Pump won’t stop

[Tbos]

Here’s the scenario. Last fall I blew out all lines and emptied the HWH and FW tank. Last night I connected city water ran the spigots to remove the air and fill the HWH. Poured 20 gallons of water with some bleach into the FW tank. Turned the pump on with city water still hooked up and charged and the pump did not come on. No leaks to be seen. Disconnected city water and pump came on but doesn’t stop. It seems the system isn’t pressurizing. At this point there seemed to be water leaking from the hose that connects to the city water check valve. I tightened the hose and it seemed to stop leaking. The pump still won’t stop. Turned pump off, reconnected and charged city water and no leaks. Turned pump on and it didn’t shut off. No leaks. The plastic check valve does spin in the housing. Any ideas? Do I have a bad check valve? Can I replace just the plastic check valve? Here’s a picture of the outside of my water inlet.

[{tpc}]

So, its my understanding, that when the city water is hooked up, you wouldn't use the pump or the FW tank. Thats the purpose of the city water connection, as it supplys the pressure and the water, so no need for the pump. To me that explains why it didn't come on when the city water was connected.

But then after thinking a little more, I am confused. Because the pump should still run until its "primed" and the whole system is charged up and no air bubbles in any lines. That would happen on the inlet side, wouldn't it? Or maybe it feels the "pressure" on the other side and that tells it not to run.

Still doesn't explain why now, with no city water hooked up, that it won't stop running. The only thing that came to mind is if you have a setup for running antifreeze into it. If that wasn't turned to the FW tank, it could just be sucking air.

I assume no water on the ground like an open low point drain or something? Do the faucets work when the city water is disconnected and the pump is just running non stop?

[jsmith948]

Just a WAG...the lines had nothing in them but air. Hooking up to city water and then opening the faucets would allow the city water pressure to force the air out of the lines through the faucets - except for the line that goes to the pump - that line has air trapped in it that can't escape past the check valve at the pump. With the city water still on, there would be an air lock in the line back to the pump. When you turned the pump on without removing the city water, the pump didn't run because there was pressure in the line. It seems you would have to remove/shut off the city water - then turn on the pump AND open a faucet to allow the pump to prime itself and force the trapped air out of the line downstream of the pump?

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Tbos

Here’s the scenario. Last fall I blew out all lines and emptied the HWH and FW tank. Last night I connected city water ran the spigots to remove the air and fill the HWH. Poured 20 gallons of water with some bleach into the FW tank. Turned the pump on with city water still hooked up and charged and the pump did not come on. No leaks to be seen. Disconnected city water and pump came on but doesn’t stop. It seems the system isn’t pressurizing. At this point there seemed to be water leaking from the hose that connects to the city water check valve. I tightened the hose and it seemed to stop leaking. The pump still won’t stop. Turned pump off, reconnected and charged city water and no leaks. Turned pump on and it didn’t shut off. No leaks. The plastic check valve does spin in the housing. Any ideas? Do I have a bad check valve? Can I replace just the plastic check valve? Here’s a picture of the outside of my water inlet. Attachment 15988

Couple of questions that may help in assisting.
When you say pump does not shut off, does it run continuously or cycle on and off rapidly? When you ran the city water did you open both hot and cold spigots (and the furthest ones away from pump)? Did you open outside shower to bleed out air? Is the winterizing valve on the pump pick up side turned in the full off position? Have opened a spigot while the pump was running to see if water was flowing? The check valve that "spins", is that on the pump or the fresh water side that you referenced about leaking? How about the hot water tank, valves changed over from bypass? Have you visually checked the pump housing and a trainer for cracks and leaks?
I know it's a lot of questions but the answers can eliminate a lot of guesswork for those that want to postulate on a possible solution.
With all that said my first step would be to connect city water, open all hot and cold fixtures and run water for a few minutes ( long enough to fill HW tank) then turn off all fixtures. Then turn off city water supply but leave hose connected. Wait several minutes and go inside and open a spigot. You should get some water out under pressure. If you don't then you have a leak in the plumbing, if you do get some water still under pressure then you isolated the issue to the pump.
Hope this helps.

[Tbos]

Thanks for the ideas. I don’t have a winterizing port or valve so that’s not it. I’ll check again but with the city water hose connected and full but shut off I still had some pressure in the system but it dwindled quickly. I may have still had some residual pressure with the hose disconnected which makes me think the check valve may be ok. The city water line T’s into the water system right after the pump. I have no visible leaks now. Pump comes on and runs continuously. All low point drains are capped and not leaking. On city water I have hot and cold water with no air in the lines. I’ll try opening a faucet to see if it helps to Prime the pump. I’ll also check to see if the pump is pumping water out the city water inlet past the check valve. If you have any other ideas let me know.

[sourdough]

I'm thinking opening the faucets and letting the pump prime will fix it. Turning on the city water, filling the lines with the faucets open then closing the faucets and turning off the city water effectively gives you a closed system full of water. When you turn on the pump in that situation, and it has air in the line between the tank and pump, it will just run because it can't push water into the closed system. It has to be able to run water out somewhere to fill the pump and shut off...just thinking

[Tinner12002]

I'm thinking you need to add more water to your tank, 20 gal may seem like a lot but it may not be enough to get to where the pump pulls from...you can always dump it when your finished and the possible slight pressure of extra water in the tank might help push the air through. Make sure your winterizing valve is in the correct position also.

[Tbos]

Problem fixed. I left one faucet on and let the pressure in the system drain while leaving the pump on. It eventually primed and works as advertised. Thank everyone.

[busterbrown]

Yep, it's usually one big air pocket that keeps the DC pump running. Happened to me 2 years ago when I dewinterized. Took a few minutes to correctly prime the lines with one faucet open down stream. Last year, I did not blow the lines, but instead used the pink stuff throughout the fresh water lines. May not experience a non-pressurizing pump when I go to dewinterize next week.

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by Tbos

Problem fixed. I left one faucet on and let the pressure in the system drain while leaving the pump on. It eventually primed and works as advertised. Thank everyone.

Cool. Last year I recall a similar situation I had. I didn't get a chance to mention it, but it was kinda the same thing where it just took a really long time, longer than I expected and longer than it had before, to prime and stop running. Sounds like this was the same for you.

Glad its all worked out.