Just wondering if anyone has tried this product yet? Thinking it may help get rid of the water pump pulsing at low water flows.
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LOL, I just saw Jeremy Gillis talk about this on YouTube. Seems like a cool idea but I'll wait for it to be tried and tested and get more real world reviews. So far most reviews are on their website or sparse. When they start going through Amazon we will see more.
When I saw this I thought, doesn't a 25 dollar air accumulator tank installed in the RV's plumbing do the very same thing in a passive way? It's an air tank with no moving parts.
Your RV can be fitted with an air accumulator tank with just unscrewing a fitting in the cold water system anywhere in the camper and inserting the tank with a couple of short hoses. Here's one for example.
We've had the variable speed pumps, sometimes called the 'slow start' and didn't like them. We went back to the instant on type which are the cheapest design. Everybody has a different preference.
I'm no expert but I'm not sure I fully agree with all the claims (watched the how it works video). I don't think electric motors delta efficiency is similar to an automotive engine going back and forth between idle to full peddle ... I would not expect the dry camping electrical power consumption to change much if at all. And I don't agree with the pressure accumulator comments. Sure the plumbing pressure will still cycle but not rapidly (like having no accumulator). The noise issue, I agree with them on that one. However, I pretty much solved that one by:
1) Finding the places that the pipes were pounding on other things and wrapping them with pipe insulation... an almost free solution. Made a huge difference.
2) Replacing the OEM pump with a better one (not a free solution). I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much more quiet the new pump is.
3) Adding a pressure accumulator (not a free solution). This doesn't make it quieter, but is does radically reduce the run time.
In the end, I still hear the pump, but to me it is pretty quiet and I find it better than acceptable ... no need for more gizmos. 
Watching Amazon is a good idea.
Here is what I'm trying to get rid of:
- Pump cycling when we turn the water on low. This mostly happens with the kitchen sink faucet. Would the accumulator tank fix this issue?
- Rattling of pipes below the shower pan. (I think the pipe insulation would fix this)
- Loud water pump sound in general.
@Scott V posted:Watching Amazon is a good idea.
Here is what I'm trying to get rid of:
- Pump cycling when we turn the water on low. This mostly happens with the kitchen sink faucet. Would the accumulator tank fix this issue?
- Rattling of pipes below the shower pan. (I think the pipe insulation would fix this)
- Loud water pump sound in general.
1: Yes the pump will still cycle but full speed then off for a bit. The water stream will be nice and smooth instead of pulsing when at low flow.
2: Probably. Some spots are hard to reach.
3: The OEM pump is just plain noisy. I waited until my seemed like it was misbehaving. It only took a very minor excuse though.
@_Steve posted:1: Yes the pump will still cycle but full speed then off for a bit. The water stream will be nice and smooth instead of pulsing when at low flow.
2: Probably. Some spots are hard to reach.
3: The OEM pump is just plain noisy. I waited until my seemed like it was misbehaving. It only took a very minor excuse though.
Do you recall the model number of pump you replaced yours with?
I forgot #4: Every so often the pump will come on for like half a second and then shut back off. I've checked for leaks but can't find any. The fix for now is just turning off the water pump when we aren't using any water.
@Scott V posted:Do you recall the model number of pump you replaced yours with?
I forgot #4: Every so often the pump will come on for like half a second and then shut back off. I've checked for leaks but can't find any. The fix for now is just turning off the water pump when we aren't using any water.
Stand by a bit I'll get the number for you.
#4... Yep. That was my pump replacement excuse I'm not sure, but I think it may be a valve in the pump leaking...pressure bleeds down very slowly over time the pump cycles to bring it back up. I never tested that theory but the issue went away with the new pump.
@Scott V posted:Do you recall the model number of pump you replaced yours with?
Here is the pump I installed...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...le?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@_Steve posted:Here is the pump I installed...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...le?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Aaaaand now I have an excuse! Thanks!
@_Steve posted:Here is the pump I installed...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...le?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I ordered this pump and installed it today. What a difference! Much quieter and though it will still cycle, you have to get the faucet down to a dribble before that starts happening. Much quieter also. Add in an unlimited duty cycle and we have a winner. Thanks much for the suggestion!
@Scott V posted:I ordered this pump and installed it today. What a difference! Much quieter and though it will still cycle, you have to get the faucet down to a dribble before that starts happening. Much quieter also. Add in an unlimited duty cycle and we have a winner. Thanks much for the suggestion!
Glad that worked out for you. 
I'll be curious if the #4 occasional 1 sec cycle has stopped for you too.
