If you've owned a Motorhome or Camper for any length of time, I'm at the 26-year mark; you may have found yourself in a love-hate relationship with your RV's water pump. You hate that it's noisy and vibrates the pipes when running; the water pressure never seems right, and if you forget to turn it off and run out of water, you will most likely be in the market for a new pump. But you have to love the fact that they at least get the water in your holding tank out to the faucets, shower, and toilet. And this is where the IRVWPC2 RV Water Pump Controller comes into the picture. They have created a device that turns that not-so-smart water pump into a complete genius!

Before I get to how the IRVWPC2 does that, we need to review the two ways water pumps operate and deliver that water. If you already have this covered, skip to the next paragraph. So, all RV water pumps are 12-volt DC and are either pressure-activated single-speed pumps that just turn on at full speed and shut off when they hit the pump set water pressure. You'll know you have this style pump because it turns on and off continually, waking up the whole family in the middle of the night when all you want is to flush the toilet quietly. (Ask me how I know, I try to be so quiet.) The other type of pump is a variable speed pump with a built-in controller that varies the speed of the pump depending on the water demand. These do a better job at delivering water than single-speed pumps, but are still pretty loud, especially if your pump is located under the bed or in a dinette. These pumps are also generally bigger pumps with higher gallon-per-minute ratings and get pretty pricey with the added feature.

If you have a variable-speed pump, the IRVWPC2 will not work with your pump since it already has a controller. But you single-speed pump owners are in luck, let's dive into all the features your pump will gain with this intelligent controller. The most significant benefit is turning that single speed into a variable speed pump, but it is way better. Because the IRVWPC2 controller is far more intelligent and has a better sensor, it can smoothly turn the pump on and keep it at the perfect speed, eliminating that pipe pounding and keeping the pump noise to a minimum. We have our pump under a cabinet, and with the IRVWPC2 installed I am hard-pressed to hear it running just a few feet away at the kitchen sink. While this alone is a great reason to add this upgrade to your water system, there is so much more this controller can do for your pump.

First up is the Run Watchdog Timer, which measures the length of time the pump has been running at the pump's set water pressure. So let's say you're away from the RV on a hike, you've forgotten to turn the water pump off, and a pipe fails in the RV. With this feature, the pump will be turned off at the set time. This one is also great if you are trying to conserve water and someone likes to take very long showers. It might also put you in the doghouse if that someone is in the middle of a shower and the pump turns off and you don't hear that someone yelling because your outside playing cornhole with your camping neighbors. So let's be careful with that setting. This can be set for as short as 10 seconds or as long as 16 minutes.

The next feature is the Low Flow Cycling Counter. With this setting enabled, if there ever was a small leak where your pump cycled on and off frequently, the IRVWPC2 would sense this and shut the pump off. You can set when this threshold is met so it is not shutting down your pump during normal use.

The Long Run Timer is a great feature that measures the length of time the pump control has been powered on. When we leave the RV, I always make it a point to turn the pump power off. I always worry about a burst pipe or the pump running and burning up the RV. I cannot tell you how often we return from a walk around the campground or hike in the park, and I've forgotten to do this simple task. With this feature enabled, you can adjust the shutoff time from 10 to 100 minutes, I really love this feature!

The last feature is the Dry Run Timer. The dry run timer keeps the water pump from running at full speed without any water in the system or at a lower than the set-point pressure. This has happened to us many times, we are on the way home from a weekend trip the water tank is low and one of the kids uses up the last of the water. Instead of notifying me that the water stopped coming out of the faucet, the poor pump just sits there running in a dry condition. Now, you have a pump that may fail at the most inopportune time. Since the IRVWPC module is aware of the pump running and the system water pressure, this DRY RUN timer will immediately stop the pump if the running period exceeds the time setting and the low-pressure level.

I decided to use the Long Run Timer and Dry Run Timer on my setup and may adopt the others and we get more time with the unit installed. You are probably wondering, "How do you reset or turn the pump back on if the IRVWPC2 shuts the pump down?" You simply turn your water pump off and back on, and you're good to go.

So, let's address the Elephant in the Room, and that's the price. At the time of this writing, the cost of the IRVWPC2 intelligent controller is $180 with free shipping. No, it's not made of gold, and I know that's more than the price of most water pumps!! But with all those amazing features and a super quiet pump, I can tell you it's definitely worth it

Installing the IRVWPC2 is pretty straightforward, and there is a great install video, which you can find here ( https://youtu.be/VQ8-j06Hctk ) I can say that by the time you get a few tools together (wire cutter/strippers, an adjustable wrench, possibly a screwdriver and a trouble light) go back and forth to the tool chest a few times for something you forgot it will take about an hour to complete the install. The wiring was my only issue and that was only because the pumps negative wire was so short and the area my pump is in limited just my one arm into the space. Overall a very easy install. I did want to note that the install manual is not included in the box the unit is packaged in (it's very small) and must be downloaded. Here is a link to the manual so you can prepare or do as I do and struggle for a bit and then give in to reading the instructions. I'll never learn. IRVWPC2 Installation Manual