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So do I need a bicycle with a gauge before I start replacing the pump.

I have an accumulator, blue, and a calorifier but have not seen another tank, the expansion tank, would it be near the calorifier, and would it be a special shape or colour?

I would turn off the water tank and the battery isolator or the fuse. I suppose there will be water in the system which will run back, hopefully not a full tank full .

I would ask the local hire base to sort it, but they charge a fortune, there is another hire base at Hebden bridge, I expect to be there  very soon 

 

 

Edited by LadyG
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3 hours ago, LadyG said:

So do I need a bicycle with a gauge before I start replacing the pump.

I have an accumulator, blue, and a calorifier but have not seen another tank, the expansion tank, would it be near the calorifier, and would it be a special shape or colour?

I would turn off the water tank and the battery isolator or the fuse. I suppose there will be water in the system which will run back, hopefully not a full tank full .

I would ask the local hire base to sort it, but they charge a fortune, there is another hire base at Hebden bridge, I expect to be there  very soon 

 

 

Your main question has been answered several times. Just fit a similar looking pump, If it's cut out pressure is too high so the PRV keeps venting either then fit another pump with a lower cut out pressure, or adjust the cut out pressure down. You will have that info on the label of the pump you have just fitted. If it happens it's output volume is too high or low just live with it.

 

If the accumulator needs its air pressure altering I don't see how you can do it without a pump at the least. Tracy has posted how to set the pressure without a gauge a few times in other threads but you still have to pump the accumulator up if it has lost its air.

 

Whether you have an accumulator or expansion vessel only someone who can find where in the system it is relative to any NRV because they are both the same thing but set at different pressures and before or after any NRV. IN fact if it is after the NRV it might be doing both jobs. The shape and colour can vary and so  can the size but thing football or rugby ball size and shape as a rough guide.

 

 

 

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If there is no non-return valve before the cold water inlet to the cauliflower, then there is no need for an expansion vessel, as the accumulator does its job. If there is a non return valve, then there may (if plumbed properly), or may not (if plumbed by a cheapskate) be an expansion vessel.

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16 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Tyx all, not madly confident, but I'll send for a water pump. 

Not too easy to swap it if I get the wrong one.

 

So to minimize that risk you need to find out what the cut out pressure of your present pump is and then get one the same. Your PRV may have its opening pressure marked on it. If so take off around 10 PSI or more and take that as the likely pump cut out pressure - 1 bar is roughly equal to 15 PSI.

 

I don't see how you can physically measure the existing pump cut out pressure without a pressure gauge and if the accumulator is wrongly pressurised a pump as well. In fact gong back to the  original problem I am far from 100%  sure it is a pump fault unless you have definitively ruled out a leaking PRV, pumping leak or dripping tap.

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

Has yours bust then, is it leaking , or what?

 

Without going back through all the posts I think it is turning on and off quickly with all the outlets closed.

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Yes it's on off every five minutes 

it used to run of its own accord every few hours, so there is a change .

I'm inspecting all the pipes, that are accessible.

No leaks so far.

An old guy came round and turned sink taps off and on a few times, declared a new pump required.

I've got a bad cold so progress in on hold.

I suspect I'll have to pay the marina, they are very expensive.

I'm pretty sure it's not a dripping tap, as it is cycling continuously an no sign of continuous drips 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Yes it's on off every five minutes 

it used to run of its own accord every few hours, so there is a change .

I'm inspecting all the pipes, that are accessible.

No leaks so far.

An old guy came round and turned sink taps off and on a few times, declared a new pump required.

I've got a bad cold so progress in on hold.

I suspect I'll have to pay the marina, they are very expensive.

I'm pretty sure it's not a dripping tap, as it is cycling continuously an no sign of continuous drips 

 

 

 

 

 

IS there a stop valve between the pump and the water tank? Did you try turning that off? If so, what effect did it have on the pump turning on and off every five minutes or so?

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1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

IS there a stop valve between the pump and the water tank? Did you try turning that off? If so, what effect did it have on the pump turning on and off every five minutes or so?

 

Preferably close it as soon as the pump cuts out. If the pump stays off it indicates leaking valves in the pump.

 

If you suspect leaking pump valves it might be easier to find a plumbers flap type non-return valve and plumb that into the pump inlet.

 

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

Yes it's on off every five minutes 

it used to run of its own accord every few hours, so there is a change .

I'm inspecting all the pipes, that are accessible.

No leaks so far.

An old guy came round and turned sink taps off and on a few times, declared a new pump required.

I've got a bad cold so progress in on hold.

I suspect I'll have to pay the marina, they are very expensive.

I'm pretty sure it's not a dripping tap, as it is cycling continuously an no sign of continuous drips

 

Have you checked the PRV outlet for drips or damp.

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So the pump is pumping as it should, but just more frequently than before. The pump body is not leaking water. In which case it sounds to me as if the pump is fine, and the problem lies either with the non return valves in the pump (which may just need cleaning), the pump's pressure switch (just fit a Square D instead), the accumulator, expansion vessel or PRV. Better to find out exactly what has failed before randomly replacing one of the more expensive components of the water system.

Edited by David Mack
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44 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Preferably close it as soon as the pump cuts out. If the pump stays off it indicates leaking valves in the pump.

 

If you suspect leaking pump valves it might be easier to find a plumbers flap type non-return valve and plumb that into the pump inlet.

 

That is what I did. about 3 quid as opposed to £60

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9 minutes ago, David Mack said:

So the pump is pumping as it should, but just more frequently than before. The pump body is not leaking water. In which case it sounds to me as if the pump is fine, and the problem lies either with the non return valves in the pump (which may just need cleaning), the pump's pressure switch (just fit a Square D instead), the accumulator, expansion vessel or PRV. Better to find out exactly what has failed before randomly replacing one of the more expensive components of the water system.

 

But long ago she indicated that it was cutting out far quicker than normal, and that suggests either no, or a depressurized accumulator. I don't feel we have been given enough or detailed enough information to make a definitive diagnosis. I am sure I went all through the possibilities weeks ago, including what to look for and what it means.

  • Greenie 1
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28 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

But long ago she indicated that it was cutting out far quicker than normal, and that suggests either no, or a depressurized accumulator. I don't feel we have been given enough or detailed enough information to make a definitive diagnosis. I am sure I went all through the possibilities weeks ago, including what to look for and what it means.

Its always the same, we get half a story and lots of misleading non-information. Never a photo or any part numbers or descriptions.

  • Greenie 1
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