I'm going to spend some more time in the trailer tomorrow. I'll leave the pump on and see if that cured it. If not, maybe I've got a leaky water heater check valve. I recall reading about that on another forum. Or maybe here. Dunno. I research a lot,
@Scott V posted:maybe I've got a leaky water heater check valve.
Another sneaky leak that can make your water pump burp every hour or so is a leaking check-valve in the city-water hose connection on the outside of the rig.
It might only drip a few drops over time but if you are in a very dry climate, it may evaporate before you can notice it.
The quick fix for that, rather than changing out the whole valve/connector, is screwing in a plastic water hose fitting 'plug' to form a physical barrier to keep it from dripping on the ground. Not a bad idea anyway to keep dirt out of your system when not connected to city water.
@Scott V posted:Just wondering if anyone has tried this product yet? Thinking it may help get rid of the water pump pulsing at low water flows.
@_Steve posted:Here is the pump I installed...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...le?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm interested in the IRVWPC controllers after replacing our pump with the one linked above just yesterday. It is quieter and performed like the new OE Shureflow did. I could stop the flickering by adding a solenoid near the pump wih properly sized wire since my batteries ar a few feet from the pump but the added features are important too.
The aging OE Sureflow pump would lose pressure on withonger run periods. When new it would its current draw would make the lights flicker and that symptom had stopped too.
@Scott V posted:Do you recall the model number of pump you replaced yours with?
I forgot #4: Every so often the pump will come on for like half a second and then shut back off. I've checked for leaks but can't find any. The fix for now is just turning off the water pump when we aren't using any water.
Our 5/2018 build date TT has washers in the vanity faucet. I foud the same symptom would stop when I tightened the cold water valve on the faucet. I don't think the new pump will be different but time will tell.
@Doug, aka Atchafalaya Man posted:Another sneaky leak that can make your water pump burp every hour or so is a leaking check-valve in the city-water hose connection on the outside of the rig.
It might only drip a few drops over time but if you are in a very dry climate, it may evaporate before you can notice it.
The quick fix for that, rather than changing out the whole valve/connector, is screwing in a plastic water hose fitting 'plug' to form a physical barrier to keep it from dripping on the ground. Not a bad idea anyway to keep dirt out of your system when not connected to city water.
I'll check that out. I do, in fact, live in a dry climate so I would not notice any drips. I'll remove the dust cover and see if it's wet.
I got around to sanitize my water tank yesterday, and turned on the pump, as I installed the water pressure regulator a couple of weeks ago.
I had left taps open for winter, and when I turned on the pump, water from galley sink and shower. Luckily I had some towels to wipe up!
I was pleased that the pump was so quiet, and no longer had water hammer. I could run the tap at low pressure, and no longer the pump surging. I have only configured the pump to recognize the hot water tank, as they default to tankless water heaters. I may do some more configuring.
I was going to originally install an accumulator tank, but happy that I bought this pressure controller.
On our 1995, difficult to get to wiring at back of pump, so removed the 4 screws holding it onto a mounting board.
Programming is via dip switches and a round dial. After I re-install the heater duct, I will use velcro to fasten to a surface.
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I installed one of these the other day. Got the camper out of winter storage and installed it prior to sanitizing the system. Here's my findings and notes:
- It was a PITA to install. But only because of where my water pump was located and how tight it was for space. Other than the tight area and interference, installation was a breeze and they provided everything needed except for tools.
- Be sure to have a magnifying glass around to see the tiny dip switches and to set them properly. I may or may not have had to use one... 🙄
- Be sure to set it for a tankless or tank water heater based on your rig. The overall programming is a bit of a pain and you have to follow the steps carefully, but there are YouTube videos to help as well as instructions. I found the videos most helpful.
- I was going to install an accumulator tank with silencing kit, but after researching this, I decided to try it. Ultimately, it isn't that much more money than an accumulator tank and a silencing kit, and I liked the idea of some of the other features it provided such as the timers to prevent the pump from running too long (in the event of a leak), run dry prevention, and over cycling.
- It makes a HUGE difference on sound. It will not make your pump dead silent, but it prevents the water hammer, the pulsing, and most of the cycling. It really did make a huge difference. I was impressed, and that ain't easy.
- It did not stop the cycling completely. The pump still cycles when a faucet is on a very low trickle, but it is less often and less noticeable.
- I did not purchase this for any energy savings. Jared Gillis claimed that it saved about 0.5 amps so that may interest you, but I did not buy and install for power savings.
- It's a simple piece of technology and technology is great until it fails. But if I needed to remove it from the system in the middle of a trip I could do so fairly easy with minimal tools.
