# Water Pump Cycling



## betegreene (Aug 25, 2009)

I decided to practice dry camping this weekend and all went well with the exception of the water pump.
It worked but I have 2 issues with it:

1) it cycles on and off madly when I have a faucet open at a medium flow. When the larger bathtub faucet is open full bore, the pump stays on.
It is on for 1/3 of a second, off for 1/3 of a second.
If I move the hot water bypass to eliminate the hot water heater, it jumps to cycling very, very quickly something like 1/10th of a second!
I've tried adjusting the pressure screw but did not hear any change.
Any thoughts on this?

2) Man is it noisy! I'll be re mounting it, isolating hoses, insulating the space, and trying to use it as little as possible.

Thanks


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The main reason for short cycle is a pinched or partially blocked line. If it does not short cycle when a valve is 100% open then it is not normally considered an issue. Once you make the pump quite by installing a isolation loop in the pump inlet and out let you will not care too much about the short cycle on a partially open valve which is normal.

Also if you install a accumulator it will also help correct your concern.


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Ours cycle like this but not as fast. Part of the problem is it's one of the more inexpensive pumps and there are better ones out there. Higher end ones are multi-staged and variable speed, so it runs only enough to give you the amount of water you demand. An accumulator tank, basically a small tank with an air bladder inside, will help even out the pressure and stop or slow down some of the cycling and can be bought for $40 from Menards, but you still have a noisy pump. Good luck.


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