New Transcend pump not pumping correctly?

[NerkGDguy]

I pulled the Transcend 265BH from Ohio to Texas as I have a work assignment here for a month. I kept the unit winterized as I had 5" of snow and woke up to 19 degree temps in Bowling Green, KY the first night. Traveled to Little Rock, AR where warmer temperatures allowed me to de-winterize the unit. Moved valves as specified in the owner manual (bypass= off, hot from water heater = in line/on and cold water feed to water heater = in line/on ) including moving the valve for the winterization line (siphon) to closed which opened the line from the fresh water tank. As with most 3 way valves, the handle is in line with the water flow. I initially filled the water tank 1/2 way (used a water meter on the fill hose) and then added the bleach solution, then filled the rest of the way by hand at the open fill port for fresh water. I did this to ensure that the tank was full and so as not to over pressure it. I had a Gulfstream 21QBS before this and never encountered any of these issues. I winterized that unit myself.

I also found the electrical cover off of the pump. The other strange thing is that it appears that antifreeze has found its way into the inlet hose coming from the fresh water tank. I found a similar post and the suggestion was to pressure the water system using the city water connection and that may prime the pump. I have been on city water, so I turned the pump switch on, nothing happened, so the pressure switch which activates the pump must be working. I opened a faucet and relieved the pressure in the lines (but did not run empty). then turned the valve to fresh water fill and added 10 gal of water to the fresh water tank.. Then I turned on the pump. It starting running immediately and did not stop, in otherwords did not develop enough pressure even with the full lines to shut off the pump, which it should have. I then turned on the kitchen faucet and the flow gradually decreased until it stopped and then air.

If anyone has any thoughts?... I have come to the conclusion that the pump is either wired backward ( and the impellor is running backward) or the inlet and outlets of the pump were switched. Is there a check valve between the fresh water tank and pump inlet? I have emailed this description to Grand Design Customer Service 3 days ago but have not heard back yet. Below is a picture of the cover off of the pump electrical box and the arrow is pointing to the antifreeze in the water feed from the fresh water tank.

Tim

[Jlawles2]

Do you have a tanked or tankless HWH? If tanked, is the HWH already filled? If not, the pump will run for what seems like days to get enough pressure in the HWH tank. Also verify that you set the valves correctly for dry camping.

[TedS]

It sounds like the pump is sucking air. Check the filter housing and fittings on the pump inlet that they are tight. Check that the filter housing is not cracked.

The pump is a positive displacement diaphragm pump and is not directional for rotation. It won't pump backwards.

[Country Campers]

The electrical box with the cover off is the control for the ac heating element for the water heater, it is a tank water heater. There is a check valve on built into the water pump on the inlet side, this is the filter screen side. It is hard to tell in the picture if the valves are turned correctly. The valve I am questioning is the one on the inlet side of the water pump, it should be pointed towards or inline with the pump. On the water panel in the pass thru you will also need to turn the single valve to dry camping, I think is the term printed on the valve label. Also make sure the filter screen cap is tight, be careful though not to over tighten.

Brian

[NerkGDguy]

The electrical box with the cover off is the control for the ac heating element for the water heater, it is a tank water heater. There is a check valve on built into the water pump on the inlet side, this is the filter screen side. It is hard to tell in the picture if the valves are turned correctly. The valve I am questioning is the one on the inlet side of the water pump, it should be pointed towards or inline with the pump. On the water panel in the pass thru you will also need to turn the single valve to dry camping, I think is the term printed on the valve label. Also make sure the filter screen cap is tight, be careful though not to over tighten.

Brian

Yes, the valve on the inlet side of the pump is in line with the inlet to the pump. It wasn’t clear in the direction which direction the valve for filling the fresh water tank should be pointed, I tried both.

[NerkGDguy]

It sounds like the pump is sucking air. Check the filter housing and fittings on the pump inlet that they are tight. Check that the filter housing is not cracked.

The pump is a positive displacement diaphragm pump and is not directional for rotation. It won't pump backwards.

That is good information to know that the pump is a diaphragm pump. I'll get down in the compartment and tighten the cover on the water heater electrical then check the other connections for tightness. Perhaps a test for function of the pump might be to fill a jug with water and see if the pump will pump in the winterization setting through the siphon hose. They had to fill the system somehow with antifreeze, all faucets were filled.

baffling why any antifreeze would be on the upstream side of the winterization valve. It’s a 3 way valve so when they winterized, it shouldn’t have been able to flow that way.

Tim

[Jlawles2]

The MFG could be pushing the winterization fluid through the system from an external source not using the onboard pump. One of the moderators may be able to shed some light on that as they have toured the factory.

[StephenO]

baffling why any antifreeze would be on the upstream side of the winterization valve. It’s a 3 way valve so when they winterized, it shouldn’t have been able to flow that way.

Tim

Was that antifreeze in that tube before you moved the valve, or did it show up after you moved the pump winterizing valve? Perhaps when you switched the winterizing valve, any antifreeze in the inlet pipe to the pump was allowed to flow backwards to the fresh tank hose. I could see this happening especially if the inlet side to the pump is not sealed, allowing air into the system.

[NerkGDguy]

Update on the 'pump not working' issue - Solved! I talked briefly with Simon from Grand Design as he assisted me previously. He suggested checking the filter on the inlet to the pump. I opened the housing for the filter and the O ring seal fell out. Filter was clean as a whistle. I reassembled the filter housing and made sure that the O ring seal was seated properly. I continued to move the 3 way valve to the winterizing setting and put the winterizing hose into a jug of water. City water was shut off. I turned on the pump and I had running water and the level in the jug went down. I did this step to ensure that the water was indeed being pumped. I removed the winterizing hose and moved the 3 way valve to the tank/city water feed setting (I put 10 gal of water in the fresh water tank) and the pump supplied water from the fresh water tank! My conclusion is that the O ring seal on the inlet filter to the pump was not seated correctly and it was sucking air. TedS you were right, it was sucking air. I plan to stop at a Harvest Host place on the way back to Ohio and now I know that we will have water. Thanks for everyone's help on this.

[TedS]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you are a happy camper again!