Making non-selfpriming pump self-prime

[bcarwell]

I have a non-self-priming cheapo Harbor Fright (redundant ?) water pump (Model 1479, $37, 600 PGM, 1 inch).
How would I modify it most easily to be self-priming ?
The priming process seems to be a pain. Connect a Y fitting to outlet port. The Y fitting has an outlet side and a priming side with valve on each, and with priming side going to a water bucket or continuous source of water. Open priming side valve of Y fitting, close outlet side valve. Remove "fill plug", wait for water to come out, then replace. Open outlet side valve, start pump, and then close priming side valve.
Royal P.I.T.A.
My water source is pressurized house water. I'm told you don't need to prime a non self-priming pump if the inlet is pressurized (but of course you must have water in it and can't start dry). But does this mean even if using pressurized inlet water you have to remove the fill plug and fill it up every time or every so often. Or does pressure at the inlet always fill the pump adequately.
My well pump appears to have a metal tube going from the inlet side to the fill plug.
Is this the modification you need to make a non-self-priming pump into a self-priming pump (assuming you always have pressurized inlet water). If so, do you need some sort of check valve on this metal tube or what ?
Thanks for any help.

Bob

 

[MikeInEburg]

I would say that, if the inlet is pressurized, you don't need to prime. However, you also don't want the pump to be starved for water in inlet side - so hopefully your pump isn't trying to pump more than your source can provide...

Mike

 

[rjmack]

i found this answer by accident. i decided to put a couple of hose taps on the outside of my well house. the routing necessitated looping them up in the are so as to avoid the cold area in the building. my jet pump is not self-priming.

now, whenever i pump the well dry (seldom) the pressure switch shuts down the pump, the water in the tap loops drains back down into the pump housing, and all i have to do is trip the reset.:thumbsup:

 

[mmurphy]

One of the first things to consider is, have pump and suction line slightly higher then where it is hooked up to pressurerized line. Now I am not talking much more then a slight slope so air pockets can not get trapped. Make sure your suction line is one size bigger then discharge, or throttle back pump flow with a valve on discharge. ( I beleive this is centrfugal pump)

The pump should not have a problem with needing reprimed after running after the first prime. You will have a positive suction head with the pressure from your storage tank.

You may want to see if your current system will lift water high enough to tank first. I beleive you said you have close to 40 psi. That would = 92.4 feet of rise. 2.31 /ft to every 1 psi.

You also said not worried about how fast of flow. 1 gpm=1440 galons a day. So if you go for 1/4 of that will still give you 350 galons a day.

If I read right you have a pump that states 600 gpm??? That is scary. do you thing your pressure tank will hold up to that??? When you hit the point well and pressure tank can not keep up with flow, you could suck your tank in. They are built for outward pressure, and not inward pressure.
BTW I beleive that is a typo, cause you could not get that kind of flow through a 1" pipe.

 

[rjmack]

darn, i guess i should have read more carefully

it is kind of confusing though, how come you would need to prime a well pump using a pressurized system that seems to be getting it's water from some other source?

isn't a pump redundant? if you are using pressure from another system to prime a pump in a well shaft/culvert etc, wouldn't that pressurized water flow down the pickup and eventually overflow the well?

i'm certainly not the expert here, but i like learning about this stuff

 

[mmurphy]

bcarwell, do you have a picture of it?

Might add, a self priming pump has a container that holds last water coming through to keep water above the eye of impellar. Non self priming pumps have straight pipe to eye of impellar, so no water is held above it if leakage should allow water to leave and be replaced by air.
Self priming still needs initial priming to get started. Air pockets in impellar area will stay there untill flooded out.
Rjmack, he has another thread on this.