Posted 2010-01-07 11:12 AM (#114983) Subject: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
I winterized my trailer about 2 months ago. I emptied the fresh water tank, then I put in 2 gallons of pink RV antifreeze and ran all faucets till there was pink coming out of all spigots. 2 months later I filled the fresh water tank but the pump will not pump any water to the faucets. I can hear the pump running but nothing is comming out the faucets. I left the furnace in the trailer on all night and also left a little ceramic heater blowing in the cabinet where the pump is. I did not run the pump for more than 30 seconds when I saw there was no water coming out of the faucets. The weather here is very cold, about 25 degrees for the last couple of weeks.
The pump is a ShurFlo 2088 and my fresh water tank is inside the LQ, not underneath the trailer.
Posted 2010-01-07 11:53 AM (#114988 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA
Are your hot water heater supply line valves on by pass, or are you filling the water heater? If you are, it will take several minutes of pumping to fill the tank before you have pressure to the faucets. It will take forever if the tank drain is open or the rod is removed.
Posted 2010-01-07 11:56 AM (#114989 - in reply to #114988) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
The hot valve for the hot water tank is not in the by pass mode so it makes sense it would take a couple minutes for it to fill up. But shouldn't the cold water faucet come on right away?
Posted 2010-01-07 12:10 PM (#114992 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA
You won't get any system pressure until most of the air spaces in the water system are purged. If your water heater is not in the by pass mode, it holds at least 6 gallons, and will take a while to fill, and then the pressurised air will have to be bled at the faucet.
Also, if you did not place the water heater in the by pass mode when you winterized the system, two gallons would have been an insufficient amount of anti freeze to properly weatherize the system. It would have taken almost 7 gallons to purge everything.
Posted 2010-01-07 12:18 PM (#114993 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
I did have the hot wate tank in bypass mode before I winterized it so hopefully 2 gallons was enough. Assuming I just have to wait till the hot water tank is full, how long do you think it is safe to run the pump with out anything coming out of the faucets, I don't want to burn it up. (Just in case there is a blockage before the pump and the pump is not getting water ) But I did do some research on the Shurflo pumps and I guess they are suppose to be pretty good about being able to run dry with out hurting them.
Posted 2010-01-07 12:51 PM (#114994 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 188
Location: Ingalls, Ks
I know of a case that one ran for 2 days with no water. As far as I know it still worked, though I wouldn't recommend it. I've probably ran them up to 10 minutes dry before they've picked up prime.
Posted 2010-01-07 3:25 PM (#114996 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA
According to Shurflo's web site; "They can even run dry without damage". It takes a couple of minutes for my LQ water systems to fully recharge in the Spring. I've not had any pump maintenance issues, and I doubt you will as well.
When your pump is running, have you looked outside, underneath your trailer for leaks? Is the water drain closed or the anode rod reinstalled in your heater?
Try running it a while longer and it may work fine.
Posted 2010-01-07 6:01 PM (#115004 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
Apparantly you have to take the trailer on an 8 hour trip in order for the pump to work. I didn't see that in the manual, but what ever it takes I guess
Posted 2010-01-09 7:29 AM (#115046 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 420
Location: Florida
When you winterized did you inject the antifreeze by disconnecting the pump intake and using the pump to flood the system? If not you never winterized your pump. And you may have damaged a seal (May Have). I would search the RV sites or even go to an RV store for more information than you will ever need on winterizing. Good Luck
Posted 2010-01-09 7:37 AM (#115048 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
BlazingCreek,
Thanks for your response. Could you explain more about injecting the AF right into the pump. I put the AF in the freshwater tank and the pump pulled it up and I had pink coming out of all my faucets? I also have pink in the water filter right before the pump. I think you are right that I did something wrong but the good news is I did not damage anything. The system runs fine now with no leaks and the pumps holds preasure fine. But I think I obviously had a little ice somewhere and I need to make sure I do it right the next time.
Posted 2010-01-09 12:26 PM (#115055 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA
Ncatanz
You did nothing wrong during your winterization. By replacing the water in your tank with antifreeze and flushing it throughout the system, you completely flooded the pump with anti freeze, while protecting it and the system from freezing.
The fact that the pump took some extra time to prime itself, can be the result of several other factors, not related to frozen water.
You did it well and correctly, as evidenced by the lack of any damage and its operation now.
Posted 2010-01-09 7:43 PM (#115068 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 420
Location: Florida
It has been my understanding that you do not want antifreeze in your fresh water tank and nor in your hot water tank (I read it corrodes the steal of the hw tank) and I spend all summer making sure that my fresh water tank is clean by adding occasional doses of bleach.
So when I winterize I use @ 1.5 gals of anti freeze and then drain back into the bottle about ¾ of the 1.5 gal that I ran thru the system the other ½ either went into the holding tank or lingered in the pipes.
I do this by attaching a winterizing bypass kit http://www.amazon.com/Camco-35983-Quick-Permanent-Pass/dp/B0006JJ57Y to the fresh water inlet. I suck directly out of the gal jug, the system stays pressurized enough to go to each faucet Shower and toilet running till pink.All along with the hot water tank bypassed.I then place an empty gal jug under my trailer with the water drain lines (cold and hot) inside the empty jug I then open the faucets draining all available antifreeze safely back into the jug.I also pull my hot water anode and flush the HW tank with a hose to remove all sand and debris (I attach a small 1/2 clear tube to the end of my hose that fits inside the hot water tank allowing me to get some good pressure in there.I then place the anode in a safe place and leave the HW tank open till I use it again in the spring (I buy a new anode if corroded to much more than 50%).
I gently wire brush both the HW and Fridge burners and fire chambers and air gun the debris out.
Posted 2010-01-10 7:39 AM (#115080 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 420
Location: Florida
I think to Gards point "which is an excellent point" there are many instructions on the web, in books and thru RV and LQ dealers that will aid you to understanding the steps in winterizing and many other tasks that protect and ensure years of service from our expensive toys.
Posted 2010-01-10 8:32 PM (#115104 - in reply to #114983) Subject: RE: Pump after winter storage
Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa
Thank you all for your help in this matter. I found one more problem when we got the trailer home and I started to re winterize it. After empting the hot water tank and putting it in the bypass mode, I tried to put my funnel in the fresh water tank to put in the RV antifreese but could not. The hole where you normally put the hose was full of ice. After poking it with my finger I broke through the ice and heard a big WOOSH of air as air was sucked into the fresh water tank. No wonder it took so long for the pump to prime and it ran a little week. A well, I am learning !