# Pump switch -do you leave it on??



## Pollydoodle (Aug 18, 2005)

When we picked up our new (to us) van, it was suggested that we leave the water pump switched off unless we were going to use it.
In our previous vans we only ever did that if we were going out and then only if we remembered! Never had any problems.

It seems a bit pointless to switch off when it is in use most of the time in one way or another.

_So_ in yet another period of insomnia  I got to wondering what other folks did


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

We leave ours on except sometimes at night we turn it off because of the brightness of the LED on the switch.

We try to remember to switch it off enroute (my habitation electrics are not switched off with the engine running) as one time we arrived at a site to find the pump running perhaps it had been running for the previous 3 hours


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

As long as we are using the MH it is left on, when on the drive and I empty the water, we then of course switch it off.


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

I leave it on whilst we are in but try and remember to turn it off if we go out or whilst we are asleep 'just in case.'

I don't see any point in turning it off whilst you are in the van.

JohnW


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Just in case we try to remember to turn it off when we go out.not always successful though. :lol: :lol: 

cabby


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

ours has a tendency to do a bit of a catch up with the pressure at times, and this can be a nuisance at night, so we turn it off.

We also leave it off when the van is standing on the drive - especially in the winter. If it's on and the temperature drops too low, the boiler will dump its water, and if the pump is on, the pump will empty the tank! (and will continue to work, possibly causing damage to the pump).


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Pump*

I leave my pump on all the time. Never had any problems, touch wood.

Russell


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## Noel (May 1, 2005)

Always turn it off when not in the van and when asleep as the noise of the pump running after cavitation is annoying!


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

an afterthought

If your pump regularly runs when no water is being taken (other than once in a blue moon) it implies a small leak, especially if you have an accumulator (expansion chamber) that keeps the pressure up. This could be a tap in which case no probs but even a small leak hidden away can cause untold harm. So leaving your pump energised will at least give you early warning of a leak.


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

We usually turn ours off if leaving the van


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

I am also in favor of leaving on if in the van and switching off if out. Most vans now have the pressurized system so if you have a pipe burst or loose connection the pump will start and empty the contents of your tank inside the van. Unlikely - yes, but it could happen 8O 


Trevor


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## Chascass (May 10, 2007)

I leave it on if on EHU, but off if on Battery, every little helps.

Charlie


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## strod (Sep 2, 2007)

Given its a pressurized system, any demand for water will cause the pump to run - including a leak or detached/loose hose. Therefore, I leave pump on if in van, turn it off if going out of the van for any extended period (and also at night unless required due to brightness of the switch light).


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

On some vans and if fitted with a Truma frost safety valve, this could dump your water from the boiler in cold weather and your pump continue to try to refill the boiler by pumping water through the system until running dry and destroying itself.


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## CaGreg (Mar 28, 2007)

We turn ours off when leaving the van, or sitting around and at night. This is to save a bit of power, we only have a 68AH battery, and mostly wildcamp, so we need to be miserly with it. 

Of course we sometimes forget when leaving the van during the day time. Never run the battery down yet though.

Ca


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## nipperdin (Oct 28, 2007)

*Pump switch-do you leave it on?*

We turn ours off, if we remember, when leaving the van.
Many is the time that we have walked back just to make sure.
Our previous van had a red pilot light showing when the pump was on, so it was easy to check by looking through the window.

We turn it off because one day on a campsite we went across to the laundry. We came back within 10 minutes to hear the sound of the pump working and to find a flooded toilet.
What had happened was that as we had taken the packet of washing powder out of the sink cupboard we had inadvertently knocked a water pipe and it had pulled off.
The pressure pump just kept working away and we were very fortunate that we had got back before the tank had run dry.


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## helvic (Dec 15, 2007)

ob1 said:


> On some vans and if fitted with a Truma frost safety valve, this could dump your water from the boiler in cold weather and your pump continue to try to refill the boiler by pumping water through the system until running dry and destroying itself.


hi our van is fitted with a truma frost stat when it operates it dumps the water out of the boiler only, the boiler only fills when the hot tap is opened, also when the tank is empty the pump automatically cuts out we cannot turn our pump off unless the 12v is turned off or the pump is unplugged

steve


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