Water Pump Repair Attempt #1: Epoxy

A couple of weekends ago I filled up the bus’s (nominally) fresh water tank. (Never mind all the grossness; it’ll get cleaned before I drink from it, but I have to start somewhere.)

RV fresh water pump mounted to wall of battery compartment

It didn’t take long to notice the water leaking from the lower end of the pump and dripping back down the line from the tank. Hand-tightening the lower (supply) fitting increased the rate of leakage.

For perspective, the tank is out of view above the camera, the white plastic ring is the fill neck and the clear tube and galvanized pipe are the fill lines, the pump is bolted to the aft end of the battery compartment, and the black hose from the top of the pump curves off to the left and then up into the bus to the sink.

RV fresh water pump with cracked housing

I drained the tank, removed the pump, brought it home, and cleaned it,

Crack in RV fresh water pump housing

at which point the problem was much more obvious in good light.

RV fresh water pump, top part of case removed

Out of curiosity, I opened the pump to see where all and how badly it was cracked.

Broken RV fresh water pump housing

Ah, pretty badly, then, eh.

Broken RV fresh water pump housing

Since it looked fairly easy to clean the broken edges, I was further curious whether plastic-repair epoxy would do any good. I scrubbed the broken ends with a wire brush, then mixed up and applied the epoxy. I clamped it up to cure overnight.

Cracked RV fresh water pump housing

Meanwhile, the housing was also cracked in a couple of different places. I epoxied it, clamped it up, and let it set overnight as well.

Glued RV fresh water pump housing

Upon reassembly, the glued cracks did appear to hold together.

Still leaking

But still it leaks.

Looking at how it’s built and where the water is coming out, I think it’s leaking out that large crack that goes circumferentially past the screw. Maybe a thin coat of RTV on the inside of the housing would stop the leak?

This repair is mainly for entertainment, mind you. But if it gets me by until I get the shower built and require a higher-capacity pump, so much the better.

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