HOW DO YOU START A TRASH/WATER PUMP?

[tommu56]

Put your ear to hard sleeve and listen for air gurgling most of the time you can hear leak a lot of time these pumps have pipe thread fittings on them make sure there is no slop in in them when tightened and there is usually a gasket in the female swivel end to seal it to the male end on the pump.

Take discharge hose off while running and seal end of fitting with your hand does it build any pressure.

Take the strainer off the end of hose again cover with your hand carefully to check for vacuum.

There is usually a flapper(check valve) in the suction of the pump make sure its free.

How much lift do you have on suction side the close pump inlet is to source the pump will me more efficient.

if all else fails you can jury rig a shop vac to discharge turn it on and it should evacuate air and fill pump with water through hard sleeve. just be ready to remove vac when pump starts pumping.

tom

 

[Steve_Miller]

Trash pumps generally aren't self primers, so like a few others noted, you will need a foot valve and then also fill the hose and the bell.

Steve

 

[Skyco]

How high above the water is the pump? Generally you can't suction water more than about 26 ft, even though you could pump it hundreds of feet up on the discharge side. And that's at sea level, the higher in elevation the less distance you can suction the water.

 

[cp1969]

Trivia - Why is 26(or so) feet the limit? The water boils if you try to lift it higher.

 

[Skyco]

What you are really doing with suction is removing the air allowing atmospheric pressure to "push" the water up. Atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 psi so that is all the force the suction side of a pump can produce. 14.7 psi can only lift water about 26-30 ft so that's all you got to work with on the suction side.

 

[wushaw]

Do you have a screen on the end of the suction hose?
Is the hose end in a five gallon bucket....keeps trash/mud from clogging up the screen.
How big is your trash pump?
If it's not atleast a four inch model you will be there a long time draining your pond. Mine takes all day for my small ft. pond with a 2" trash pump. It is nowhere near the size of your pond.

 

[JHFV]

It is a 1 1/2" pump. Wushaw if you have time can you come over and help me get it going?

 

[Highbeam]

I've never used or seen a trash pump used with a foot valve on the strainer end. It's gotta be an air leak.