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Water pump issue. Any engineers in Thrupp?


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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

If the op can ever be arsed to look again at this thread that people have offered him help on and probably given up waiting for a response and moved on, then he can contact Mark Paris who lives in Thrupp. If you respond to this then I will give u his number.

The OP did look at the thread earlier today.Perhaps too embarrassed to comment cos MtB was right (again).

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Hi All,

 

Thank you so much for all of your replies. Sorry I’ve been quiet today. I’ve been a bit manic trying to get the issue resolved.

 

I cleaned out the filter as suggested and that unfortunately didn’t solve the issue (but thanks for the tip I’m glad I know how to do that now if there’s ever an issue with that in the future). I then disconnected each part of the piping and then turned the pump on...no water! Suggesting that the blockage is coming from the tank it’s self. 
 

After speaking to an engineer on the phone they confirmed my suspicions that it’s a blockage either due to some debris in the tank or a rusty pipe but suggested that the only way to resolve it would be to get the tank drained at a boat yard I.e that it couldn’t be resolved with a call-out. 

 

I’m trying to book in with Bossoms just outside of Oxford over the next couple of days (I’ve also got some other issues I need looking at so might as well get it all done at once). 
 

@Keeping Upthank you so much for your kind offer of help sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. I will message you privately.

 

regards,

Mel

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6 minutes ago, Mel_LowertownLad said:

@Keeping Upthank you so much for your kind offer of help sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. I will message you privately.

It used to be that you needed a number of forum posts before you could use the messaging system, though things may have changed.

 

Hope you get it sorted.

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9 minutes ago, Mel_LowertownLad said:

Hi All,

 

Thank you so much for all of your replies. Sorry I’ve been quiet today. I’ve been a bit manic trying to get the issue resolved.

 

I cleaned out the filter as suggested and that unfortunately didn’t solve the issue (but thanks for the tip I’m glad I know how to do that now if there’s ever an issue with that in the future). I then disconnected each part of the piping and then turned the pump on...no water! Suggesting that the blockage is coming from the tank it’s self. 
 

After speaking to an engineer on the phone they confirmed my suspicions that it’s a blockage either due to some debris in the tank or a rusty pipe but suggested that the only way to resolve it would be to get the tank drained at a boat yard I.e that it couldn’t be resolved with a call-out. 

 

I’m trying to book in with Bossoms just outside of Oxford over the next couple of days (I’ve also got some other issues I need looking at so might as well get it all done at once). 
 

@Keeping Upthank you so much for your kind offer of help sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. I will message you privately.

 

regards,

Mel

If it is just a furred up pipe it a doddle to do yourself. I had that on a previous boat and simply capped the old pipe and drilled a whole next to it into the tank and put a fitting of some sort through. I gained access into the tank first to give it a clean out. All in all a doddle. These doddles often cost a fortune to the unwary at " Specialist " boat yards!! Just sayin like.

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19 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I want to be a humble pirate!!!

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Mel_LowertownLad said:

It’s all good. That’s the beauty of forums. Anyone can be anyone ?

There you go Mike, you can be a pirate afterall.

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I thin that if you can open a connection close to the tank and pushed a length of stiff wire with the end bent over like a straighten coat hanger you may well celar enough of the blockage to allow you to carry on. Only thing is you are very likely to end up with water all over the place, probably rusty as well.

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11 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I thin that if you can open a connection close to the tank and pushed a length of stiff wire with the end bent over like a straighten coat hanger you may well celar enough of the blockage to allow you to carry on. Only thing is you are very likely to end up with water all over the place, probably rusty as well.

I've cleared a blocked pipe this way. Normally the gate valve is close enough to the tank to enable the blockage to be poked through it, and quickly closed on withdrawal. This where lever valves score over gate valves, as the closure is instant.

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26 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

I've cleared a blocked pipe this way. Normally the gate valve is close enough to the tank to enable the blockage to be poked through it, and quickly closed on withdrawal. This where lever valves score over gate valves, as the closure is instant.

Gate valves tend to fail quite reliably too, vulnerable to a bit of debris under the 'gate' preventing them closing. 

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1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

Just been to have a quick look. Definitely a blockage in the pipe from the tank. There is a lever valve which is good, but there is a right angle bend between it and the tank which will make it slightly more difficult to poke a wire down (luckily I have some stiff multi-strand wire that might do it). The fact it occurred suddenly suggests to me that it is debris rather than only being furred up.

 

I did try blowing back down the pipe (there is a length of flexible hose to the pump, which helps). I couldn't blow hard enough to cure it but after I had tried there was a slow but steady trickle of water from the end; not enough to be usable but a definite pointer to the fact that a cure may be possible. I have lent the OP a bicycle pump which may just generate enough pressure to blow it clear; if not she will try the wire poke, and I can stand by for an hour or so before setting off tomorrow.

What about my water pump reversal idea, that would pump a couple of barr  maybe and should shift anything

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1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

Just been to have a quick look. Definitely a blockage in the pipe from the tank. There is a lever valve which is good, but there is a right angle bend between it and the tank which will make it slightly more difficult to poke a wire down (luckily I have some stiff multi-strand wire that might do it). The fact it occurred suddenly suggests to me that it is debris rather than only being furred up.

 

I did try blowing back down the pipe (there is a length of flexible hose to the pump, which helps). I couldn't blow hard enough to cure it but after I had tried there was a slow but steady trickle of water from the end; not enough to be usable but a definite pointer to the fact that a cure may be possible. I have lent the OP a bicycle pump which may just generate enough pressure to blow it clear; if not she will try the wire poke, and I can stand by for an hour or so before setting off tomorrow.

Thanks for your help Allan. I have tried both the bike pump and the wire method which has got the tap up and running, where it wasn’t before (although the pressure is a bit lower than usual). However the the pump is still making a noise even when the tap isn’t running. Suggesting some but not all of the blockage has been dislodged. 
 

It should certainly keep me going for a while. I will try both methods again tomorrow to see if I can get the rest of the blockage.

3 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

What about my water pump reversal idea, that would pump a couple of barr  maybe and should shift anything

Good idea. I’ll give that a go tomorrow. Thanks 

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8 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

What about my water pump reversal idea, that would pump a couple of barr  maybe and should shift anything

Yes that's a good idea, well worth trying. Of course it is not just a simple reversal as it does rely on having a different source of water to feed the inlet of the pump. One option may be to disconnect one of the usual outlet pipes (one of those on the accumulator T-joint for example) and put the end into a bucket of water. Otherwise perhaps a long hose from the pump inlet to the tank filler cap.

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12 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

Yes that's a good idea, well worth trying. Of course it is not just a simple reversal as it does rely on having a different source of water to feed the inlet of the pump. One option may be to disconnect one of the usual outlet pipes (one of those on the accumulator T-joint for example) and put the end into a bucket of water. Otherwise perhaps a long hose from the pump inlet to the tank filler cap.

All of my pumps have happily pumped air, that is how I drain my system for the winter. Isolate the tank, remove the filter cover and run the pump, this blows the water out of the low bits of pipework 

 

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My tank is the front end of the boat so does suffer from a bit of rust, most falling off the underside of the deck. But the end of the pipe does rust up too, and I have to get in there ever few years and attack it with a screwdriver to open it up again. Luckily the hatch is big enough to get through, but it's still claustrophobic down there. 

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