Plumbing question.

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sogood

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Just doing some pre launch tweaking and I find that my cold water supply at the sink tends to sputter a lot. I don't remember it doing this when I first reinstated it with a new pump, hoses etc. The pump is a pressure switch type and I have a separate power isolator switch fitted. Sometimes when I turn off the tap the pump runs on and I have to kill the power at the isolator switch.
The water holding tank is full but the water still sputtered and spits at the tap. Maybe an obstruction in the tank at the outlet? Any thoughts appreciated.
 
Hi
It’s 100% either of the following

It’s after your tank has been emptied and there is air trapped in the system after the pump, solved by opening all taps and shower outlets and letting it bleed...
Or, perhaps more likely after winter,
The inlet bulb on the pump (where the filter mesh is) has retained some water, frozen and cracked slightly over winter. This causes the pump to draw a bit of air and causes the problem you have.
 
From a heating engineers point of view definitely air ingress. I’d check the suction side of the system first, could be something as simple as a loose jubilee but bear in mind as you’re looking on the negative side of the pump it probably won’t cause a leak. Time consuming but good luck
 
I had this problem, but I also had weak flow at the outlets? It may be the fine mesh filter before the pump (pump guard). This was partially blocked with muck and slime, so this was removed and cleaned. Also on my system there is a control valve that adjusts the flow to the accumulator tank and this needed a slight adjustment.
 
Many thanks for all the responses. Just to clarify, when I refurbed my boat, I replaced the water pump as the old one was rusted and seized up. I also replaced the various hoses. It's a simple set up with a plastic storage tank, properly vented and a feed to the pump, which is of the pressure switch variety, then on through a filter to the tap. All connections are tight, so no obvious air getting in, but I'll look again and check any filters for blockages etc. I'm thinking I might also have some crud blocking the outlet at the tank. I did tilt the tank back slightly, so that the outlet pickup is raised somewhat. Some questions, when it's suggested that I bleed the system, is that just letting it pump/run dry or just leave the tap open, with the power off, so the pump isn't running?Is the negative side of the pump the feed into the pump from the water tank? And what is meant by the Inlet bulb on the pump? I just have a water feed into the pump, with no obvious devices or fittings. On a similar note, I was running my electric toilet, which worked fine in the past, but find now that it isn't sucking water through the inlet when I try to flush. It flushes and empties the bowl when it's filled with a bucket, but doesn't draw any water in. In the past, I fitted a hose into the through hull on the outside, fed from a large bucket. When I flushed, it sucked water in and flushed. But now that doesn't work. It "flushes" and pumps/ sucks the bowl dry. Would this possibly be a less than airtight fit at the inlet hose to the bucket?
Thanks again.
 
I got my splutter sorted after I discovered that the holding tank wasn't in fact full of water. Not even nearly so! When I went to take a closer look the tank seemed somewhat hollow and this was the cause. The last time I "filled" it, I did so until it started spitting back out through the filler, but a slightly obstructed vent didn't help. The tank holds about 15 gallons and it wasn't near that.
Anyway, all is good now and I pulled the tank out in the process and cleaned up the area that it sits in, double checked all fittings/hoses etc. while I was at it. Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
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