- I haven't used it for very long, but for me I'd call this a winner for the results in performance, price, and time to install. But long term will tell more of the story.
@Doug, aka Atchafalaya Man posted:When I saw this I thought, doesn't a 25 dollar air accumulator tank installed in the RV's plumbing do the very same thing in a passive way? It's an air tank with no moving parts.
Your RV can be fitted with an air accumulator tank with just unscrewing a fitting in the cold water system anywhere in the camper and inserting the tank with a couple of short hoses. Here's one for example.
We've had the variable speed pumps, sometimes called the 'slow start' and didn't like them. We went back to the instant on type which are the cheapest design. Everybody has a different preference.
We installed our accumulator tank last year primarily to reduce the pulsating in our 2375. The accumulator tank at least last camping season eliminated the pulsating we used to have which was a good thing. Somewhere I had seen this unit demonstrated, and it has a lot of nice features. I would be interested in those like TwigPig who have already installed it, if the features of this unit continue to work well for them.
Thanks for bringing this unit up for discussion.
Mark
@TwigPig posted:I installed one of these the other day. Got the camper out of winter storage and installed it prior to sanitizing the system. Here's my findings and notes:
- It was a PITA to install. But only because of where my water pump was located and how tight it was for space. Other than the tight area and interference, installation was a breeze and they provided everything needed except for tools.
- Be sure to have a magnifying glass around to see the tiny dip switches and to set them properly. I may or may not have had to use one... 🙄
- Be sure to set it for a tankless or tank water heater based on your rig. The overall programming is a bit of a pain and you have to follow the steps carefully, but there are YouTube videos to help as well as instructions. I found the videos most helpful.
- I was going to install an accumulator tank with silencing kit, but after researching this, I decided to try it. Ultimately, it isn't that much more money than an accumulator tank and a silencing kit, and I liked the idea of some of the other features it provided such as the timers to prevent the pump from running too long (in the event of a leak), run dry prevention, and over cycling.
- It makes a HUGE difference on sound. It will not make your pump dead silent, but it prevents the water hammer, the pulsing, and most of the cycling. It really did make a huge difference. I was impressed, and that ain't easy.
- It did not stop the cycling completely. The pump still cycles when a faucet is on a very low trickle, but it is less often and less noticeable.
- I did not purchase this for any energy savings. Jared Gillis claimed that it saved about 0.5 amps so that may interest you, but I did not buy and install for power savings.
- It's a simple piece of technology and technology is great until it fails. But if I needed to remove it from the system in the middle of a trip I could do so fairly easy with minimal tools.
- I haven't used it for very long, but for me I'd call this a winner for the results in performance, price, and time to install. But long term will tell more of the story.
I just installed one also - and I agree with everything stated. It is nice to have a quiet water system, no matter what the flow setting is - really happy with this. We have a 1885 and pump was on the wall under the sink - PIA to get to - I moved it up front and floor mounted it - much easier access now and didn't lose too much storage space.
I've just installed the IRVWPC, and I'm pretty happy. It was really easy to install. The package includes all the water connections you're likely to want, and they install almost tool-free. The electrical connections can be done with crimped connectors, or with Wago connectors. I did have one problem, and it wasn't with the IRVWPC, but with the pump. For some reason, the pumps pressure switch as set very low, to the point that the adjustment screw had jumped out of the threads. It took me several turns of not getting any change before I realized I had to push it in to get it to engage the threads. After that a bit of tweaking the pump switch pressure and the controller pressure setting. I may eventually go back and reset everything with a pressure gauge, rather than blindly adjusting till it works.
My only complaint is that there isn't a fault code list in the manual. After I connected everything it still pulsed. It was a while before I saw that the fault was pulsing 7 times then pausing, then starting again. If there was a fault code list I would have saved a bit of time. But it wasn't too hard to figure out that the original pump switch was cutting out long before the controller could do anything.
Noise before was pulsing 40 to about 43, measured with phone app. Steady 38 after, with a background not much lower than that. That is measured at gut level standing at the sink.
After installation (but before tidying up wires).
It's noticeably quieter, and it works smoothly from low flow to high flow. I expect it will also take care of the hot-cold-hot-cold pulsing in the shower. Note that I also tilted the pump slightly to get the inlet hose to stop touching the wall to the left. That might have had a small effect on the noise.
I can try to upload the video files, but not tonight.
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Glad you like it. You might want to email Terry at irvwpc to make a suggestion for an addendum for fault codes. He was helpful to me with setup.