Water pressure Issue

[javelin]

I checked my water pump filter and it is a Shurflo from Amazon not a Camco unit as I first thought. I installed a new Shurflo pump filter this Spring replacing the OEM after 7 years. It did turn opaque white during my de-Winterization process; so I think the small amount of pink in my fresh water tank had been drained/pumped out first before I changed the filter; then did the chlorine purification (did an overnight sit with my normal Spring chlorine bleach concentration mix in the coach and then flushed the chlorine mix out with fresh shore water). I have a spare Shurflo water pump filter unit so I will check this out and see what happens. "If" this spare unit turns opaque white then perhaps Shurflo needs to advise why this product is having issues? I will advise.

[ccarrier]

[QUOTE=javelin;190782]Hi, well you may be right that the pink Winter plumbing antifreeze may also be the reason some clear plastic water filter covers go opaque white. I think we should experiment with a new cheap water filter and see which it is.....perhaps its even a combination reaction between the pink and chlorine and the cheap plastic filter cover. I think I have a spare Amazon Camco water pump filter unit somewhere, so when I get a chance I will try each liquid and see what happens.


Well I put pink winter plumbing last fall, but I didn't put any chlorine this spring (except for the one contained in regular water). So it is probably the pink winter plumbing.

[javelin]

Interesting that you used the normal pink antifreeze over Winter and normal city chlorinated water flush in Spring and you had the plastic cap go opaque white. Did you notice the color change shortly after doing the pink install last Fall?



I sent an inquiry to the maker of the Shurflo 255-313 water pump filter asking for feedback on why the plastic cap of their filter changes from clear to opaque white on RV's. I will share what they say....if I hear back.

[D and C Kincaid]

Originally Posted by javelin

Interesting that you used the normal pink antifreeze over Winter and normal city chlorinated water flush in Spring and you had the plastic cap go opaque white. Did you notice the color change shortly after doing the pink install last Fall?



I sent an inquiry to the maker of the Shurflo 255-313 water pump filter asking for feedback on why the plastic cap of their filter changes from clear to opaque white on RV's. I will share what they say....if I hear back.

Javelin, would be very interested in hearing if Shurflo responds. That is the filter that I use. As to the timeline, I always start the fall with a clear dome, start winterizing in October or there abouts, and as we winterize and de-winterize over the winter months (based on travels) the dome becomes more and more cloudy. We don't usually use fresh tank water during those months, so I don't bother with changing it. When I do the spring chlorination the dome has already become very opaque. I have never noticed a worsening during or after the spring chlorination. Of course as mentioned it is quite opaque by then, so I probably wouldn't be able to see any worsening. I change it after that, because after that time, we do use the fresh water tank a certain amount. The dome stays totally clear until we winterize again.

[ccarrier]

Originally Posted by D and C Kincaid

Javelin, would be very interested in hearing if Shurflo responds. That is the filter that I use. As to the timeline, I always start the fall with a clear dome, start winterizing in October or there abouts, and as we winterize and de-winterize over the winter months (based on travels) the dome becomes more and more cloudy. We don't usually use fresh tank water during those months, so I don't bother with changing it. When I do the spring chlorination the dome has already become very opaque. I have never noticed a worsening during or after the spring chlorination. Of course as mentioned it is quite opaque by then, so I probably wouldn't be able to see any worsening. I change it after that, because after that time, we do use the fresh water tank a certain amount. The dome stays totally clear until we winterize again.

Question : why do you change it altogether ? Isn't it only the little metal screen that plays a role in filtering ? Unless the only reason you change it is to see what's inside. I unscrew it on regular basis, check it an screw it back. As long as the rubber seal is good and the metal screen too, I don't see any reason to change it. Am I missing something ? (I'm relatively new to RV. My second season)

[D and C Kincaid]

Originally Posted by ccarrier

Question : why do you change it altogether ? Isn't it only the little metal screen that plays a role in filtering ? Unless the only reason you change it is to see what's inside. I unscrew it on regular basis, check it an screw it back. As long as the rubber seal is good and the metal screen too, I don't see any reason to change it. Am I missing something ? (I'm relatively new to RV. My second season)

ccarrier, I will admit to this being a preference for me, but the reasons it is a preference are: in our first travel trailer, the owners manual instructed to change the whole filter assembly on an annual basis, as the screen and case are an excellent area for the growth of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Given that on one subsequent RV, I actually found stuff growing in the filter and casing, I believe that Jayco was correct in giving that information. Given that the plastic casing is black (attracts more heat), and given that it is a fairly low grade plastic, I am sure that there is a lot of surface area where yuck would be encouraged to grow. (OK the old nurse in me again.) Yes, that is what the annual chlorinating of the tank and hoses should decrease the risk of, but I figure for $10.00 a year, (amazon price for my filter assembly) if I can decrease the risk of stuff growing in my system, I am all for it. And yes, I do really like to be able to see into that area to figure out without breaking the system an extra time, whether or not I have a clog in my filter. (or heaven forbid - do I have something green in there?!?!?)

