Shurflo pumps.. the right choice?

[Rosy]

So having spent the last year schlepping to and from the always inconveniently placed camp site water point I decided to invest in a decent used Front Runner water tank.

Its a nifty little piece of kit that sits astride the rear foot-well and seems really well built. Now, the simple option would be to fit a tap to a short piece of hose an let gravity do the work but wheres the fun in that!

There are plenty of pump driven write-ups on the interweb and most seem to use a surflo pump but there are plenty of options and I'm not really sure what the right compromise is for an overland rig.

I believe the Shurflo Trail King that provides 10.6 litres per minute at 30psi would be sufficient but no harm in checking with the more experienced folks on here so, my questions are as follows:

• is 10.6lpm @ 30psi sufficient volume and pressure to have a decent shower?
• would you recommend the in-line strainer attachment for removing debris?
• what in-line filter would you recommend for keeping the water fresh for drinking? I recall a comment that Andy had issues with the ceramic ones breaking so presumably these don't weather well in offroad conditions.

Thanks folks!

Rosy

 

[Chris]

Rosy, you should have followed my trailer build more closely!

 

[garygiles1963]

Hi

This is my hi-tech setup, worked well on my last trip.

HI

Here is what I made for my last trip. Didn't have a filter though.

I know it looks bonkers. I had 2 of the cans left over from my caravan, which I had converted to external water tank pump system.

The 2 cans of 13L each were strapped to the side, so when one ran out just swapped the pipe over to the other.

The pump was from.
http://fourby.co.uk/epages/950004277.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=11883163

Worked great. Not to high pressure, so it didn't empty the tanks. The switch was of amazon, LED light on the end of the switch can on when powered on, switch off by flip down the guard.

I basically did what you suggested but with large bottles of water from the supermarket. Unscrewed the cap, put a longer hose on dropped it into the water bottle pointed the water head into the can and filled it up, easy.

I know it looks bonkers but the water was well strapped in and out of the way. Great for rinsing down the dishes .

G.

 

[Rosy]

Rosy, you should have followed my trailer build more closely!

I'm pretty shur your only reference was "top of the range".. but by all means let the advice flo

 

[Rosy]

thanks @garygiles1963 , would you by any chance recall the litre pm output and pressure of your seaflo unit?

 

[Chris]

That's a nice set up Gary. However, these diaphragm pumps do come in very varying qualities and have a tendency to just pack up. I've had good and bad. I still have one on the truck and one as a back up in the trailer, but the Sureflo range are so superior it's night and day. They don't pulse like the cheaper ones; you get a constant jet. Very nice and as good as mains at home. Mains pressure is about 20 psi I believe. But the volume is considerable as you need to run baths and so on.

In terms of a filter, I went with a charcoal one which is effectively a sock packed with charcoal slid into a plastic pipe. It really does work and water tainted in my stainless tanks came out very clean and drinkable. I do have the mesh filter on there too to prevent debris getting in to the pump. That's not good.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hey Rosy, I have the exact pump you are talking about and i'm very pleased with it. I can't comment on the shower capabilities because I use mine to send water through a filter into the water tank. However to help with the other 2 questions -

Yes definitely use a strainer. Personally I can't see why you wouldn't, and it adds some extra protection for the pump.

I used an Aqua Source inline water filter the type you would use on a boat and it worked fine. Admittedly the water sources I was getting water from was always pretty good, and if I was getting water from more polluted water sources I might do some more research as to appropriate filters.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you need any more info.

Nick

 

[garygiles1963]

http://fourby.co.uk/epages/950004277.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=11883163

This is where I purchased it. The info is there too.

I will add a simply filter for the next trip.

G.

 

[AndyCook]

I've got a sureflo plump in much hilux, used it for 3 years now, and done many km of rough trails. I have a mesh pre filter and then an inline aqua carbon filter to filter out chlorine taste etc

Good bit of kit

 

[Rosy]

thanks guys, very helpful as always!

@AndyCook @nick_the_fish is this the inline filter you chaps use?

http://www.marinesuperstore.com/fre...-fYrKCQD-vwCr6ze9UoUfbDjL84UeAOxoCjFYQAvD_BwE

 

[GeekOKent]

10 L/min should be a good rate for a shower. You are going to burn through your storage though. We have a 6 L/min that is good enough too.

 

[chapel gate]

http://zodi.com/hot-showers/hot-tap-with-case

Ive had one of these for years and take it on every camping holiday.
its never gonna blow you out of the shower cubicle but it does the job.

our water storage is a cheap 60 ltr tank iirc with no pump. Plenty of water for cooking and drinking. Its the showers that are thirsty.

not as cool as some set ups but its cheap, simple and works.

#googles schlepping#..

 

[nick_the_fish]

@Rosy this is the one I have

Whale Aqua Source Carbon Water Filter - White, 3/8 Inch

The only thing that might catch you out is the bore size so just check the output from the pump and make sure it is the same as the filter to make life easier

N

 

[AndyCook]

thanks guys, very helpful as always!

@AndyCook @nick_the_fish is this the inline filter you chaps use?

http://www.marinesuperstore.com/fre...-fYrKCQD-vwCr6ze9UoUfbDjL84UeAOxoCjFYQAvD_BwE

Yeah that's the one I got