No Water from Taps

Dogsense

Dogsense

Joined
May 5, 2014
Posts
678
Likes collected
170
Location
Leicestershire
Funster No
31,328
MH
C Class
Exp
Beginners, got Doggy the van - March 2014
Help.
Now in Crete, with our AutoTrail Delaware, Shurflo water Pump.
Yesterday morning didn’t get water from taps, thought maybe run out of water so went to refill the tank full (from Petrol station strong pressure water tap, it didn’t take long to fill, so thinking tank wasn’t empty).
Even with full tank not getting water to taps, but pump sound working.
Opened the filter to try to get air lock, sucked the water pipe from tank to filter to check If water coming from tank , tried to push water through filter to fill the pump with water to avoid air lock.
Any advice of steps to check and hopefully to sort the problem will be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Are you getting any air at the tap? Is there a gurgling sound? It may be a non return valve if it's like mine that is in the pump.
 
Thanks, No air, no gurgling sound
 
Sorry just read your full post. If no.water is running anywhere ( pipe come.apart? ) the it is most likely the pump, can you get to it?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
sometimes instead of sucking, try blowing - if there is an air lock then you can sometimes blow it through to help purge the system and prime the pump
 
Could be the diaphragm not pushing water thru the pump, is there water from the tank to the pump? If there's no water past the pump it is more than likely a pump fault, probably the diaphragm has split, the pump will still run constantly but it won't pump water,
If there is no water between the tank and the pump via gravity then obviously you've got a blockage
 
MisterB said:
sometimes instead of sucking, try blowing - if there is an air lock then you can sometimes blow it through to help purge the system and prime the pump
Click to expand...
By sucking water from the tank, I know water getting from the tank, I been told to try to use a hose and to push water into the pump to fill it and to get rid of a air lock, I am not sure if that a good idea?
 
River gypsys said:
Could be the diaphragm not pushing water thru the pump, is there water from the tank to the pump? If there's no water past the pump it is more than likely a pump fault, probably the diaphragm has split, the pump will still run constantly but it won't pump water,
If there is no water between the tank and the pump via gravity then obviously you've got a blockage
Click to expand...
Not sure about gravity as the tank under the chassis and pump under the bed.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Make sure you don't have damp anywhere ie pipe leak or adrift.
 
Check water into and out of pump on connection's if possible
 
Dogsense said:
By sucking water from the tank, I know water getting from the tank, I been told to try to use a hose and to push water into the pump to fill it and to get rid of a air lock, I am not sure if that a good idea?
Click to expand...

it blows the water in the pipe past the air bubble which then is no longer trapped and consolidates the water 'mass'

if youre not convinced then consider what is the worst that could happen, you might end up with an air lock .... ooops - you might already have one, though of course it might be a torn diaphragm or faulty pump, leaking pipework (that you haven't found yet)

introducing water into the pipework also sometimes displaces the air bubble/lock and consolidates the water 'mass' - they achieve the same thing.

does it always work, no - does it sometimes work - yes, does it make the situation worse - no

I passed my city and guilds in plumbing and heating 42 years ago and was shown the 'trick' by an old school plumber to clear air locks, his words were ' don't want to suck as any shit in the system might end up in your mouth' its a phrase ive often heard since .....
 
Open hot tap furthest from boiler. It might take a while to cone through.
Other option is dump all fresh water and fill up again.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I'd only expect an air lock to affect the low pressure side of the pump. That is the bit between the tank and the pump. Water should flow freely out of the filter housing next to the pump. Why do you think an airlock might be the problem? If water is not present at the pump inlet, it will not pump water.
Check the filter housing. I know you said "no gurgling" but air leaking into the housing can stop the pump from getting water. Has there been any sign of malfunction/deterioration before this happened? I think your pump may be at fault (how old is it?).
 
You might have already checked this, and forgive me if I haven't properly read everything above, but...

I had an Autotrail a while ago and the water pick-up pipe fell off inside the tank. If it's like mine, the pump connects to a union on top of the tank and then a short length of pipe drops into the tank to the bottom to suck up the water when the pump runs. Mine was just a push fit (and apparently not a very good one at that), and when fixed it was clipped in place so that it wouldn't happen again.

I lasted a whole holiday by connecting a pipe to the inlet side of the pump and dropping into a 10 litre container, filling it regularly from the main tank's drain point.

Mike
 
Check your filters on the taps, unscrew and clean.
 
Sounds like my experience last year. I also have Delaware with a Shurflo pump. There is a filter prior to the pump. For some reason the "O" ring stopped sealing. To prove the fault I removed the glass cover and filter, I put my hand over where the glass screws on, asked wife to open tap.
She got very wet with the gushing and the vacuum sucked my palm so hard it hurt and left a big red mark. Ensured "o" properly seated and re-assembled.
It was easier for the air to be sucked in rather than lift the water from the tank.
Water came from taps once more and I got the rest off the day off :D

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Theonlysue said:
Open hot tap furthest from boiler. It might take a while to cone through.
Other option is dump all fresh water and fill up again.
Click to expand...
That's what I finished up doing and it worked.
 
Theonlysue said:
Open hot tap furthest from boiler. It might take a while to cone through.
Other option is dump all fresh water and fill up again.
Click to expand...
Done, left the pump running for a while but no water at hot tap.
 
O
two said:
I'd only expect an air lock to affect the low pressure side of the pump. That is the bit between the tank and the pump. Water should flow freely out of the filter housing next to the pump. Why do you think an airlock might be the problem? If water is not present at the pump inlet, it will not pump water.
Check the filter housing. I know you said "no gurgling" but air leaking into the housing can stop the pump from getting water. Has there been any sign of malfunction/deterioration before this happened? I think your pump may be at fault (how old is it?).
Click to expand...
sign before that happened, the van was new 6/2012.
 
treetops1 said:
Replace the pump ,not expensive but I think will solve the problem.
Click to expand...
Always good to get advice from a rich man ! :-)

Strip the pump. Very common to get a bit of crap stuck in the valve.
The pump comes apart easily and requires no special tools or parts to reassemble

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
two said:
I'd check the filter seal then. If air is getting in, no water will be getting to the pump.
Click to expand...

Even take the filter off altogether, they did that testing ours, which in the end was cured by a new pump.
 
it sounds like the pump is not priming. possible causes are
leaking filter
lost pick up pipe in the tank
blocked or damaged diaphragm in the pump head
 
Thank you all, now with new pump and running water.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top