Newell Gurus

Our coach doesn't have a 120v water pump and I rarely hook up to city water.  Our normal mode of operation is to use the 12V pumps exclusively and to fill fresh tank when we empty the black tank.  This works well as most campgrounds we stay at we usually don't have a sewer connection.

Our coach has two 12v water pumps and that design was original to the coach as each pump has its own switch above the microwave.

The problem we had is that the two pumps with the coach when we bought it ( big Flojet models)  both went bad within a few months.  They were only rated at 45 psi and I couldn't get a Flojet with higher psi without sacrificing flow rate.  So I then bought two similar Shurflo pumps that had a high flow rates (>5gpm) and 60 psi.  They both failed in short time and I had one replaced under warranty.

In my next attempt I tried the Remco Aqaujet variable speed pumps.  After over a year and a half, and more than 12,000 gallons of water they are working great with no problems.  Actually most of that has all been on one pump as I only have one turned on.  Couldn't really see an improvement in flow rate or pressure with both of them on.

So this is a plug if you need a new 12v pump.  Another nice thing with this set up is it always works with any power source I'm using and doesn't use as much battery power as a 120v pump would when running off the batteries.  No pump selection management needed.

Good info! Thanks thanks.

I went through the Newell factory recently, they are installing SeaFlo pumps for the 12 VDC backup.  I didn't get to see any installed to see if they fed the high pressure 100psi pump from the low pressure 60 psi pump or how they were used. The primary pump is still the Headhunter.

I almost went with the Seaflo instead of the Remco, but the Remco's variable speed caught my eye.  They said it should NOT be used with a pressure tank but I left mine hooked up and it hasn't been a problem.  Probably more dependent on the setting of the pressure tank.  I had just put a new pressure tank in a few months before putting in the 2nd set of pumps and didn't want to undo my work.  When the tank is fully pressured it supplies enough water to fluch the toilet without the pump even turning on.

I can definitely tell the variable speed feature works as you can hear the low rpm when just a little water is running like the lav or fridge water, but when a valve is fulling open or two water supplies running at the same time it revs all the way up.

Nice post as it's always great to have options. Now that I got my elbows to quit leaking (yeah, it's probably a good idea to use the nice little rubber cone shaped washers that came with the elbows from Newell) we'll see what kind of life I get out of this pump. We boondock exclusively right now so a solid 12v setup sure uses less battery.

Thanks for thinking to post this.

Very useful post.

Very timely as my two year old Flo-jets are making skipping sounds when running. Very disappointing. Your coach is a few numbers away from mine. Thanks for the info!

Great info.....went through my pumps last year. Will keep this handy for the next time!

Thanks for this - hopefully a boat shop nearby (on the Gulf Coast) will have a Seaflow pump somewhere… Our HeadHunter is seemingly giving up the ghost… par for this trip so far…

I installed 2 Shurflo 3 gpm pumps 7 years ago. They have been adequate and trouble free. Typically there are only 2 occupants so water demand is quite conservative.

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