Water Pump problem

[dshinnick]

We have a 40' DP. I replaced the water pump less than a month ago with a new Shurflo. It's been working fine until a few days ago, when I started getting zero water. When I turn the pump on and put my hand on it I can feel it vibrating, so it is getting power. When I disconnect the input hose and put my finger on the input fitting I don't really feel any suction; not sure if I should or not.

I've left it in the ON position for probably 10 minutes, thinking that maybe the system needs to pressurize or something, but no, nothing.

My thought is to next put the input hose into a bucket or something and make sure it's getting water. Other than that I'm kinda stuck.


So I now pass this problem to the experts. Any thoughts/ideas?

[lj2654]

An easy fix, how unusual is that!

[dshinnick]

FOLLOWUP

Alan was right. I called Shurflo and the tech said that the pump probably needed to be primed, but needed a reduced output pressure to do so. I turned on a faucet, removed the output fitting, and turned the pump on. After a few moments I reconnected the output fitting, and sure enough, I struck water. Glad it was an easy fix. Thanks for advice, y'all.

dave

[allenm]

Sometimes when you can't get a pump to prime, it's because it has too much back pressure on the output lines. Try opening every faucet to relieve back pressure.

[enblethen]

Check your water fill valve. It could be in "fill" mode and not operate.

[gemert]

Good plan with the pail of water and hose. I would also check the connections on the pump. It may vibrate when turned on and still have a loose connection that will not allow it to fully "power up." Especially since it is new. I had the same problem with mine once and found that the electric dump valve on the fresh water tank did not fully close. When I filled the tank I thought it was overflowing so I would stop. The pump wouldn't draw water so it drove me nuts for a couple of weeks. Good luck.