Water Pump Troubleshooting

[coachdub]

Hi all,

Beating my head against the wall on this one...need help.

- Installed 12v Shurflo Water Pump in my conversion. Worked really well for months.
- Drained my tank and couldn't get it back to pulling water from the tank after refilling it. Checked on YouTube for some help. Nothing. Hired a plumber. Nothing. Replaced the water pump and tried some of the same tricks. Eventually, got it working again. EXCEPT, where before the pump would kick on and turn off automatically when I would run the sink or shower, now I had to manually work the power switch. AND...flow was not quite as strong as before, but it was functioning.
- A while later, I needed to sanitize my freshwater tank and drained it again, then refilled it.
- Could not get pump to pull water after refilling. Tried same tricks as last time, including backfilling, priming, put my old pump back in, nothing. Hired another plumber. No dice.
- Wtf?

Thanks, ya'll! Any help or advice appreciated.

[TB2Blazer]

I am having the same exact problem. Did you ever figure it out?

[Rucker]

Originally Posted by TB2Blazer

I am having the same exact problem. Did you ever figure it out?

That sounds like a defective pump.

What are your symptoms? Truly exactly the same?

[turf]

sometimes, those self priming pumps are not so self priming.

try having enough water in your tank that the level is well above the pump. gravity helps.

i would guess there is an air leak somewhere from the pump up the intake, probably the pump inlet fitting. or a blockage of the intake line (a moth).

[Oliveguam]

I wonder if there is a leak in the inlet side between tank and pump, also pumps push far better than pull. So mounting the pumps as low as possible helps reduce the vacuum it has to develop to prime it up. Any wear on the check valves and it's going to struggle more. As fluid works better against valves to operate them than does air. Sounds like contributing factors aligning for premature failure. Lastly the heads on these pumps are rebuildable with replacement diaphragms and check valves. A person could pull it apart and see if a valve is hanging open or debris holding one open. If you cannot relocate the pumps lower you might put a valves tee in the line where you could use a funnel and a few vertical feet of clear hose to prime the inlet of the pump. Once the water is flowing (primed) then close the valve to draw off your tanks.