How do I set this pump up to allow bypass back to the water tank? [pic]

What size hose from tank to the pump?

What size tank bulkhead fitting?

How much water is in the tank when trying to run the pump?

How many gallons per minute is the pump?

I would not use polybraid hose as it will collapse easily when the pump is running and is easy to kink. If the machine is 5gpm or larger I would run 1" hose from the tank to the fitting at the pump, a reducer at the pump is not a problem.

You can have the pressure hose with no gun so it is open just to try the machine to see if any water is flowing but don't run it a long time.

1. The bulkhead I am trying to use came with the tank. It is I think 2" threaded right after a ball valve and is connected to the ball valve by a camlock system
2. I have over 200 gallons in the tank right now, I figured that would be enough to give some pressure thru the line.
3. The polybraid hose is what was sold to me as recommended by bob from pressuretek. What hose would work better in this setup?
4. It is 5.5gpm pump. Can you give me a recommended parts list for this assuming 1" hose would be ideal? Also, what does this reducer look like? Money doesn't really matter - would really rather just get this thing working and pay a little extra right now than worry about the hose not being big enough down the road.

Here is what the current system looks like:
From the bottom of the tank, there is a 2" diameter threaded ball valve connected to a camlock system, connected to some kind of PVC pipe (all = 2"), then there is a 3/4" brass threaded outlet (all one "piece" so to speak):

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The water flows down the polybraid tubing to the filter shown here:
adnWKJ1.jpg


And then finally, the tube is hooked up to the appropriate sized brass inlet barb seen below:

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edit: is there a 3 image limit for posts? I can't seem to get all 4 images to tag. There are 4 total, if you are curious enough you should be able to copy and paste that errant image link
 
Is the filter going the proper way? Flow arrow pointing toward your unit? And is yellow ball valve opened?

yes; yes. And I "purged" the air from the line by loosening the the clamp on the inlet barb to ensure that there wasn't air in this line. Water then flowed successfully from the tank to the inlet, but yet not enough to work it's way thru the system.
 
Water will make it to the pump but not enough pressure to go through the pump or pressure hose.

I would really go with solid hose like the rubber car heater hose, you can get that just about anywhere.

I would take the camlock and that other stuff off, more places to suck air through or leak, Run the 1" hose from the bulkhead fitting all the way to the pump so you have more water there for the pump. I tried the polybraid hose for a while years ago and thought I had it ok until the Hotsy repair guys told me that is why the seals went bad, 3/4" hose from the tank to the pump so I replaced it with the 1" hose. Polybraid will collapse easily when the pump is running, especially on a hot day.

Did you try running the pump for a minute to see if water came out the pressure hose (no gun or anything at the end of the hose, just open)?
 
Did you try running the pump for a minute to see if water came out the pressure hose (no gun or anything at the end of the hose, just open)?

yes, and water did come out eventually, but I don't want to risk it, with all the posts in this thread about getting bigger hose, I will definitely do that. Thanks for the insight, Christopher....and everyone else as well!
 
Couple things:

Pumps suck better a low RPM,..Loosen the clamp to allow water to purge air while running the engine at a slower speed and see if it primes. Even just turning the engine over without starting will work. With electric start, just pull plug wire and run pump with the starter motor,..but don't burn the starter up,..should prime fairly quickly anyhow.

Also, easier to run a pressurized feed to the inlet of the pump(AKA Garden Hose),..this will at least purge the air from the pump. Shouldn't have to start the engine,..it should just push water through the pump and out the pressure hose. But,..you seem to be having trouble, so maybe run the engine fro a minute and use it as you would be washing something. Then go back to tank setup.

Jeff
 
IT LIVES! I got it to suck water from the tank and i was able to purge the air and get it working. My next set of action items is to secure my tank, machine, and gas tank inside the truck which I am thinking about using U-bolts to do. Also, obviously I need to replace the 3/4 inch polybraid tube with 1" automotive tube like everyone suggested, but I needed to wait on a paycheck for.

Anyways, thanks everyone for your input. I honestly greatly appreciate it. This forum is a great resource.
 
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