Water pump ticking

On my first trip with new (to me) 2013 Broadway. Water taps work fine with good pressure but for no  apparent reason the pump chatters/ticks intermittently and randomly for 5 to 10 seconds when the taps are not being used ie middle of the night ! Would welcome any tips on why this is happening or solutions. As said  the functionality of the hot and cold taps is not affected I’ve als checked for leaks with none apparent

It’s a slight leak which might be no more than one of the taps/shower not being securely turned off.

You have a pressurised water system.  When the water pressure drops, usually because a tap is opened, a pressure switch detects this and turns on the water pump.  As soon as the pressure is restored, usually because the tap is closed, the pressure switch turns off the pump.  There are two things that can cause the pressure to drop and the pump to come on intermittently without a tap been opened.  One is a leak which for the time being you have discounted.  The other is if the hot water cools and therefore contracts which in my experience the Whale submersible system is very prone to and was a major reason why I replaced it with a Shurflo diaphragm pump.  Back to the leak.  It could be that the non-return valve (NRV) which forms part of the Whale pressure switch is not sealing properly and therefore allowing water to leak back into the freshwater tank.  Try dismantling and cleaning the NRV.

Tinwheeler wrote:It’s a slight leak which might be no more than one of the taps/shower not being securely turned off.

Thanks Timwheeler, I’ll recheck all this agin in the morning.. 72nd birthday today so currently a bit the worse for wear following a few Tamnavulins

Many thanks 

Caraman wrote:You have a pressurised water system.  When the water pressure drops, usually because a tap is opened, a pressure switch detects this and turns on the water pump.  As soon as the pressure is restored, usually because the tap is closed, the pressure switch turns off the pump.  There are two things that can cause the pressure to drop and the pump to come on intermittently without a tap been opened.  One is a leak which for the time being you have discounted.  The other is if the hot water cools and therefore contracts which in my experience the Whale submersible system is very prone to and was a major reason why I replaced it with a Shurflo diaphragm pump.  Back to the leak.  It could be that the non-return valve (NRV) which forms part of the Whale pressure switch is not sealing properly and therefore allowing water to leak back into the freshwater tank.  Try dismantling and cleaning the NRV.

Many thanks Caraman I’ll have a go in the morning 

Thanks again

Apple, sorry about your head, been there, done that, saving up for the tee shirt   Our Neuvo has done that ever since we got it, and still does. As I understand it, the noise is the system dealing with changes in the outside temperature. We tend to get it more often during the late evening. Some advocate turning off the pump during the night, which should eliminate the issue during those hours if you find it an irritation.

Just switch off the pump overnight, seems simple to me??? 
I assume the Broadway has a pump switch?

IanH wrote:Just switch off the pump overnight, seems simple to me??? 
I assume the Broadway has a pump switch?

The problem with that is that is that you can't wash your hands if you go for a pee in the night or flush the toilet.  OK you could switch the pump back on for that and then switch it off again but each time that floods the van with light from the EC700 CP.  I also found that when I switched the pump off at night, which I had to do so we could sleep properly, the system often depressurised such that water found its way back into the fresh water tank past the pressure switch NRV.  After 4 months of replacement taps, Truma drain valves, NRVs, pumps and pressure switches, we got so fed up with the system we had it replaced with a Shurflo and haven't looked back since.  The only time we turn the Shurflo off is when we leave the van - if we remember!

2013 was during a changeover period from diaphragm (mine is Flojet) to Whale so could be either.

IanH wrote:Just switch off the pump overnight, seems simple to me??? 
I assume the Broadway has a pump switch?

Thanks, seems the logical solution

IF you do have a diaphragm pump it will be an air leak in the pump or plumbing so does need investigating - If a Whale do as Ian suggests.

Peter Brown wrote:2013 was during a changeover period from diaphragm (mine is Flojet) to Whale so could be either.

My 2012 was a Whale submersible.

I have a Kingham 2021 with this problem the pumps starts/stops when I am trying to sleep. If I don't find any leaks I assume the Surflo pump will cure the problem but where is the whale pump and how do I swap it for the Surflo ?

The whale pump is in the fresh water tank and can be left there when Shurflo is fitted. If you search for Shurflo in the search box you will find several threads on this, there are also instructions in the factsheets section.

If you have joined ASOC they have a worksheet giving details.

Your pump will be a submersible in the tank. There are instructions on how to convert in the Factsheets section (home page about halfway down).

Thanks just looked at them, I get the gist and suspect my Kingham isn't far different just a case of locating everything.

Unexplained water pump activation cane be cause by unseen water leaks but I suspect most are cause by backflow through a leaking valve as the pump ages. I like several ASOF members have fitted a water accumulator, in our Duetto and more recently in our Kemerton XL, it reduces the number of times the pump spontaneously comes on, which at night can be a nuisance otherwise.

If you have not seen these before, these accumulators consist of a small expansion chamber which acts like a pressurised water reservoir, small reductions on the pressurised side are compensated for by the accumulator until the accumulator can no longer offer support, which is when the the pump kicks back in to boost the pressure back up, and recharges too the water in the accumulator..

The Whale Surge Damper WS1725
https://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/whale-ws7215-surge-damper/p15798

The Fiamma A20 Expansion Tank
https://www.fiammaonline.com/fiamma-a20-expansion-tank/#02478-01-

There are other manufacturers also make similar water accumulators.

I still maintain that the primary purpose of an accumulator is to smooth the flow from a diaphragm pump.  For example, my last caravan had both.  However, my experience with the Shurflo fitted to a Nuevo, is that an accumulator is not required, either to smooth the water flow or to stop the pump coming on during the night.  If an accumulator reduces the sensitivity of the pressure switch so that a pump doesn't come on during the night, one wonders why it isn't recommended as a fit with the Whale submersible system which is so prone to this problem.