Shurflo pump help

[Onetruecharlatan]

First time here, so a big Hello! to everyone.

I've been using the following since purchased new from GAPS in early 2006. I have a Shurflo pump, 8000-543-138 with a Varistream Digital controller.

Until recently, they have performed well, but the pump is now quite literally "pissing" water out from the head. I'd guess it's leaking approx 15 litres over the course of a 6 hour day. Looks bad inside the van, starting to smell "musty" too. Having had the head off and inspected the parts, I can honestly say that I couldn't see any "obvious" failure, so here are my question(s);

What's the likely cause, diaphragm or valve assembly? Or something other that those two?

I did the screws up tight, and none of them were loose when I undid them, so I think I can rule that out.

The pressure switch has never been used due to having the Varistream, so I guess that isn't to blame either.

There isn't a part number listed for a replacement diaphragm, so if it's that to blame, (how would I know if it is btw?), where do I get one from? Would a new valve assembly have one as part of the kit, (94-390-05)? Cheapest I've seen these for is £27 inc. If I can fix the old pump I'd rather do this obviously. Failing that, are the 8000-946-138 at least as good as my current, (not so good), pump?

Sorry for the "saga". Thanks in advance for any and all help.

otc

 

[spruce]

Hi,

Truthfully I would recommend you replace the pump and then try to find out why its leaking. At least you can still get a couple more days out of it before the replacement arrives. Its done well for 11 years old.

However, It could be that the diaphragm has been pushed out of position, maybe with it icing up or there is a hairline fracture that you can't see.

They aren't complicated to take apart as long as you are very careful as there is a tiny hair spring inside which is easily lost.

But at that age I would say that you are probably going to find something else fails after you have spent just under 1/2 the cost of a new pump on a part.

The current pump we are using is the 8000-946-138 and I have one of those on the van that is over 10 years old. The second one is nearly 13 years old and its an 8000-441-138. In the days before Williamson pumps brought out the Varistream, they suggested this pump as it pumped 3.8 lpm of water rather than the 5.2lpm the 946 delivers. They appear to be the identical pumps with a slightly different cam.

Pumps

These are the main pumps we use. Some have different ports (male and female) and different thread sizes.

In the days before minibore and microbore hose we used pumps that were 65psi rather than 100psi that they are today. I'm pretty sure they were the same pump but just with a different setting on the pressure switch adjusting screw. I don't know what the part number of that pump was as it was included with a trolley I sold some 12 years ago.

If you look at the parts schematic you will see the diaphragm is No6 and not sold separately - NA. If you look closely its included as part of an assembly of some other parts - No10. The pump head is sold in separate parts and if you have to buy one of those as well you aren't far off the price of a new pump.

Daqua and Purefreedom sell them at around £75.00

Keep that one for spares. 5 years ago we were three cleaners so ordered a spare pump just in case one failed. Its still in the cupboard.

I'm a great one for trying to fix something. I can't get to grips with the throw away society marketing companies are moulding us into.

In 2003 we bought a new Bosch washing machine. I've had to replace brushes in the motor a couple of times over the years as the Bosch ones are very soft - both good and bad. Good because the commutator doesn't wear but bad because they are a pain to change. The motors front bearing failed recently. As no one had a press to remove the belt pulley the choice was a new motor or new washing machine. New Bosch washing machine on offer £365, new motor £250 but could order a non genuine (it was identical) motor for £129.00. I chose the new motor. 2 weeks later the drain pump motor failed. So maybe I should have replaced the whole washing machine. /emoticons/sad.png

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[Onetruecharlatan]

Thanks for the info Spruce. Much obliged.

I'm both "old" and old skool too and love to take things apart, even if Iend up with a few "spare" nuts, bolts, washers etc afterwards. Weight saving is always good though, right? /emoticons/wink.png

I was pretty much set on repair but as you can no longer get the diaphragm as a standalone item, it makes more sense to purchase new and have done with it. I guess the chinese nasties on ebay aren't worth their weight in yen? Looks like the 8000-946-138 is the one and at £66 inc, it seems pretty reasonable.

Whilst I'm here, I'm also looking at replacing the battery, (again). Currently using a 110ah MF leisure. Ever used anything "bigger" yourself? I'm toying with between 180 - 200ah as a replacement of a reputable manufacture, although I've seen 2 x 110ah of nondescript leisure on ebay for approx half the cost of the bigger one I've been looking at. I'm just getting too old to lug 2 x 110's in and out of the house for charging. They seem to get heavier every day, bit like me

Thanks again, otc.

 

[paulben]

Stupid question are you sure its the pump leaking and not a connection .

