Newbie needs water system help

[NoRegrets]

Now that the rain stopped, I went out to de-winterize and sanitize the MH. I got through the de-winterize part fine (so I think). Hooked up to the house water (valve set for city fixtures) and flushed all my faucets inside and outside. Then I set the control valves to fill the fresh tank (city fill) so I can then add the bleach mixture to sanitize. But first I thought I would check out the system first and put the values on "normal" to pump water to the faucets from the tank.

My problem is the pump doesn't seem to prime, and I am not getting any water to the faucets from the internal pump. Is there some other step I need to do? How long will it take? I left it run about 5 minutes.

It is parked on an side to side angle and the tank did fill to the point it overflowed. Will that matter? Or is there another valve I need to open somewhere?

Thanks

[3'senough]

You can't have the city fill and pump at the same time. Must be set to normal once you get a few gallons in the tank then back to city fill to keep filling the tank.

[NoRegrets]

I have it on normal, but with a full tank. I drained some (2/3), but still won't prime. Should I drain it back down to 1/3 or less and try?

How long does it usually take to prime? So as I troubleshoot this I'll know whatever I tried didn't work. Is it no more then a couple minutes, or should I let the pump run for a 5-10 minutes?

[Crabman]

Do you have the valve at the waterpump coming from the fresh tank turned on and the winterizing valve and tube that sucks up antifreeze from the jug closed? If not, they are still in the winterized position and the pump cannot draw water from the tank. It should not take long to prime, no more then a minute or two.

[tlhdoc]

If your water heater is in the system (you opened the valves to it) it will have to fill before you get any water running through the hot water lines.

[Chakara]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Do you have the valve at the waterpump coming from the fresh tank turned on and the winterizing valve and tube that sucks up antifreeze from the jug closed? If not, they are still in the winterized position and the pump cannot draw water from the tank. It should not take long to prime, no more then a minute or two.

Good call Crabman - likely cause...

On my old trailer I recall it running more than 5 minutes to get a prime (was a fair distance from fresh tank to pump). Also, on that trailer I once left the pump running - dry - for an unknown amount of time. By unlikely I mean days, not hours. Pump still worked so either they are OK with that or I was lucky!

-Chak

[NoRegrets]

Crabman,
Thanks for the idea. I am at work, so I can't check until later for sure. I don't recollect that being the case, but since the pump and valves are in a nook under the bathroom vanity, I have to admit I have not given it a close inspection. But I will double check when I get home. Another reason I am thinking that might not be the case is my Greyhawk has an "Utility Center" panel on the outside of the coach that has two valves with 3 settings each. One of the settings is for winterization. And when in that setting, the manual says to just put a hose from the fresh water inlet into the bottle of anti-freeze. So I think the valve you are referring to might be built into the combination valves in the Utility Center.

tlhdoc,
I still have the HWH in bypass. Part of my plan to do one step at time...only problem is I failed at step two! I figured I would get the faucets flowing before introducing another component. Is it a problem that I still have the bypass in?

Is there any other hints? Like should I leave all the faucets open...one or none?

[norty1]

I would leave the w/h bypassed until you flush the lines with the on board pump. Otherwise you will have to pump it full.

As others have noted. Double check all your valve positions. That is what usually causes the pump to be slow priming.