Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire RV water pump question

Hey you RV electricians...when an on-demand pump is on but no water is running, is it using electricity other than an occasional pump to maintain pressure? Does it run down the battery to leave the pump on at night or when you're gone fishing?

I got another one for electricians. Lets say that you have an extension cord that is plugged in and there is electricity available at the female plug, but nothing plugged in to it. There will be no electricity lost out of the plug, but it is there, but when you unplug the cord all the electricity is gone, or leaks out or whatever it does. Why not put a female plug on both ends and keep the juice in the cord? miles

Seriously, though, when no water is running, the pump is holding pressure without the use of a pressure tank. Does it need juice to hold it or does it rely on the check valve?

I can't say for sure, but my impression is it operates with a check valve and pressure switch. I work under the assumption that the only juice it uses is the lighted switch and any quick cycles it runs if pressure leaks down. That being said, I almost always turn mine off at night or when I leave the camper. A broken pipe or leaky faucet could run your tank and battery dry, burn the pump up, and possibly flood the camper.

No where near an electrician, but the above is why I turn mine off.

No, it doesn't use juice while at rest.

Like K said, the pump runs on battery. Plugging a cord into the RV maintains the battery. There are a couple things that could run down a battery without you knowing it. Those LED lights, mine has a gas detector that is activated by battery. Most of the lights are on battery. The water pump maintains pressure, no pressure loss, no run.

An extension cord that is only plugged in on the male end does nothing. To use electricity, it must complete the circuit.

But what about those cords that have the little light in the female end?

Are they just an attempt by the electric companys to get a few pennies out of us when we aren't using the cord?

Those cords are the electrical equivalent of a faucet with a slow drip - easy enough to fix (unplug the male end), but not enough of an issue to bother with.

My average elk hunt doesn't have 45 miles of extension cord figured into the plans.

I once heard tell of a guy with a winch cable that long on his truck. He probably has an extension cord to match.

For almost all RV setups, the above will be the case (although my old RV does not have a check valve beyond the pump). And, K1500 gives a good caution about turn-off.

Miles - the juice is still in the cord after you unplug it, but you no longer have the driver thingy to push it out - I think that pushing part is in the receptacle and usually is purple. Then again, are you sure that you don't have gender confusion problem? That might cause leaks.

So can you blow into the female end to force it out? I wouldn't be caught dead blowing on the male end.

Just keep in mind those little driver thingy's can be pried out with uninsulated screw drivers.

A nice 100W solar panel will cure all your problems.

If the pump is a "regular" rv water pump then it won't use any power while in "stand by" until the water pressure drops to the point that the pump turns on.

If the pump is the newer variable speed aquajet type then its electronics will draw some current (a few mA) while in "stand by".

When we were kids, me and Wilburn shot out a section of hiline wire by by firing our 22's simultaneously 50 feet apart.

We used that captured 'lectricity to start campfires with all winter.

We was gonna go back and touch the ends back together next Fall to charge it back up, but the 'lectric company had fixed it.

Gene, maybe you could 'splain to Miles how to unleash that juice stored in the wire.

I don't think that is my problem with the leaks, I think it is old age. I'll take a look for that purple thingy. miles