Why won't it prime? Shurflo Revolution Question

[trekerboy]

I think my pump is a goner, but thought I'd pose the situation here before I bit the bullet and bought a new pump.

We winterized and stored our AS for 2 months in Sedona, AZ while we visited family back East. Came back, everything was fine except I can not for the life of me get the water pump to prime. I have the Shurflo Revolution 3.0.

Water tank is full, lines from the tank to the pump are intact, strainer is clear, and there is water in the line all the way to the pump. In fact, when I disconnect the inlet hose from the pump, water trickles out of the open line from the tank. I have clear tubing leading to the pump and I can see a small bubble in there, and while the pump is running the water is clearly not moving toward the pump.

I've tried pressurizing the water tank (basically, filling it to capacity, then continuing to add water) in hopes that it would force water through the inlet tube into the pump to get it to prime, but no luck... water still isn't moving.

Hoping someone can ask me the "duh, did you do x" questions so I can have some piece of mind before I buy a new pump. Thanks in advance!

[wulfraat]

I disconnect the inlet and outlet of the pump when I winterize and leave it disconnected until spring. Did you disconnect your inlet and then forget to re-connect it?

There are no dumb questions right?

It is also possible that there was water in the pump itself (if you did not pump anti-freeze through) and it froze damaging the bladder.....

[CruizinDux]

a recent thread re a missing cone washer at at the inlet connection

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f445...ml#post2058322

Good luck.

bob

[TG Twinkie]

Try disconnecting the discharge line at the pump. Then run the pump to see if water comes out. If so, reconnect the discharge line and you should be good to go.

[mayco]

Triple check that you don't have any air leaks on the suction side, hose clamps, strainer o-ring, threaded fittings. I had a similar problem with the same pump, ended up being the strainer was leaking air

[trekerboy]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

I disconnect the inlet and outlet of the pump when I winterize and leave it disconnected until spring. Did you disconnect your inlet and then forget to re-connect it?

There are no dumb questions right?

It is also possible that there was water in the pump itself (if you did not pump anti-freeze through) and it froze damaging the bladder.....

Yup, inlet is connected and there was antifreeze in the pump. Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless

Originally Posted by CruizinDux

a recent thread re a missing cone washer at at the inlet connection

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f445...ml#post2058322

Good luck.

bob

Thanks Bob,the water inlet has all the parts it's supposed to

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Try disconnecting the discharge line at the pump. Then run the pump to see if water comes out. If so, reconnect the discharge line and you should be good to go.

When I disconnect the discharge line, no water comes out of the pump

Originally Posted by mayco

Triple check that you don't have any air leaks on the suction side, hose clamps, strainer o-ring, threaded fittings. I had a similar problem with the same pump, ended up being the strainer was leaking air

What's the best way to check for air leaks? Some sort of soapy water setup?

[mayco]

Not knowing how your plumbing is set up, I think I would just inspect every connection between the tank and the pump. Use a 5/16" socket to tighten any hose clamps, make sure your strainer top is screwed on tight. I would just tighten every connection a bit, you may find one that has loosened up. On mine it was the top of the strainer wasn't tight enough and was letting air in around the O-ring. I didn't like the design of the strainer so I replaced it with a Surflo strainer that threads directly to the pump, that iliminated a couple hose clamp connections right there. Can you see any water in the strainer, any bubbles?

I have that same Surflo Revolution pump, it's always been slow to prime compared to my old pump.

[bibbs]

Stuck check valve inside the pump? I would disassemble and check it out before replacing

[urnmor]

I am not familiar with your pump however I have had similar problems and I have found that I did not thread the intake hose correctly even though I thought I had. I actually had to do it a few times to get it right as it seemed I might had it cross threaded.

[james.mileur]

Petroleum jelly on every mating surface, o ring, gasket and joint. I've found opening the toilet flush valve helps my pump prime.

[rmkrum]

Silicone plumbers grease (not putty) might be safer. Petroleum jelly might make gasket rubber swell.

[Air4563]

Do you have water pressure when hooked up to shore water?

[trekerboy]

Turns out, the pump was bad. The diaphragm was fine, but the drive assembly connection to it was stripped out. Replaced it and all is well! Thanks for the help everyone! Learned a lot in the process

[harryk]

I had some problems with my Revolution pump too. In the instructions, it is stated that a backflow device is N/S which I took to mean "not shown"...after trying different methods similar to yours, I figured out that N/S meant "not supplied". I made one up from parts from a hardware store, and installed. Very happy with the pump now.