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Water Pump Question….
I drained and blew out the lines in the bus for storage and am getting ready to leave in 3 weeks. While watching one of the training videos from Brandon, he said NOT to let the pump run dry (headhunter). He was very clear on the video that these pumps don’t like to run dry and they can burn up pretty easily.
When I blew out the lines, I unscrewed the plug on the bottom of the pump to make sure no water was left in the pump. Keep in mind I have the aqua hot set for 50 degrees so the bays have been and will be kept warm. I just wanted to be safe in case of a power outage in the pole barn.
The day before we leave I plan on adding water to the fresh tank (about 3/4 full) for traveling. Is there something I should do to prime the pump before simply turning it on and letting it charge the system back up with water? I’m assuming that the pump should be fine priming itself but I just want to make sure.
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7 Replies
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If I drain my water system the easiest way to prime the water pump for me is to fill the water tank to a depth that is higher than the water pump. Then I open a water faucet or any valve to allow Mr. Gravity to fill the water system that is empty of water. Obviously all pipes above the tank water level will remain dry, but the water will flow through the pump into the pipes and fixtures at or below the tank water level.
I never turn on any pump unless I am confident it has been primed. Some say it is OK, but I would prefer to not take a chance.
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Learning new “tricks” everyday…..thanks Jon, that makes sense.
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Jim,
I put in a new Mach 5 recently and had to prime the pump per the instructions. It’s easy to do and that may keep you from having a problem. Why not just prime and that way you’re certain it won’t run dry.
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don’t leave me hanging tom, what does the directions say? That is the one manual I don’t have…is it online?
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Jim,
There’s a prime plug on top the Mach 5 you just unscrew and fill with water.
Here’s the Headhunter link for the Manual: Mach 5
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Boy, I’m really starting to feel “stupid”….duh…..of course the drain valve on the bottom emptied it and
the one on the top fills it…..I’ve got to stop thinking of my bus as some “mysterious” lady just waiting to spring something on me that will be disasterous. I now know why I liked buying my motorhomes in the spring because it gave me all summer to actually get hands on with it. All I’ve done so far is drive this one from Nashville straight to the barn.
I think once I get the bus on the road for the trip to florida and spend 4 months in the sun looking at, playing with, tinkering with all the systems I will feel much more comfortable like I did with my other 7 motorhomes! I still feel like the last 12 years of motorhoming have just not prepared me for the systems that are on our buses……and I’ve got a Royale which is probably the simplest to understand. I can’t wait to really dig into this in the warm sun.
Thanks guys…
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Jim,
When I got my first coach in 1990 there was no internet as we know it and there was no way for owners to compare notes or answer questions. I was 500 miles from Liberty and 400 miles from Prevost in Lyndhurst so I was pretty much on my own trying to figure out a coach that was brand new to me.
So I would put on my snowmobile suit, head out to the barn and spend an hour or two each evening for about 6 weeks figuring out the systems. What I learned was almost everything about the coach had a great deal of logic behind it and as I concentrated on the varous systems and their knobs and dials and switches it started to make a great deal of sense.
The coaches today are significantly more complex than my 1987 was, but the basics have not changed. Don’t be too afraid of it because as you will realize it has fairly simple systems (just a lot of them) and today you have access to support we couldn’t even dream of 23 years ago.
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