Water Pump Problems

[Jinglebob]

Here we go again with the manual water pump problem. I feel it's just beyond our reach out there.
    Our manual pump works very well when connected to the city supply. Hand pumping while connected to the city water supply also works well. That is drawing water from the jug and from the city source. When the hose is disconnected from the city supply and there is still some water in the line, about 24 inches, the hand pump works and draws from the inboard jug supply. If we pump out all the water from the city line, the hand pump won't work. The cap on the inlet for the city service line is on and tight and make no difference.
It is like we have to prime this twenty four inches of hose before the manual pump will operate.
     Can this be how this is suspose to work? Adding water to the line to get water from the jug.
     My plumbing set up goes like this; Line from the city inlet, approx. 24 inch in tubeing. This connects to a T. One line from the T goes up to the pump. A short piece, four inches connects to the backflow devise. From the backflow a clean poly line, approx. 36 inches go up and into the jug. The jug has a cap which is fully tightened down.
All help very much appreciated. Want to get this troop proof ASAP.  :U

[tlhdoc]

I don't have any good suggestions on what is wrong, but it is not supposed to work that way.  You shouldn't have to prime the pump to get it to work.  Is seems like there is a an air hole somewhere in the system.  Good luck on finding the problem.

[wavery]

Once you get it primed, does it lose it's prime if it sits for a while?

It sort of sounds like the diaphragm in your pump might be loose or worn out. Try removing the diaphragm and cleaning it with vegetable oil. Put it back together and make sure everything is snug (don't over-tighten). See if that helps.

[Jinglebob]

Once you get it primed, does it lose it's prime if it sits for a while?

It sort of sounds like the diaphragm in your pump might be loose or worn out. Try removing the diaphragm and cleaning it with vegetable oil. Put it back together and make sure everything is snug (don't over-tighten). See if that helps.

E-mailed Fleetwood Coustomer Service directly during the evening. Stated my problem and they came right back the next mid-morning with their answer to my problem. They believe it is indeed a diaphragm that is worn out. They gave me the location of my local dealer which I knew and the part number for a direct re-placement I think it was classy of them to bother with my 23 year PU. With their help and yours I feel like I know where to go with this. Thanks to all.  :p

[Jamiek]

E-mailed Fleetwood Coustomer Service directly during the evening. Stated my problem and they came right back the next mid-morning with their answer to my problem. They believe it is indeed a diaphragm that is worn out. They gave me the location of my local dealer which I knew and the part number for a direct re-placement I think it was classy of them to bother with my 23 year PU. With their help and yours I feel like I know where to go with this. Thanks to all.  :p

A stupid question.  But how do you prime.  I have never been able to get water out by pumping it.

[wavery]

A stupid question.  But how do you prime.  I have never been able to get water out by pumping it.

Well....there's a few different ways. You could put your mouth over the faucet and suck (if it doesn't have a check valve). You could pull the hose off of the faucet and suck until you get water or pour water down the hose until it is full.

Basically, if your system is air tight, all the way from the pump to the tank (that includes the pump diaphragm) the pump will pull water up from the tank unless there is something blocking a hose or the tank is out of water.

One way to check for air leaks in the system is to pull the hose off of the bottom of the faucet, suck on the hose until you get water. Now hold your finger or plug the end of the hose. Leave it for about ten minutes. When you unstop the hose, it should be full of water and the water should reseed very slowly (if at all). If the water level in the hose drops as soon as you unstop it, You have an air leak in the line somewhere.

One way to find the leak is to be sure that the tank vent is plugged and the faucet end of the hose is clamped on tight. Pressurize the system from the fill end of the tank with the tank over 1/2 full of water. You should find water leaking out from wherever the air leak was occurring. If water comes out of the faucet, stop it with your finger. If it comes out from the inside of the faucet, you may have a bad diaphragm.