1996 Patriot - Antifreeze / Pump :(

[Vittorio Bares]

Hi - I've looked around the forum and the documentation I have. I must be doing something wrong. This is my first time winterizing (no aquahot, this is a 34' Savanah)

I've drained all the water from the fresh water tank. Run the pump until nothing comes through any of the faucets. I've applied about 30psi via the city water hookup.

Attached the syphone tube to the brass cap on pump (there was an attachment in the pump area from the previous owner).

Turn the pump on and I'm getting zero suction.

Is the pump cavitating and do I need water in the fresh water tank to prime it?

Not sure what I'm doing wrong...

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Vittorio,
Sounds like your pump lost its prime. Assuming the hose fitting is tee'd into the line from the water tank, is there a shutoff valve between it and the tank? There is probably too much empty line so the pump can't create enough suction to draw antifreeze from the bottle. If no valve, then suggest you add a bit of water to the tank. Just enough to get it primed with the antifreeze jug attached.
Steve

[Eric Maclean]

Vittario
The brass bypass valve should have can arrow on the side of the body that arrow should point away from the pump not toward the pump.
Try blowing into the hose endgame see if the air goes to the tank or the pump if it's going to the tank the valve is in backwards.
If the valve is in correctly put a funnel in the end of the hose raise the end of the hose above the level of the pump and pour some antifreeze into the hose once the pump starts to pump the antifreeze put the hose into your jug of antifreeze.

Also the bypass valve should be installed between tank and the filter screen so as to winterize the filter screen as well.
Hope this helps
Eric

[Vittorio Bares]

@Eric - this makes sense to me. I did try the funnel method prior to posting - no joy there.

I'm not sure about the bypass reference. Attached is a picture I pulled from the interwebs - it shows the suction north of the filter (which makes sense assuming flow is towards the pump), but my picture (attached to previous post) shows the brass cap after the filter - I don't understand how that would be protected (again assuming flow is from the cap to the pump). Is the bypass valve, the one that is part of where the feed hose goes in this picture?

Perhaps I'll try some low pressure air in the feed hose with a small amount of antifreeze in it and see which direction it goes in.

[Fred Brooks]

   Vitterio,
  After looking at your original photo, the fitting that the antifreeze hose is attached to should be a 2 way valve. One position for the fresh water coming thru the strainer and then move the lever to close that off and open the source to the jug of anti freeze. You may need to partially open the "output" fitting on the water pump to bleed any trapped air after you drained the tank. If there is air in the system, the pump will cavitate and pump nothing. Hope this helps, Fred

[Eric Maclean]

Vittario
The bypass valve I speak of is the brass valve with the hose attached it's the one that should have an arrow on the side of the brass body that arrow should be pointing away from the pump in order to work properly .if that valve is in backwards the pump won't suck anything from the hose.
Yes as you see from the picture  you posted the bypass valve should because of the suction screen to allow it to be winterized as well .
Eric

[Vittorio Bares]

@Eric - I knew it was something dumb I just wasn't seeing. After your description of the bypass valve, I went back and took a closer look. Sure enough, it is not simply a cap before the pump - it is, as you describe a bypass valve (below the cap).

I'll mess with this later in the week (if it stops raining) and put the results in the thread - but I do believe it will be as simple as opening the valve to the feed.(doh  )

[Eric Maclean]

Glad you got it sorted out lol
Eric