When I had a dead pump and needed it in a hurry went to local caravan dealers and got a pump off the shelf pressure not as high but got me working again do we really need 100 psi .

 

[spruce]

Thanks for the info Spruce. Much obliged.
I'm both "old" and old skool too and love to take things apart, even if Iend up with a few "spare" nuts, bolts, washers etc afterwards. Weight saving is always good though, right? /emoticons/wink.png

I was pretty much set on repair but as you can no longer get the diaphragm as a standalone item, it makes more sense to purchase new and have done with it. I guess the chinese nasties on ebay aren't worth their weight in yen? Looks like the 8000-946-138 is the one and at £66 inc, it seems pretty reasonable.

Whilst I'm here, I'm also looking at replacing the battery, (again). Currently using a 110ah MF leisure. Ever used anything "bigger" yourself? I'm toying with between 180 - 200ah as a replacement of a reputable manufacture, although I've seen 2 x 110ah of nondescript leisure on ebay for approx half the cost of the bigger one I've been looking at. I'm just getting too old to lug 2 x 110's in and out of the house for charging. They seem to get heavier every day, bit like me

Thanks again, otc.

Some have got good use out of the Chinese pumps, some haven't.

I'm a great believer in buying the best you can afford. IMHO the Shurflo pump has done us proud over the years. This is one of our basic tools needed to work and earn. If it doesn't work we don't earn unless we revert back to trad. Our Shurflo pumps have been extremely reliable and that ticks all our boxes. At one time one of the major suppliers only sold Flojet pumps as they were better but were much more expensive.

In the early days before controllers, Shurflo's microswitch inside the top housing wasn't as robust as it could have been. DC current is very aggressive and the contact points burnt out if the pump cycled on and off. (We went through lots of them. They were about £20 each in those days. In fact the 3.8 lpm pump on the van was the catalyst to buy one of the first Varistreams. The pump still has a burnt out p/s inside it. There was a fix to run a cheap 12v 40a relay activated by the pressure switch but the Varistream was the answer as it was a flow controller and pressure switch in the same unit.)

Do we need 100psi? In the early days using 1/2" garden hose and 3mm jets in the brush head, 65psi was fine. We now use minibore hose. (When suppliers first started selling small bore hose, Shurflo wouldn't give a warranty on pumps used with it. (They classed pressure switches as a 'fair wear and tear' item so their failure was due to operate or application error.) So I opted for minibore and took on my own warranty risk. This was probably behind the reason why this supplier only sold Flojet as they did guarantee their pumps for smaller bore size. I also understand that the Flojet had a better microswitch in their pump head.)

I once put a pressure gauge on our delivery line and we were happy with a pressure of 55psi to do our normal residential work. But some prefer microbore hose and a faster flow rate. The old pumps set at 65psi weren't good enough for those peoples needs.

Batteries. The old hot potato. Only you know your circumstances. I'm fortunate in that I park my van on the drive and run an extension cable out from the garage and plug the charger in. I don't have to remove the battery for recharging. Its too heavy for me. My back's knackered.

We run a 2 man setup and use a 110 amp battery. That's fine but it gets charged overnight after every second working day in summer and every night in winter. I put the heater into the van anyway so only takes a few moments to plug the charger in as well.

Each Shurflo pump uses about 4.5 amps of current an hour. We estimate that during any residential working day our pumps run for 50% of the time. (Commercial 80%.) So if we work for 6 hours, our pumps have drawn 13.5 amps each - lets say 30 amps. If the battery was fully charged we have 80 amps left in it. The split charge relay will put a couple of amps back in when driving around and the return journey home. I'm sure as a single operator you can do your own calculations as to whether you need something bigger battery wise. (In winter I also use an Eberspacher Airtronic diesel air heater to warm the cab - I don't handle the cold like I used to these days - and that's run off the leisure battery as well.

We buy batteries from a local supplier so if need be we can return it if there is an issue. Its more expensive but how do you get a warranty claim if you purchased the battery over the internet? You also have to dispose of you old battery by taking it to the tip (sorry, recycling center) where we return the old old when buying a new one.

I have had 4 years from a 110a Numax on my van, 4 and 5 years on Numax 85amp on the single operator vans. But Numax will not give a warranty on any battery used for window cleaning. The current battery on my van is an Oldham 110amp and that is 2 1/2 years old. Many cleaners have bought batteries from Halfords and have had any faulty ones replaced without issue. This is important IMO even although I have never had a warranty issue.

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[Onetruecharlatan]

Thx for the info Paul, but all the connections were changed to new brass fittings not long ago. Checked they were not at fault of course. Seems the old girl has finally hung up her "sneakers", (pumps, sneakers, geddit? /emoticons/wink.png ).

otc