The lid on the priming pot is not airtight. Put some vasoline on the O-ring and seal tightly. Or, the O-ring on the lid is not seated properly. There is an airleak in your system and lid is the most probable cause.

curb1 - almost, briefly. I cleaned the ring and seat, applied vaseline, and the pump took off. the outlets delivered water and then nothing. lost prime after a few minutes. cranked on the priming pot cover and it tightened down more than it ever had last season.

does it seem likely that I need a new 0-ring? is it a big box item or where might I find one?

I also will check all suction joints for air bubbles.

a last thought--when I brought the pump in for winter storage in a cold but not freezing room in the basement, I discovered the other day that some water had been left in the pump. can't imagine an impact on impeller etc but I guess that will be a last resort expedition??

can't wait to see what surprises are in store for me with the other pump.

any further thoughts?--I've been chased away by lightening for the time being. thanks for getting me going with this problem.

Mike

It still seems that it could be the lid and that the vasoline might have temporarily solved the problem but the leak was too big. Just a guess of course. But, most of the time it is an air leak.

I think you are right on. I put silicon grease on the ring with no change. I noted one little pinhole leak in a joint but on the pressure line. With all the water wetting the pump body, it is hard to tell what's going on.

Everything is drying (or not) overnight and then I will go over it all from one end to the other looking for the source of air. It can't be underwater or in the buried pipe - right? - so it is a limited stretch of plumbing. I may put the hose into the intake pipe to see if there is an air lock in the pipe.

Thanks very much for your input, experience. Sooner or later...

Mike

There could be an air leak in the union on the intake side when you put the pump back in this Spring.

I've tried all I can think of. I figure there is only one other cause--trouble is I don't know what it is! I ran a hose and a snake up the intake (can't work from top down) and that revealed nothing--nothing got past an elbow. I tried to work the union and found it sort of stuck, even with a strap wrench--this may be a problem here as you suggest. I'm cooling down a little before I do serious damage in frustration. It's a hobby?

BTW, I really enjoyed your story about your rocks' origins. I need to go north to glacial country to find some cobbles, boulders like that. Maybe you could ship a couple of crates to PA!!

Thanks - I'll post when I am successful or when the pump is on e-bay lol

Mike

Mike,
I will be interested in hearing about your pump success.

I would like nothing more than shipping a truckload of rock to PA. As soon as gas gets down to a $1.50 per gallon I'll be right there. The Missoula floods are interesting. We have all of our concrete made from this rock. It makes very pretty exposed aggregate surfaces.

Well, I found a leak--drip, drip, drip, don't know how I missed it unless I made it when cranking on quick connect union (which is still jammed). My intake pipe is 2" and goes to 1.5" pump connect, glued in since there were no threads to connect otherwise.

I recall but can't find, instructions from Mike_Il about applying glue over the leak and running the pump to suck glue in? Any recollection?

I am envious everytime I see your tight, tidy pump house, wishing I had done way better, planned better, had the knowledge to do it. I may be looking at major pipe surgery here. Question now is "What do I do where the pipe is glued inside the pump intake and is too short with reduction fitting to add anything.

Maybe I'll have to order a new housing and start from scratch! Meanwhile, back at the union coupling and back at the cornmeal I threw in for my pond leak. Maybe this is the price of misguided winter ponding...such is life.

Mike

I can't tell a whole lot about how your system works but if I were to set up a pumping system it would have no valves it would be a hole in the bottom of the basin of the pond or fountain with a funnel shaped connection to increase water pressure this would have tubing which ran through the filter or what ever was required the tube would be able to be placed above the pond's surface level, if required, and water depth would be the determinant factor which would stop the flow when the volume of water directly above the inlet was less than or equal to the volume the tubing and filtration system had.
Your system sounds quite elaborate but first I would check drains for clogs and then water levels and also for any leakage.