Geoff Bell Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Why is it so difficult to get my submersible pump to get the water up sometimes. I fill the tank to brimming and turn on the taps. It buzzes away like my wife electric toothbrush but does any thing come out the nozzle. Just a dribble fading to nothing but not all the time. The Motorhome is only 1 year old. It appears that sometimes it won't self prime. I managed to finally get it working this weekend by taking off the water filler cap and blowing into the tank. The slight pressurisation seemed to be enough and away it went. Is the pump faulty or is their a recognised correct procedure to stop air getting in. Any advise or ideas would be appreciated. I did a 1 year search on the forum but the problem hasn't been discussed before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 jack When you have trouble getting it up you are not supposed to tell on an open forum. you have to do some more self priming I,m afraid and after that one would think that the tank would be primied enough for further useage?. Good Luck! and don't blame the wife :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrytraveller Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hi Geoff, If the pump is suspended in the tank, is it possible to make sure it is vertical. I expect you know there is a small filter on the base of most pumps in front of the impeller, and requires removing and cleaning occaisionaly. I had the Autocruise Starfire with an submersible pump, always thought they weren't man enough for the job, so I bought a replacement to carry around with us, never had a problem with the pump, so never needed to replace it. I did take it out for servicing cleaning out the filter etc.. I think the new pump was around £30, it might be worth you replacing it, if cleaning the filter and checking for kinks and air leaks, does not improve performance Geoff. Regards Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I thought submersible pumps would be primed by the pressure of the water around it. When you open a tap there should be a passage for the air and water should be pushed into the pump by pressure. One possibility is a hole in the pipe leading from the pump within the tank. If the hole is small there would be some loss of pressure but not total. When the tank is full the water would cover the hole and the pressure would be higher as the water level fallls the pressure in the pipe would go down. There would never be much pressure at the taps and as the tank when down it would reduce. Other than that a leaky diaphram or valve in the pump may be the cause. DonW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 GeoffYou don't say, but others have assumed - is it a submersible pump? If it is, it probably has a non-return valve incorporated within it, or located in the line close by. These sometimes stick open, so the water in the system drains back, leaving the pump to re-purge the air every time it runs. Sometimes, just giving a submersible pump a good shake up and down while submerged can rattle the ball in the valve enough to do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Bell Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 You've given me some things to check out, I'll have a poke around, trouble is its intermittent and the funny thing is, these things never seem to go wrong parked in the drive at home, only when your in the middle of nowhere. I expect someones got a take on that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 It's quite likely that the submerged water-pump used in your TEC is made by Reich and, as Terry advises, these pumps need to be installed vertically. They have no great reputation for reliability but they are (at least abroad) quite cheap, with the most powerful costing around £15. As Brian suggests, the problem most likely lies with the non-return valve that may, or may not, be an integral part of the pump. If the valve is separate then replace it: if it's part of the pump then replace the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi Geoff Had similar problem in our old Hymer.Our cure because the pump was on a flexi pipe was to grab hold the pipe and dunk it up and down a couple of times while the pump was running.Never failed. HYMER DRIVERS ALWAYS WAVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Bell Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Derek thats spooky, how did you know I had a TEC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Geoff Bell - 2007-07-11 9:52 PM Derek thats spooky, how did you know I had a TEC? He's a clever man knows his stuff like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Geoff: Because you said so on 27 June 2006 - "I've got the Freetec 698G". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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