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Old 13-10-2018, 14:00   #1
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Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

So we have a Jabsco fresh water pump that as of late doesn’t want to turn off. There are no leaks in our plumbing. It’s one of the variable speed pumps. I tried removing the small accumulator tank but no change. The pump speeds up when water is demanded and slows down when water is turned off but it never quite stops altogether. Pump is about 2 years old and I’m thinking about just going back to a conventional pump unless someone here has some good suggestions
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Old 13-10-2018, 14:09   #2
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

Is it hot yet?
It'll turn off eventually.
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Old 13-10-2018, 14:53   #3
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

The check valve or one of the diaphragms is probably leaking if you are sure that you don't have any leaks farther up the system.

Do you have a filter between the water tank and the pump? If not then that is probably the reason for the problem.

Check this out.
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Old 13-10-2018, 16:19   #4
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

Yeah if I leave it running it gets hot enough and shuts down. Not really a solution as the pressure switch should be telling it to turn off.
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Old 13-10-2018, 16:30   #5
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

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Originally Posted by SV Demeter View Post
So we have a Jabsco fresh water pump that as of late doesn’t want to turn off. There are no leaks in our plumbing. It’s one of the variable speed pumps. I tried removing the small accumulator tank but no change. The pump speeds up when water is demanded and slows down when water is turned off but it never quite stops altogether. Pump is about 2 years old and I’m thinking about just going back to a conventional pump unless someone here has some good suggestions
I have the same problem. It won't turn off if power is below 12volts. If the fridge and freezer are running first thing in the morning before the solar kicks in it will keep ticking away. It draws 10amps which is enough to bring the voltage down as I have a long run. Lithium batteries will fix it. Or heavier cable. I have even considered a separate power feed with a relay to the pump motor so the controller doesn't get the voltage drop from the 10 amp draw. It will also cut out at 14.5v, not so good with Trojan batteries that charge at 14.8. Poor design for electronics to be so voltage sensitive.
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Old 13-10-2018, 17:50   #6
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

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Yeah if I leave it running it gets hot enough and shuts down. Not really a solution as the pressure switch should be telling it to turn off.

Not a solution at all, just saying what ours did before dying for good.
Replaced it with a relatively cheap in comparison vetus/maxwell with 3 year warranty and keep a spare on hand.
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Old 14-10-2018, 23:26   #7
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

If there is no leaking of water into the bilges, the pump should shut off. If it fails to do so, it is usually one of the non-return valves in the pump itself and water is just going in and out of the pump at high pressure--usually about 50 psi

I stripped and cleaned mine. There are two types of shut off--one is electronic and uses a piezo device to operate the shut-off, the other uses a micro-switch attached to a spring-supported diaphragm. The piezo type operate fine without an accumulator--the micro-switch types prefer to have one. Both are adjustable.

When you get it apart, clean the pump insides etc, check the bearings and valves for damage. They are not great quality. I replaced mine when they jammed solid--but they were noisy long before that. They just get louder as they wear. When I changed them, the pump just purred. I bought Japanese stainless steel pre-packed long-life bearings fully sealed. Why they did not use such bearings at the outset beats me. They cost me twenty five dollars as opposed to about four dollars fifty--I suppose that is the answer. The pump went on top last years--and I still have it because I switched the vessel to marina supply. The pumps are good quality--just the bearings were nothing great.
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Old 15-10-2018, 07:16   #8
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

I guess Im going to need to open up the pump head and try to clean it. There is a strainer on the inlet side and the problem is somewhat intermittent in that occasionally the pump will run when water is demanded then when the tap is shut off the pump slows down to just a tick tick tick then there will be one last brrrrppp and it shuts off. This was how the pump ran from new up till a few weeks ago. I tried removing the accumulator we had in the system as some have suggested they can cause issues with these variable speed pumps but this had no impact.
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Old 15-10-2018, 07:58   #9
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

Virtually all of the multi-diaphragm pumps are built to a price point (to be polite about it) and should are best considered considered disposable.

You have to buy two to keep one running, so they are actually twice as expensive as the price tag indicates, aside from the hassle factor of dealing with crap that just doesn't work for as long as it should.

There really are GOOD freshwater pumps out there. Maco has them, so does Groco. You have to look for them--West Marine thinks they are too expensive to sell.
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Old 23-10-2018, 08:20   #10
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Re: Variable Speed Water pump won’t turn off

I've had a couple of these fail in this way. In both cases, it was the internal electronics that failed.

One jury-rig approach is to bypass the internal electronics and use a standard (Home Depot) external well pump pressure switch to control the pump.

Inexpensive and effective.
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