Water pump problem

[DannyC]

Hi everyone,

 

Apologies if this is in the wrong section!

 

So I emptied my water tank before going away for a few days at xmas. When I returned, I entered the boat and turned on the 12v system that powers the water pumps. The pump started marking a loudish buzzing noise, so I turned it off as I presumed that it was making the noise because there was no water in the tank to pump.

 

Today I filled up my water tank and turned on the water pump. When I turned on the tap, no water appeared. The pump is still making the buzzing noise.

 

Any ideas what the problem could be here?

 

Thanks

Dan

[Ian F B]

Possibly blocked filter or air lock,I sometimes have this problem with the pump to my Thetford.??

[philjw]

Is there a stop cock before he pump which is not turned on?

Did you drain the calorifier?

I'd start by opening all of the cold taps then turn on the pump. That should sort out any air locks.  If not then try removing the output side pipe from the pump to make sure the water is getting that far. If it is keep working forwards through the system.
The question re calorifier is that it may need to fill before there is anything left to come through the taps. Open the shower or kitchen hot tap first to allow air in.

[Stilllearning]

A few thoughts

after emptying the tank, did you turn off the tap between the tank and the pump, if there is one? (There should be one)

is there a filter inline between tank and pump, and it it blocked?

have you tried giving the pump a gentle whack with a soft hammer? It might be jammed and not functioning as it should.

 

[Momac]

7 minutes ago, DannyC said:

Hi everyone,

 

Apologies if this is in the wrong section!

 

So I emptied my water tank before going away for a few days at xmas. When I returned, I entered the boat and turned on the 12v system that powers the water pumps. The pump started marking a loudish buzzing noise, so I turned it off as I presumed that it was making the noise because there was no water in the tank to pump.

 

Today I filled up my water tank and turned on the water pump. When I turned on the tap, no water appeared. The pump is still making the buzzing noise.

 

Any ideas what the problem could be here?

 

Thanks

Dan

The  pump should be capable of picking up the water from the tank despite some air in the pick up pipe.

Possibly you need to leave  the pump running a little longer  to fill up the  pipework and the calorifier

If the pick up pipe is clear plastic you should be able to see if it full of water up to the pump.

 

 

[DannyC]

I turned on all the taps until there was no water coming out before I left for xmas. Would that have drainedd the calorifier?

 

 

[Stilllearning]

1 minute ago, DannyC said:

I turned on all the taps until there was no water coming out before I left for xmas. Would that have drainedd the calorifier?

 

 

Almost certainly

[DannyC]

Just to confirm - the pump is making noise event when the taps are off. 

 

I turned on all the taps and tried to see if water is coming through - the stock cock is turned on to allow for water flow, but it is difficult to see whether there is water flowing through the pipe. 

[DannyC]

30 minutes ago, philjw said:

Is there a stop cock before he pump which is not turned on?

Did you drain the calorifier?

I'd start by opening all of the cold taps then turn on the pump. That should sort out any air locks.  If not then try removing the output side pipe from the pump to make sure the water is getting that far. If it is keep working forwards through the system.
The question re calorifier is that it may need to fill before there is anything left to come through the taps. Open the shower or kitchen hot tap first to allow air in.

 

Is the output side pipe the one that goes from the pump to the calorifier?

[DannyC]

Woah - so water is coming through now. I think it is fixed. Haha, this is a learning curve!

 

Cheers all

[Iain_S]

1 hour ago, DannyC said:

I turned on all the taps until there was no water coming out before I left for xmas. Would that have drainedd the calorifier?

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Stilllearning said:

Almost certainly

Have to disagree : almost certainly not. The hot outlet from the calorifier will be at the top. Water will cease to flow from the taps when the pump has moved air to the calorifier inlet, or before.  Drainng the calorifier requires a drain cock at the bottom of the calorifier, on the inlet and after any non return valve.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Stilllearning said:

Almost certainly

Definitely not

[Liam]

Moved to Boat Building & Maintenance

[Tony Brooks]

I noticed that everyone assumed a modern diaphragm type pump and in this case that was almost certainly correct. There may well be Stuart or Godwin systems around (maybe others) that use a centrifugal pump and they will not normally self prime if the pump ha s air in it. Those need a good blow into the tank filler with the breather blocked or a good suck on just one open tap with the pump running.

[Boater Sam]

10 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

Almost certainly

No it would not, calorifiers empty from the top, fill from the bottom.

 

Crossed with everyone else!

 

Its not French plumbing!!!!

Edited December 29, 2018 by Boater Sam