Home base is Boston and we are traveling to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with a few days in Taos area. We are experiencing altitude issues (altitude 9,000) with the common things likes chips, bottled water and packaged things, which we can deal with. However our water pump is very loud but working. Any suggestions would be appreciated - ie - drain and refill fresh tank? or don't do anything and the pump will return to normal at lower altitudes? Thanks
Found this on the internet. Might be of assistance to in answering a question or two. Lots of other stuff on this subject you can read also. Hope this helps a tad even tho it more "generalized and geared to what looks like well pumps and the like. I would think atmosphere and altitude would affect an RV pump also but we've never been in excessively high altitudes where we've experienced any problems with ours................ Regards, BankShot.............(aka Terry) ************************************************************************** Altitude Considerations With Pump Operations Altitude may aid or diminish a pump's performance based upon the principals of specific gravity, atmospheric pressure, and oxygen deprivation. Specific Gravity & Atmospheric Pressure Based Upon Altitudes Specific gravity suggests water can be pumped from less than or equal to 26 feet down when operating a pump at sea level because of atmospheric pressure. This depth lessens as altitude increases because of decreasing atmospheric pressures. For every 1,000 feet above sea level that a centrifugal pump is operated, subtract an estimated two feet from the depth of 26 feet. Pump operators will be well served to locate their pump as close to the source of water you are pumping as practically possible. Elevation Impacts To Suction Lift Altitude Suction Lift (Feet) Sea Level 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 2000 Feet 8.8 13.2 17.6 22.0 4000 Feet 7.8 11.7 15.6 19.5 6000 Feet 6.9 10.4 13.8 17.3 8000 Feet 6.2 9.3 12.4 15.5 10000 Feet 5.7 8.6 11.4 14.3
Right, pumps work because the water they are "sucking" is being pushed on by the pressure of the atmosphere (14.7 lbs/sq in at sea level). Imagine that the air in the top of your water tank is helping to push the water through the pump by pushing on the water in the tank. Now that you're at a very high altitude (9,000 ft) there is a lot less pressure pushing on that water and the pump is having to work harder to "suck up" the water to get to your faucet. If it's working then it's still within its operating range. Everything should return to normal when you return to lower altitudes. You should expect that cooking will require changes at those altitudes. When we lived in NM at 6,200 feet I had explained to my wife that water boiled at ~190F rather than 212F. That meant that things cooked in simmering or boiling liquids were cooking at a slower rate than they would at sea level. At ~9,000 ft it appears that water will boil at ~72C ~ 162F which means that cooking will be a challenge. Trying broiling; it will be easier!