www.iFourWinns.com

I am having a problem with my shower pump system. It is the Rule shower drain system. It has a Rule 800 GPH pump and a RuleAMatic switch built in a plastic case. I have had 2 go bad already this summer. They both have acted the same way. The pump goes on sometime during the week when we are not there and not showering. We arrive at the boat and hear the pump running with no water. I then take off the top and jiggle with the ruleamatic and get it to slow down to a lower speed but not stop. At this point I can turn on the shower and it will either turn off completely when the switch rises or not pump fast enough to keep the housing clear. I can however go to the electrical panel and manually switch the pump on and it works fine. Upon turning off the panel switch it usually remains on in a low speed or occassionally shuts off like it is suppose to. I have cleaned out the strainer and there is nothing clogging the switch. I make it usable by disconnecting the pump entirely when not using it and reconnecting it and using the panel switch to make it properly pump. It seems like alot of work to take a shower on an automatic system. I contacted Rule and they are sending a new unit to the dealer for replacement and they want to lab test the old unit. Rule says this is a single speed pump but I can clearly make it run at 2 different speeds by jiggling the switch or turning on the electrical panel. The FW dealer says they have replaced quite a few this year. Rule says their failure rate is not very high ?? Does anyone have this same arrangement ? Any problems ?

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07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

Sounds strange. I would ask the dealer to hook the old one up to a 12v DC source out of the boat and check it before they send it back. If it works like it's suppose to then you have a short on the boat and the wiring needs to be checked. If you have had two bad ones already, I'm leaning to a problem other than the pump.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Make sure the check valve is working properly. There's one inside the sump housing, in-line between the pump and the side of the sump. Make sure it's actually present and working. It prevents water that's pumped past it from coming back into the sump. If yours is malfunctioning then the pump might end up running more than necessary. Also see where the water is coming from requires pump activity. Our sump is the collection point for several sources, the galley sink drain, the air conditioning drip tray and the shower floor drains (but not the head sink).

Are you leaving the AC running? If it's humid and you've got it set "too cold" then the AC drip might be causing the sump level to rise enough to engage the pump. If you haven't used it already, make sure you're using the dehumidifier mode of the AC instead of regular operation. If it's a Cruisair SMX system then you have to hold three buttons on the control unit it reads "HU". Check the manual for which keys (or someone else please chime in with them). It's a triangle of the Cool Heat and the center button just below them, fan? I don't recall exactly.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Thanks for the replys.

I have been using the HU function on the AC. It works great.

I will have the dealer test it outside the boat before they return it back to Rule.

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07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

[color=#0040BF]There have been alot of problems with the shower pumps this year. I do not understand why but have been told it was a problem from the Manufacturer and it has been addressed. color]

I have an 07 318 and my pump runs about every 5 mins. Even when I have no water running or AC.

Unless there's water coming into it the only other reason for the shower sump to run is if the backflow preventer isn't working. There's a valve inside the hose that handles this. It's the hose that's inside the sump box itself that leads from the pump to the side of the box. This lets the pump push water UP to the through-hull without having the last but of the water come rushing back into the tank.

One test would be to open the shower sump, remove the filter grating and plug up the incoming line. This will temporarily stop anything from coming into the sump. You should know how to get into the sump anyway to deal with the crud and mold that's SURE to grow in it. Block that inlet and see if the pump keeps running. If so then you've either got a defective valve or a problem with the pump/float.

If you plug the hole and the pump stops the periodic running then you've got water coming into the system from somewhere. On our 348 there are three lines leading into the sump; the galley sink, the head floor drains (the head sink goes directly overboard) and the AC drip tray. We had a broken shower mixer cartridge that was leaking, enough to dribble down into the shower drain and cause the pump to run. In my case this was obvious because of the moisture on the shower wall. If I had to track down which source was causing the trouble I'd just disconnect them one at a time and put some paper towel into the hose end (after drying it of course). I'd start with the shower line first, then the AC hose. If neither of those solves it then it's the galley line.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

The only water going to the shower sump pump is from the shower. The sinks all flow directly overboard via thru-hulls. The sump pump was replaced today by the dealer and returned to Rule for them to test. The boat is being hauled tomorrow and winterized. We will see if the problem is fixed in the spring. I hope the new pump directly from Rule will make a difference. 3 pumps a summer seems a little out of control even if it is on warrantee.

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07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

How certain of this are you? I know in our 348/358 the only ones that go overboard are the head sink and the one up in the cockpit. The galley sink DOES go into the sump, as does the AC drip pan. So you're saying on your 338 there's only ONE hose going into the sump? I suppose it's possible, just comes as a surprise to me.



Just make sure the dealer grasps this as being an on-going warranty issue.

I'm still curious, was it running dry? Or was there water in there causing it to run, over and over?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista