Is there anyway to keep a livewell pump from losing prime.I can loosen discharge hose and it will prime and pump then next time you go its the same thing all over again
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Is there anyway to keep a livewell pump from losing prime.I can loosen discharge hose and it will prime and pump then next time you go its the same thing all over again
Your discharge line has a low place holding water. This will not let water to flow into your pump.
I believe it's air bound. There's a pocket of air not allowing water to the impeller blades. For me it was a simple matter. My pumps inlet pipe went through the transom and had a large nut securing it. I loosened the nut and rotated it so the discharge hose was up. Probably it's similar to what Mickey is describing. Rotating the pump allowed the water to flow to the impeller. Otherwise water trying to flow to the impeller was stopped by air trapped in the line.
Mine do it once in a while,i think it stops up and i have to blow hard through it,took a hose and put on it to blow into
Have you tried backing up the boat with the pump running? That may push water into the pump impeller. Might be worth a try.
Make sure your strainer screens are clean on the transom inlet.
I try to keep my hoses as flat as I can so water can move in and out freely. That makes it easier to drain for winterizing, (I know, that is a dirty word)as well as filling the impeller.
Thanks Drifts I did the backing up and it primed itself and worked the rest of the day thank y'all for the help
Also make sure that the valve in the live well is completely open, if it has one.
I had to use a plug in the livewell. The cable shutoff would let the pump loose prime and backing up was aggravating,
not all livewell pumps have what they call anti air lock feature. If you don't have it, take the pump you have out and throw it away, don't even GIVE it to another poor soul as they will have the same issue. Get a livewell pump that advertises on the pack "Anti Air Lock Feature". You CAN stil have the same issue with these pumps for reasons others described on here, but if you DONT have one of the anti air lock pumps you are pounding your head against a wall and have very little chance of it working right for long.
Hope this helps.
I had the same problem of my pump air-locking on my Tracker, tied the backing up thing, didn't work. Changed the pump three times, didn't fix it so I put a "T" in the line at the back side of the pump and ran a line up so it would end over the back of the boat and then put a value on the end of the pipe. With this I could open the value just a little to let the air out and the pump worked, no more trouble - never. Fixed for less than $5 :)
excellent idea!Quote:
Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER
This also works in reverse. If you outlet hose is up, try putting it in the 9 or 3 o'clock position, or there about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shellback
I carry a coke bottle in my live well and reverse prime the pump. Aggrevating. DP