Can't seem to get water pump to charge system - Event Date: 05 Apr 2020 - 30 Apr 2020

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   Hello All,
Hope this finds everyone well. I am stumped.  I am in process of de-winterizing our 179 Rpod and as i have done this a few times successfully, I am not sure what is going on.  It seems as if the water pump is not pressuring the plumbing system. This is what has been done to this point.

I hooked up the city water from the house via hose to the Rpod , opened the both hot and cold faucets in the kitchen, bath sink and outdoor shower and ran water to flush the winter anti freeze.  Then I disconnected from city water source and filled the on board water storage tank.  Then I checked to feed line into the pump from the storage tank to be sure that the valve was aligned with the tank feed line and not turned at right angles as if you were using the secondary like to pump anti freeze into the plumbing system. The valve was correct.  I turned on the pump expecting it to self prime as usual and then opened the sink faucets and....... nothing. I think the Hot water tank is full because I had water coming out the hot water faucet when running the system off of city water.  The pump is clearly running, I can hear it. 

I tried a quick test of the pump by turning the valve on the upstream side of the pump that controls whether or not the water is coming from the storage tank or a via that secondary feed hose I reference above. I turn the valve to access the secondary line and put the hose into a bucket of water to see if it pump would pull water from that source - and nothing. Again, the pump is running.

I was thinking maybe there is some sort of "airlock"  or blockage in the pump,  so I unscrewed the cover bulb for the pump filter, inspected the filter - it was clear and screwed the bulb back on.

The only thing I can think of from here is to pull out the exterior drain plug from the hot water heater to see if that is actually full. Otherwise, I am thinking that the pump has somehow failed even though it was running fine when I put the camper away for the winter - of course before winterizing it.

What might I be missing. Again, I have had the camper for three years and have had no issues in the past so I don't get what might be going on.  Suggestions?

Troutpodder in Hailey

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troutpodder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2017 Location: Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Calendar Event: Can't seem to get water pump to charge system Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 12:24pm
	Hello All, Hope this finds everyone well. I am stumped. I am in process of de-winterizing our 179 Rpod and as i have done this a few times successfully, I am not sure what is going on. It seems as if the water pump is not pressuring the plumbing system. This is what has been done to this point. I hooked up the city water from the house via hose to the Rpod , opened the both hot and cold faucets in the kitchen, bath sink and outdoor shower and ran water to flush the winter anti freeze. Then I disconnected from city water source and filled the on board water storage tank. Then I checked to feed line into the pump from the storage tank to be sure that the valve was aligned with the tank feed line and not turned at right angles as if you were using the secondary like to pump anti freeze into the plumbing system. The valve was correct. I turned on the pump expecting it to self prime as usual and then opened the sink faucets and....... nothing. I think the Hot water tank is full because I had water coming out the hot water faucet when running the system off of city water. The pump is clearly running, I can hear it. I tried a quick test of the pump by turning the valve on the upstream side of the pump that controls whether or not the water is coming from the storage tank or a via that secondary feed hose I reference above. I turn the valve to access the secondary line and put the hose into a bucket of water to see if it pump would pull water from that source - and nothing. Again, the pump is running. I was thinking maybe there is some sort of "airlock" or blockage in the pump, so I unscrewed the cover bulb for the pump filter, inspected the filter - it was clear and screwed the bulb back on. The only thing I can think of from here is to pull out the exterior drain plug from the hot water heater to see if that is actually full. Otherwise, I am thinking that the pump has somehow failed even though it was running fine when I put the camper away for the winter - of course before winterizing it. What might I be missing. Again, I have had the camper for three years and have had no issues in the past so I don't get what might be going on. Suggestions? Troutpodder in Hailey

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 2:03pm
	If the pump filter was good.. then try pushing water in through the winterization hose, with a funnel. I had to do that one year when my system didn't want to prime. Once I got water into the pump, it's run fine since. also, just as a note.. water coming out of the hot side tap, has nothing to do with if the WH is full. If it's in bypass, the water is just going around it, not stopped at it.

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 6:20pm
	+1 - Remember a post from a couple years back, where we discussed having issues getting WP to prime. Always was during dewinterization. I remember my issue was a first time too. I used the winterization hose as Furpod said and primed the pump, worked fine, weird part is never happened again.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 7:36am
	+2. Self priming pumps don't always. Sometimes its a small suction side air leak, sometimes just a dry pump. Just had the same problem dewinterizing my swimming pool. The pump has always primed just fine, but this time I had to dump some water directly in the pump inlet for it to create enough suction to get started. Its fine now but I'm going to replace the inlet screen gasket in case that's leaking a little air in. If you get water in it as furpod suggests and it works from then on then problem solved. If it works initially and then doesn't prime again later then look for a suction leak somewhere on the pump inlet side.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

troutpodder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2017 Location: Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 12:06pm
	THANKS That worked using the auxillary line to prime ... working great now Happy Camping

crankster78 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 08 May 2018 Location: Minn Online Status: Offline Posts: 163	Posted: 12 Apr 2020 at 7:53am
	Greetings: Check the plastic cup for filter on suction line next to the pump. It may have cracked over winter. Crankster78
	Crankster 78 R-179 2015