Author Topic: Water pump keeps priming  (Read 1810 times)

robbadgie

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Water pump keeps priming
« on: August 23 2022, 16:31 »
Hi, I have a Bavaria 37 cruiser. Every couple of hours one of the jabsco water pumps kicks in for a second, which is annoying at night. I went hunting for the accumulator, but there isn't one.

Does anyone know why this is happening? Can it be fixed?

The pumps I have are par-max 4 and par-max 2.9

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

geoff

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #1 on: August 23 2022, 16:59 »
I have had this happen periodically ,it has usually been a small leak somewhere. Classic is chaff where pipes pass under the engine or through a bulkhead Geoff

robbadgie

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #2 on: August 23 2022, 17:12 »
Thanks vm. I saw no water when I was hunting for the accumulator but I’ll have a closer look to check. Thanks

Lazy Pelican

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #3 on: August 23 2022, 17:40 »
The accumulator is normally located very close to the pump. In my case in the locker below the basin in the main heads.

tiger79

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #4 on: August 23 2022, 17:57 »
Modern boats usually don't have an accumulator, the pump doesn't need it.

Occasional bursts of noise from the pump indicate that it's restoring system pressure.  One reason for loss of pressure is a leak, in which case you'll find water in the bilge.  The other reason is poor sealing of the valves in the pump.  You can buy a service kit with new valves and it's an easy job to fix it.

robbadgie

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #5 on: August 23 2022, 23:32 »
Thanks very much. I’ll look for service kits.

elias

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #6 on: August 24 2022, 05:55 »
Sometimes can be the pressure relief valve something like this ( https://www.amazon.in/Inch-Safety-Pressure-Relief-Valve/dp/B00BYG60SK ) that gets old and let water drain bank to the tank

IslandAlchemy

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #7 on: August 24 2022, 08:47 »
Turn the pump off at night.

GeoffV

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #8 on: August 24 2022, 10:10 »

Krumelur

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Re: Water pump keeps priming
« Reply #9 on: August 29 2022, 09:46 »
When I had this phenomenon once, it was the shower's fault. The tap of the shower in the aft head was just slightly open.