Water Pump Priming Issue

[JudyJB]

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.

[Bethers]

Wish I could help, but have never had this problem. Hopefully someone will chime in. And you might want to see if there's info on this on rv.net. That's where I look for this kind of issue.

[Sandersmr]

I had the problem after we drained the lines the night we stayed at the Lodge - we drained from the low points because we weren't hooked up to electricity so wouldn't have the electric heater on and we don't normally use the furnace. Anyway, it took several tries to get the pump primed, don't remember how long, but I know it was probably only a couple of minutes. And yes, open the faucet.

I do know I was almost to the point of finding a place to pour water in the pump when it finally "caught".

[JudyJB]

Was on a very level parking lot today, so I turned on all of the taps and let the water pump run while I fixed myself a sandwich. I also flushed the toilet a couple of times. It took about 5-6 minutes, but finally, I saw a few drops and then a trickle of water, and finally the taps worked normally. Yea!

I am camping in the Everglades week after next, and while I will have electric, I will have to rely on my tanks for water. Now I feel much more confident that I will be able to have water during that time. whew.

I also feel more confident that I can use water while I am driving around during the day. I have been carrying a jug for flushing and washing, but being able to turn on the taps is nice.

[Sandersmr]

Judy - when you disconnect, you might try turning the pump on before you leave to prime the lines, and maybe running it to get the lines primed will hold until you get to the next stop when you need the pump.

I know we used the pump a lot more this trip than in the past. Usually we only have to use it when dumping. I found out mine tends to pulse with the hot water. I guess that's because the water heater is such a relatively large reservoir, but it's more so than with the cold water.

[JudyJB]

Thanks. I'll give that a try.

[JudyJB]

In case someone checks this thread who is having the same problem as I did...

Yes! I now have water for flushing and washing my hands when I drive around.

The trick to getting my water pump to prime was to open all of the taps and flush the toilet while leaving on the water pump for maybe five minutes. (I only flushed the toilet once.) You don't have to leave the taps on wide open, just a tiny bit. At first there was a few drops of water coming from a tap, then a tiny trickle, and finally a lot of water.

Now I feel a lot better about staying places where I have no city water hookups because I know my water pump is not defective.

[cnq50b]

Thanks, Judy... these tidbits of info are definitely appreciated. I hope I remember its here in a couple of months when I get my van out of storage & primed for traveling...