03:50 PM   #7
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LPTC, I don't think 35# is enough pressure. To be adequate the pump must supply enough pressure to the pump while the water is flowing--if I remember correctly it needs to be 25# at the heater with the water flowing at the spigot. Also, the flow rate needs to meet certain requirements. If these conditions aren't met, the heater either won't light or it will constantly cycle on and off. The Ecotemp web site has all the info you need. I'd just look at my pump but we are off camping (in the rain) and I'd have to disassemble my heater box to get to the pumps and I'm just too lazy to do that just now-sorry.
Jack

Edit: I looked through my purchase history with ebay and found the recommended pump info:
Flojet model 03526144
12 v
5.2 Amps
2.9 GPM
50 PSI

I paid $45 shipped.
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Old 03-03-2017, 04:13 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LPTC View Post
Hi Everyone,

Currently my bus is parked on a ranch where I have access to pressurized water. I am currently building the off grid part of the water system however. I've installed a shower and have an L5 eccotemp heater which is working great with pressure from the hose.

I'm wondering if anyone has installed a 12 volt water pump or other types on their bus and which ones tend to be reliable and work best.

I have a 12v battery bank charged with 300 watts of panels on the roof, so I can do dc or ac with my inverter.

Any thoughts?
I don't have your answer but you might look at using this hand pump for off the grid.

Guzzler diaphragm hand pump 8 5 GPM 7 Strokes gallon from Davis Instruments
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Old 03-03-2017, 09:38 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by ol trunt View Post
Edit: I looked through my purchase history with ebay and found the recommended pump info:
Flojet model 03526144
12 v
5.2 Amps
2.9 GPM
50 PSI
Important thing to know when looking at pump specs. You would think the above specs mean that this pump will produce 2.9 GPM @ 50 psi. That is not the case. What it really means is that it will flow 2.9 GPM (with little/no pressure), or make 50 psi (with little/no flow).

Just something to understand as you pick a pump.

I attached a pump comparison I did a while back of a few pumps I could find flow/pressure data for.
Attached Thumbnails
Pumps_zpsd7b85288[1].png  
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Old 03-03-2017, 10:34 PM   #10
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All that being said, the fact still remains that Ecotemp recommended the pump I am using---and it works just fine so I fail to see the relevance of your comment to the original question.
Jack
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Old 03-04-2017, 08:54 AM   #11
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All that being said, the fact still remains that Ecotemp recommended the pump I am using---and it works just fine so I fail to see the relevance of your comment to the original question.
Jack
The relevance is that the person was just trying to be helpful and your response is rude.
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Old 03-04-2017, 09:08 AM   #12
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Hey Versatile, sorry to have offended your sensibilities.
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Old 03-09-2017, 01:22 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by Versatile View Post
The relevance is that the person was just trying to be helpful and your response is rude.
I agree, the visual comparison is very helpful and provides details to multiple pumps, just like the OP asked.
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Old 10-01-2019, 09:34 PM   #14
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5+ gpm

Anybody installed a higher GPM pump? I am looking at the SEAFLO 55-Series.

The PSI seems to be within threshold for my pex plumbed system, can find much info on anybody installing a larger pump on their skoolie or RV, what gives?
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