JRehme
New Member
I have a Flotec jet pump that's maybe 7 years old that I'm using to pump water from a rain tank into an RV. It has started short cycling. The weird thing is that it doesn't happen when water is running -- then it runs full-out. But when the water isn't running at all, it short cycles, very fast. I can't understand the principle of what would cause that.
Now, confession time: I don't have a pressure tank in this system. It's running the water for an RV, and I replaced an RV pump with this one 7 years ago and didn't know that this kind of pump is supposed to run with a pressure tank. So, yes, I know the advice is to put in a pressure tank, and in fact I've got one on the way. But it's going to be a pretty big nuisance, because I don't have a great place to put it, so I'd much prefer not to install it. Plus, I don't see how the pressure tank would solve this problem, given that it's happening when no water is running. And -- the system worked fine for 7 years. Yes, there was a bit of short cycling when the water was running, but the water usage in the RV is so low that I wasn't too worried about it.
I already tried replacing the pressure switch, and that didn't change the behavior.
So, my questions are:
1. What would cause short cycling when no taps are open and no water is running?
2. Why do RV pumps not require a pressure tank when jet pumps do?
3. Is there any way of solving this problem without putting in a pressure tank?
Now, confession time: I don't have a pressure tank in this system. It's running the water for an RV, and I replaced an RV pump with this one 7 years ago and didn't know that this kind of pump is supposed to run with a pressure tank. So, yes, I know the advice is to put in a pressure tank, and in fact I've got one on the way. But it's going to be a pretty big nuisance, because I don't have a great place to put it, so I'd much prefer not to install it. Plus, I don't see how the pressure tank would solve this problem, given that it's happening when no water is running. And -- the system worked fine for 7 years. Yes, there was a bit of short cycling when the water was running, but the water usage in the RV is so low that I wasn't too worried about it.
I already tried replacing the pressure switch, and that didn't change the behavior.
So, my questions are:
1. What would cause short cycling when no taps are open and no water is running?
2. Why do RV pumps not require a pressure tank when jet pumps do?
3. Is there any way of solving this problem without putting in a pressure tank?