I can not get my fresh water pumping again

[walker2413]

On Sunday I tried to de-winterize my trailer. I first used the city water connection to flush out all of the anti-freeze. I switched the water heater bypass to normal and filled it. I disconnected the city water, then I put some water into the fresh water tank. I then tried to get the faucets to turn on. There is lots of gurgling of air and almost no water. For some reason I put more water in the holding tank. The tank started to overflow, and the water started to pump. Then it stopped and I have not been able to get the water going again. I had similar problems last year but I left the pump on for several minutes and everything worked well. This time I have left the pump on for several hours and I still only managed to get a trickle out of the faucets. Does any one have any ideas?

[jamnw]

Thanks for posting your fix. Glad you found the problem.

[jaycocamprs]

walker2413 wrote:
friend of mine said that there is a valve in the city water inlet that may be defective. I don't know how you would be able to identify that it is bad either.

Bill W

If the check valve at the inlet goes bad water will go out there. It's on the pressure (output) side of the pump, not the suction (inlelt) side. And I did see where you got your issue fixed.

[walker2413]

xPIXx wrote:
Do you have a winterizing hook up port to suck the antifreeze from the jug? If so check to make sure the gasket is in the cap that goes on that port, it will suck air if missing.

No, I just disconnect the line from the tank and hook up a 4 foot piece that I can put in my antifreeze jug.

Bill W

[walker2413]

jamnw wrote:
You said: Water started to go out the overflow. When I removed the air, water started running down the hose.

That seems odd to me. Are the intake and overflow lines tied together? I don't think mine are. Mine has a separate overflow line.

If you pump air through the intake, I figured as long as there is no obstruction, you would blow a bunch of bubbles. And the air would go back out the fill tube and or the overflow tube.

It sounds like you are sucking air or have an obstruction. Kind of like when you try to drink through a straw with a crack in it.

Hi,

Yes there was a lot of bubbling in the tank when I was blowing air down it. The water then exited the fill tube and overflow. But removing the air, seemed to get the water flowing. I tried the same trick and again with no luck though.

Bill W

[walker2413]

Hi all,

I bought a new pump and put it on. That seems to have fixed the problem. The old one did pump water but maybe it was not as efficient as it needed to be. I hope next year is easier to get going. Thanks for all your help.

Bill W

[xPIXx]

Do you have a winterizing hook up port to suck the antifreeze from the jug? If so check to make sure the gasket is in the cap that goes on that port, it will suck air if missing.

[jamnw]

You said: Water started to go out the overflow. When I removed the air, water started running down the hose.

That seems odd to me. Are the intake and overflow lines tied together? I don't think mine are. Mine has a separate overflow line.

If you pump air through the intake, I figured as long as there is no obstruction, you would blow a bunch of bubbles. And the air would go back out the fill tube and or the overflow tube.

It sounds like you are sucking air or have an obstruction. Kind of like when you try to drink through a straw with a crack in it.

[walker2413]

rbturner wrote:
Bill, is there any chance the pump is sucking air someplace?

I suppose there is. All of the connections I can see are tight. I'm am not sure how to track down where leaks may be. I friend of mine said that there is a valve in the city water inlet that may be defective. I don't know how you would be able to identify that it is bad either.

Bill W

[walker2413]

wcjeep wrote:
Do you have a shut off switch for the water pump to winterize? Mine affects isolates the hot water tank while on the pump.

I have a bypass switch. I have tried to get the system running with the tank bypassed and in the system.

[rbturner]

Bill, is there any chance the pump is sucking air someplace?

[wcjeep]

Do you have a shut off switch for the water pump to winterize? Mine affects isolates the hot water tank while on the pump.

[walker2413]

I am not sure if it makes any difference, but I have an accumulator just after the pump.

Bill W

[walker2413]

Yes, I did fill the water heater on city water.

Today I hooked the inlet of the pump to a pail of water, the pump sucked the water out of the pail no problem. I then set my compressor's air pressure down to 25 psi and I pumped some air down the line going to the tank. Water started to go out the overflow. When I removed the air, water started running down the hose. I reconnected it to the pump. I opened up the cold water tap and managed to get all of the cold water taps running pretty well. I then started turning the hot water taps. The hot water system may be the problem, after trying to get them running smoothly, I lost pressure and am back to where I started.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Bill W

[wcjeep]

My TC does not like having air bubbles in the drain lines. After flushing the lines, I leave city connection on. Then open the the manual drain valves to remove an additional air bubbles. Then fill the fresh tank. This minimizes the air bubbles to Pump feed line only. Did you fill the hot water tank while on city water?