fresh water pump losing prime/ any ideas

[larry b]

Went on the first trip with the family this weekend and had a great time.
Had to use the water pump and it worked great when the fresh water tank was near full. After we used some of the water ,I would guess 5-10 gallons the pump started to loose prime. We had to keep the faucet on longer than desired to work the air out of the pump and build up enough pressure to shut off. If we didn't continue to run the faucet the pump would keep running becuase it was not primed "air trapped". I could not see any leaks. Is there a check valve between the pump and the tank? Why would the water on inlet side of the pump drain back into the tank? Any ideas ??


Thanks
Larry B

[easyride]

Fill your water tank back up and try it again,if it works when full,I would think it is a hole in the suction line letting it suck air. Dave

[Minno]

There's a built in check valve in the pump to prevent water from flowing back into the tank. If that fails, then the pump will cycle as the pressure it built up to shut off is lost as water flows backwards. So the pump will run for a bit and shut off. And then a few minutes later, it'll run again. Your issue sounds like the pump is sucking air into the line. Might be a loose fitting where the water line feeding the pump connects to the tank.

Chris

[larry b]

Thanks for the help, I will check all the fittings and see if it acts the same in my drive way. How hard is it to remove the suction line from the tank?

Thanks again,
Larry