Pump runs but Starving for Water

[urnmor]

Some water is getting through but just not steady flow. Could a partial blockage cause it or is there something else I am missing

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by urnmor

. . . First one of the two drains on the bottom of the pan handle broke off however no water is coming out of it so I am assuming it is closed. Also there appears there might be a leak in the pan near the front corner on the side with the door but not sure. Any suggestions and or ideas as to a solution is greatly appreciated.

I just read all the posts again, sorry you are having a rough time of this!

Any chance that your tank had water left in it over the winter and is cracked, or maybe a fitting at the tank's discharge cracked over the winter? If the drain with the broken handle is the tank drain, and it was not drained for the winter, this could have caused freezing and cracking somewhere.

What you call "a leak in the pan" could be the possible leak above, finding its way through the corner of the pan? Remember the pan is just a cover to protect the actual water tank from being damaged by impact from road debris.

I would fill the tank again, and don't do anything else.

Does water still drip as you described above?

I don't think you can see ALL of this run of plumbing from the tank to the pump, so it sounds to me like somewhere there is a problem crack etc. in this hidden run of pipe.

PS -- when you winterized the trailer last fall, did you disconnect the water intake/supply line to the pump, and blow (by mouth) back into that supply line to force water back into the tank, from which it would exit via the tank drain, after you raised and lowered your tongue jack to its extremes to force water to leave from the bottom of the tank (by gravity)?

If you did not do all of this, you probably left some water between the tank and the pump, and have a crack in those plumbing lines/elbows/etc. -- most likely a 90 degree elbow right where the water leaves the tank IMO. I had the same thing happen in the 90's at the back of the hot water heater after a hasty on-the-road emergency winterization. These plastic elbows are more brittle than the plastic plumbing lines, and are more apt to crack.

[urnmor]

There is the possibility that there was left over water in the tank but I am pretty sure there was no water in the lines as I pump a signifcant amount of antifreeze into them. I agree i am not going to be able to see all the pipes but where I can see there is no water dripping or wet spots. I am now going to see if I can replace the broken drain handle. If this does not work I will be doing dry camping in the strickest sense of the word. Unless of go to campsites that provide running water.

Again thanks for evryones assistance and advice.

[OTRA15]

When you use the pump to pump antifreeze from a jug, you do NOT get antifreeze into the line between the water tank and the pump. That is the line I was asking about. You seem to have missed my point. Please read the PS in my recent post. Did you do all this last fall when you winterized?

Unless you put the antifreeze directly IN the water tank (not recommended), you probably have a weak link in the chain of your winterization process.

[urnmor]

I believe that is waht happen water remained in one of the lines and there is a crack in one of them. Not sure what my next step will be. Might have to takeit to Colonial for repairs.

[OTRA15]

I have read that the outer pan is not that hard to remove, so you might crawl under the back end to check it out. Once the pan is dropped, access to the suspect area should not be too difficult IMO, and the tank discharge (and cracked elbow?) should be right there. There are other threads here about the visible valves in the back (tank drain etc.), including replacing them etc..

[DaveFL]

Did you check the voltage at the pump, low it can move impeller but not get enough to pump.

[TG Twinkie]

There is no impeller in this type of pump. It is a diaphragm. The OP stated the pump works fine when sucking thru the winterizing source.
I would run a temporary line directly from the tank to the pump intake.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

. . .
I would run a temporary line directly from the tank to the pump intake.

Won't the outer protective pan have to be removed to do this? Why not fix the leak (which should be apparent with the pan removed IMO) and be done with the project?

[urnmor]

No doubt about it there is a leak. It is located on the side that the sink is on/or near the corner of the tank facing the front. It appears to be beyond my skills to repair so off to the dealer I will go to have it fixed.

Again thanks for all of your assistance and advice.

John

[urnmor]

Well as Winston Churchil said: "Never give up, never, never give up". So to day I called Colonial to make an appointment but instead spoke to a technician, James, who walked me thru the whole thing. From disconecting and checking the filter, blowing out the line to the tank etc. Now I had already checked the pump and the glass on the filter. They were fine, however, I did not disconnect the filter from the pump's intake. If I had done that I would had noticed that I did not thread the hose correctly when I placed it back on the other day. I rethreaded it correctly and the pump worked fine. While I was at it I did make sure the filter was working properly and that there were no hairline fractures.

Bottom line it is all working well.

Again thanks to everyone for there assistance.
John

[richinny]

thanks for the follow up and happy camping!

[urnmor]

It was a good thing because if Claire came with me to the dealer she would have looked at a bigger AS

[OTRA15]

Good to hear all is well, and thanks for the follow-up. You also saved a bundle of money for a new larger trailer, sounds like!

[urnmor]

Claire was in a new 30 footer and thought the extra 5 feet would be nice. So now I must keep her away from a dealer before I go broke.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Claire was in a new 30 footer and thought the extra 5 feet would be nice. So now I must keep her away from a dealer before I go broke.

Plenty of room for two recliners!

Good luck.