[javelin]

So far no response to my inquiry about the clear plastic turning opaque white, from Pentair, who I believe is the manufacturer of the Shurflo 255-313 water pump filter unit.......... typically available on line via Amazon and others. Refer to pictures attached:


Since yesterday I took a brand new (spare) Shurflo 255-313 filter and removed the clear screw cap with integral metal filter screen to do some basic testing. Yesterday evening I poured RV pink antifreeze into the clear cap up to the rubber seal and left it at room temperature over night until this morning.......result: no dis-colorization and no change to clarity of the clear plastic filter cap.
Next test was to try my usual RV Spring water sanitization bleach (the standard Clorox household stuff). Typical RV Spring cleaning (after Winter storage) of RV water line pipes suggests using 1/4 cup bleach for every 15 Gal (US) of water for proper sanitization of over wintered water lines. I normally use 1 cup bleach for my 50 gal (US) fresh water tank + 6 gal hot water tank. It is properly diluted and mixed in the fresh water tank before being pumped through the pex pipe system to ensure no straight from the bottle bleach reaches any part of the pipes or tanks or rubber seals. To try to simulate this concentration of bleach for the filter test, I used 1 gal(US) of city tap water and added 1 teaspoon of clorox bleach into the water and mixed. I then poured the pink antifreeze out of the filter cap and washed the cap out completely.....then refilled the filter cap with the diluted clorox mix, up to but below the rubber cap seal. That was at 10AM this morning and by 1PM the clear plastic was already clouded white from discolorization. I poured out the bleach so that I would stop the process and salvage the cap somewhat.
So it seems that the OEM filter cap I have used for 7 years which never discolored from my same Spring bleach sanitization process and was replaced this Spring with the Shurflo 255-313, which is sensitive to the Spring sanitization bleach process. Usually RV sanitization suggests doing a minimum 4 hours with the bleach mix in the system.....in 3 hours I had significant white discolorization and this Spring I left my coach overnight. Now the question is will Shurflo respond and replace the caps at least......and make changes to their product ASAP? The next question is can the discolored caps be restored to clear once bleached? I don’t know......yet, but I suspect not.

I don't think this discolorization prevents the filter from doing its job, but as stated in previous posts the clear lens allows the owner to visually check for contaminants in the filter. If you can't see through the lens......do you wait for water pressure to drop off or just check the filter more often.

[javelin]

One more interesting update......since the discolored bleach test cap picture was taken...... over an hour or more later.......left the cap open to air.......it is now clear again. Bleach open to air does dissipate......so, will a totally opaque filter cap (long term discolored) clear again if left open to air for a few hours? I know if you leave it sealed it will not clear no matter how much fresh city FWT water flows through it. I suppose the next thing for me is swap caps on my coach and see if the opaque cap clears eventually also. The other question is..... the person from Quebec said they did not use the sanitization bleach concentration on their coach in Spring and still have a discolored cap. Hmmmm.......time for a coffee.

[javelin]

An update on my Shurflo water pump filter testing. Still no repsonse to my email from the Shurflo parent company but in fairness its only day 2. I did swap the caps on my coach mounted water pump filter yesterday....so the new one which cleared up on its own after clouding up from the chlorine 3 hr test is now in service and the old one which suffered my 2019 Spring sanitization chlorine treatment for 7 hours+ was removed and left in open air over night. No change in the opaque lens....it is still opaque white. This morning I poured typical first aid concentration hydrogen peroxide into the still cloudy lens and after several more hours......no change. So I suspect this lens will now be used every Spring for my plumbing sanitization process (as long as the seal holds out) and then I will swap it out for a clear cap once the normal chlorine city water replaces all higher concentration chlorine sanitization water. The filters are cheap enough.....and still work with cloudy lens.....but you would think a company like Shureflo would know that any RVer who must Winterize and Springize would use stronger chlorine for at least 4 hours and design a lens accordingly. If anything changes I will update.

[echoproof]

I found a lot of plastic debris (sawdust) in my tank. It clogged the filter on my water pump 3 times...after I flushed the tank with the main valve 3 times!

Check the filter on the pump. That kept my pressure high.

2021 Thor 22FE