Fresh water tank pump runs constant

[Chuck34]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Dump and run. No info. No research. No effort. Looking for a voodoo practitioner who is clairvoyant.

I’m guessing the tank was empty and now the pump has been running long enough, it has burned up. Motor still works, but pump is dead. Happened to me a couple years ago. Breaker switch got turned on by accident and my pump was so quiet, I didn’t hear it running until it was too late and the tank was empty to start with.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Chuck34

the tank was empty to start with.

When one is aboard you should always be tanked up.
Wait, that didn't come out right, never mind.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

On our boat, we have two tanks. When one tank runs dry, we shift to the other tank. However, for a fair amount of time after the shift the pump will not turn off. The problem is air someplace in the line. We either turn off the pump when not using it, or turn on all the spigots full blast for 5 minutes and that flushes all the air out. Once the air is out, the pump returns to normal operation. I know you don't have two tanks, but there is still the possibility that somehow you got air in the line.

We have two tanks as well but air only gets introduced if we allow one tank to run dry. We watch our gauges and switch tanks before it empties and only need to bleed if we forget or the accumulator tank bladder or pump diaphragm develops a leak and needs to be replaced. Our pressure switch did fail once but that's not an air problem.

A Bleeding Tip: A previous owner of our boat installed a 'Y' valve on the outlet side of the pump and added a short hose to it that led to the bilge. I wondered what it was for until I needed to bleed the air out of the system and found that using that hose helped purge the air a lot faster and more effectively than running the taps (and wasted much less precious water).

[MicHughV]

Much depends on type of water pump.

I've had similar issues, dismantled the water pump, to find, broken or leaking rubber seals, etc.

[skipgundlach]

Further to the immediately preceding bleed comments, a Y with a valve is a great idea.

I did that for our reefer water pump (march), but hadn't considered it for the FW. We have two tanks, and it always needs bleeding on switch over from empty.

My practice there had been to loosen the hand-tight connector which came with the pump until the sound changed in the pump (much deeper, slower), and, a small splash later, tightened it back up again. But a tee as I have in the reefer water line would make that a very quick and straightforward job. That tee could even be teed into the vent line of the starboard water tank, which is directly under the sink (vent line accessible via floor pull for inspection of the tank and connex)...

[billdomb]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I noticed today fresh water tankage pump running constant and now no water coming out of the sink faucet. It worked yesterday.

What do you think the issue is?

Does the pump feed water directly to the boat or does if first fill a pressure tank? Those fail after a while and need replacement; otherwise, won't build up pressure.

[David Mathis]

Assuming the tank pick-up is under water, the guess is that either the pick-up is plugged, the pick-up line in the tank has a crack (most likely at the top where it attaches to the tank connector), the line and clamps between the tank and pump need to be replaced, or one of the pump diaphrams is leaking which prevents it from holding pressure.

[Scorpius]

I would think that there is a possibility of air getting into the line between the tank and the pump. Perhaps tightening all the connections along there will solve the problem.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Chuck34

I’m guessing the tank was empty and now the pump has been running long enough, it has burned up. Motor still works, but pump is dead. Happened to me a couple years ago. Breaker switch got turned on by accident and my pump was so quiet, I didn’t hear it running until it was too late and the tank was empty to start with.

I put a small strobe light under the counter near the sink, connected to the pump, so that when the pump is running the light flashes. If we are not actively drawing water at the time, it's an indication that the system needs attention. I first installed it when, after a fairly long run under power, I discovered the pump running because of an empty tank. We couldn't hear the pump running because of the engine noise.

[Stu Jackson]

Every single fresh water pump manual has a handy troubleshooting guide.


RTFM

[Chuck34]

Sure would be nice to hear back from the OP on this. He’s posted a number of times on this forum since his last post here, so it’s not like he has been offline.

[jomoman]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I noticed today fresh water tankage pump running constant and now no water coming out of the sink faucet. It worked yesterday.

What do you think the issue is?

either the pump (probably) or air trapped in-line, from the pump

[CarlF]

This is almost certainly air in one of the lines. Open each faucet and run until there is no sputtering of air coming out. This includes the hot water side too.