I have had long-term problems with my water pump not self-priming as it is supposed to do. I like to have water from the tanks available while I am driving, whether from one campground to the next or out for a day's shopping and touring. Lately, I have been taking a gallon of water in a bleach bottle to flush.
It seems that when I am unhooked from shore water, my pump will not work even when I know there is half a tank of fresh water available. They checked it at the factory, and it was fine. It was working then, but has given me sporadic trouble. To get it working that time, I let it run off and on for several minutes, but can't seem to repeat that.
The instruction booklet says it is OK to run the pump dry for a "substantial" amount of time. I know from internet information that I need to leave the faucets all open while I do this, but can anyone tell me the longest they have let their pump run dry?
Is is safe to let it run for ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? These instructions about "substantial" are terribly vague, but I don't want to burn anything up.
I am on shore water right now, but I want to try this out by turning the shore water off tomorrow and testing this. Not knowing makes it tricky to be able to dry camp, so this is important.