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Old 10-12-2019, 05:25 PM   #1
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Pump not siphoning Anti freeze

So I had a connection put in so that I could pump anti freeze through the system without hand pumping it through the water intake. It was messy. And really took two people that way.

The pump will pump water just fine. BUT the pump will not siphon up the antifreeze into the system from the bottle. Strange. Makes no sense.

If I don’t get it to work I did blow the lines out quite well, so I’m not concerned. I do this as a kind of extra precaution.

Anyone have a similar issue?
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Old 10-12-2019, 05:34 PM   #2
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I disconnect the fresh water connection to the pump, and replace with a flexible plastic tube that I insert into the antifreeze bottle. Works like a champ.

You’d need to post a picture or diagram of how you plumbed in a separate connection to troubleshoot....
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Old 10-12-2019, 05:45 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by wulfraat View Post
I disconnect the fresh water connection to the pump, and replace with a flexible plastic tube that I insert into the antifreeze bottle. Works like a champ.

You’d need to post a picture or diagram of how you plumbed in a separate connection to troubleshoot....
That’s how it is plumbed. There is a valve that is turned to disconnect the fresh water line from the tank and when turned properly (perpendicular) it will draw from the bottle.

When I took off the filter and turned on the pump it clearly drew in air and when I turned on the fixture you could hear and feel the air being released. So the pump works just fine.

The only thing I can think of is a bad valve. But hard to imagine. It’s pretty simple.
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Old 10-12-2019, 05:48 PM   #4
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Use a small funnel or turkey baster to fill the hose before you put it in the jug....sometimes a little priming of the pump works
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Old 10-12-2019, 05:53 PM   #5
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Use a small funnel or turkey baster to fill the hose before you put it in the jug....sometimes a little priming of the pump works
Good idea. I will try that!
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:09 PM   #6
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Could the valve be installed backwards? Mine came from the factory that way. When I tried to prime the antifreeze line, it flowed to the fresh water tank instead of the pump. I posted a picture on a similar thread:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f458...ml#post2287479
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:29 PM   #7
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I've had this issue a couple times, I think it's air in the line.

Try opening a faucet with hose in jug and pump on.
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:31 PM   #8
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Mine has done this before. I had an air leak. Make sure your flexible hose is screwed on tight.
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:42 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Mach5 View Post
Could the valve be installed backwards? Mine came from the factory that way. When I tried to prime the antifreeze line, it flowed to the fresh water tank instead of the pump. I posted a picture on a similar thread:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f458...ml#post2287479
Well according to the camco instructions on line it looks correct on my installation. The valve lever is pointed toward the filter. Right now I’m basically going to punt. I will probably just get a hand pump and pump it through the system like I did before. I guess I shouldn’t have tossed my hand pump. I’m not too concerned because I’ve blown out the system quite well.

It’s just irritating since I figured this would shorten my winterization time/effort and frankly it has been a hassle. And I spent good money to get it installed and it doesn’t work decent.
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:43 PM   #10
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Mine has done this before. I had an air leak. Make sure your flexible hose is screwed on tight.
Will do that when I prime it tomorrow. One more try. Then I’m going to hand pump it in.
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Old 10-13-2019, 09:43 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by majorairhead View Post
I've had this issue a couple times, I think it's air in the line.

Try opening a faucet with hose in jug and pump on.
I agree. Until you open a valve, the pump won't prime.
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Old 10-13-2019, 10:25 AM   #12
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I just do/did like "wulfaat" no problems - make sure you close the low point drain so you don't pump the anti-frezze on to the ground! (now how do I know that will happen??)
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Old 10-13-2019, 10:34 AM   #13
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Mine was installed backwards from the factory. I disconnected the line from the pump inlet, turned the diverter to bypass and blew some air through the clear intake hose to verify. Luckily I had an old flexible hose with the correct fitting to the pump to add the antifreeze. I'll have it fixed next spring when I take it to J.C. to get a couple other issues fixed.
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Old 10-13-2019, 01:13 PM   #14
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So it worked.
1). Someone said that theirs had an air leak. I got a better hose to connect to the inlet. It had a better seal. I think the provided hose didn't have a good seal and pump was sucking too much air and wouldn't suck up the antifreeze.
2) I then made the hose longer by connecting the original camco hose to the longer better hose. Tightened down real well. Needed to do that anyway because I didn't have enough length.
3). I primed it a bit.

Worked like a charm.

Thanks for all your input. Problem solved.

Next year will go much faster.
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Old 10-13-2019, 01:16 PM   #15
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Old 10-13-2019, 01:16 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rdavenp3 View Post
Mine was installed backwards from the factory. I disconnected the line from the pump inlet, turned the diverter to bypass and blew some air through the clear intake hose to verify. Luckily I had an old flexible hose with the correct fitting to the pump to add the antifreeze. I'll have it fixed next spring when I take it to J.C. to get a couple other issues fixed.
I agree with RdavenP3. You have the siphon valve reversed. Mine came reversed so I took off the plastic female connection and put on the other end and it worked fine.
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Old 10-13-2019, 02:08 PM   #17
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I agree with RdavenP3. You have the siphon valve reversed. Mine came reversed so I took off the plastic female connection and put on the other end and it worked fine.
Missed my last post. It worked. Valve was installed properly.

The connection hose wouldn't tighten properly. Letting air into the system.

See my last post on how I solved issue. thanks.
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Old 10-13-2019, 03:47 PM   #18
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The pump works like the water heater........and needs a by pass valve. You need a cock valve on the fresh water tank side that you turn off and another on the hose for the anti-freeze (after you have installed a "T" in the line). After you pump out of the water holding tank, turn that valve off and turn on with the anti-freeze valve. When you want to pump anti-freeze, you turn on the anti-freeze pipe valve and turn OFF the water holding tank valve. You cannot pump both lines at the same time. That is the reason you are not getting anti-freeze through the pump and into the trailer lines.

Better yet, blowing out the water lines with air pressure through the city water connection is easier. Cheaper and only takes five minutes! Be sure and get all the water out of the toilet valve so no water runs back into the valve. Even a small amount of water in that valve can put a crack in the toilet valve.....easy to replace, but easier the blow all the water out.

Good luck.
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Old 10-13-2019, 08:30 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Daquenzer View Post
So I had a connection put in so that I could pump anti freeze through the system without hand pumping it through the water intake. It was messy. And really took two people that way.

The pump will pump water just fine. BUT the pump will not siphon up the antifreeze into the system from the bottle. Strange. Makes no sense.

If I don’t get it to work I did blow the lines out quite well, so I’m not concerned. I do this as a kind of extra precaution.

Anyone have a similar issue?
Quick question; does your new connection have an inline valve that you need to turn to enable your antifreeze input line?
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Old 10-13-2019, 08:53 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by jtrappey View Post
Quick question; does your new connection have an inline valve that you need to turn to enable your antifreeze input line?
Yes. It is fits on the other side of the filter. When turned one way it allows for water to pass through from the water tank. When turned the other way it can siphon antifreeze. I had an AS dealer install it. I would normally do something like this myself, but it was in a really hard spot to get to, and since I had some other work being done I had this done at the same time. Pretty simple connection. When I got the bill I should have done it myself.

Works great once I figured out my problem. Takes about 3 minutes and one gallon of antifreeze to run through the system.
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