How long does it take for external pump to prime?

[sherry]

I have a Performance Pro A2-1/4-47-C External Pump. The pump is positioned around 2' above water and around 3' away from water. I filled up the water in the pump, ran the pump for 3 minutes, but there is still no water coming out. Do I need to move pump closer to the water, or something wrong with the pump or how I operated the pump? Thanks.

 

[WaterGardener]

The position of the pump should not be a problem.

What sized pipe are you using?

Is the pump lid tight enough?

Did it empty the water in the pump?

Do you have any closed valves? Do you have a check valve on the piping?

Is anything blocking the intake in the pond?

Any additional information you can provide would help.

 

[GBBUDD]

Two feet above the water line is your problem i guarantee it. External pumps are great at pushing water but they can not pull water . you might think but of course it does. once the pump gets PRIMED AND THERE IS NO AIR YES IT CAN PULL TO AN EXTENT. so maily it is the amount of water that is avalable to the pump when it fires up and how much air there is in the pipes. This can be worked out but when you have a power outage for an extended period of time it may burn out the pump.

A few ways to fix this . ONE BALL VALVES AND IF YOU SHUT DOWN ANY LINE YOU KNOW HAS A LOT OF AIR IN IT.
Adding a priming pot this is lke three times the size of the basket on the pump but it too will need a check valve or ball valve so when you go to open the basket you retain the water and not loose it on the ground.
third is to add a pvc fitting with a hose bib where you hook up the garden hose to the line and turn the water on untill the prime is reset.

 

[GBBUDD]

I FORGOT THE FOLL PROFF FIX LOWWER THE TOP PF THE BACKET WHERE YOU OPEN THE BASKET TO CLEAN OUT THECOLLECTED DEBRIS SO THAT IS A FEW INCHES ABOVE THE PONDS WATEER LINE . THIS IS THE ULTIMATE FIX BUT AGAIN BALL VALS ARE A MUST AND CHECK VALES OPTIONAL.

 

[sherry]

Thank you all for the help. I read the manual again and found that it suggested a (rubber flapper type) swing check valve. I'll add a swing check valve likely below the water line.

 

[sherry]

Another question is, is there any constraint on how water come into the bog? Specifically, the picture is my bog. I am thinking about the two options of placing the pump, red and blue.
Red one seems better, as the water direction coming out of pump is aligned with the grid in the bog, but there will be a long pipe between pump and water.
Would the blue pipe send more water to the upper two pipes in the bog, as they are more in the direction of how water comes in. But blue pump is closer to the water so less pipping.
Please suggest. Thanks.

 

[GBBUDD]

distance is not as much of an issue as is height. External pumpS be close to the same level as the WATER LEVEL FOR EASY RESTARTS ON THEIR OWN SAY AFTER A POWER OUTAGE AND YOUR SLEEPING OR NOT HOME. My pump is only a foot higher than one intake and if the power goes out it strugles for ten minutes to get back to full prime. The check valve CAN HELP but you need to have some distance with enough water to help prime the pump. so if the blue is closer to the same heights that would be my choice.
Just remember to keep the top of the basket higher than water level so when you shut down and open the pot you don't have the water dump out the top.

 

[sherry]

Just remember to keep the top of the basket higher than water level so when you shut down and open the pot you don't have the water dump out the top.

Sorry for the stupid question, do you mean the water level of the bog or the pond? Both red and blue pumps sit on the bog bottom level, 1~2ft above pond water level and ~1.5ft below bog water level.

I guess you mean the bog water level, which is 1.5' above the pump. I can't think of a way to lift the pump up. Maybe I'll have to add a ball valve before the bog to prevent water dump out of the top of the pump?

 

[GBBUDD]

The line going into the bog i believe you have it coming up over the top of the bog you will need a pin hole 3/16 " at or just below the water level in the bog or vacuum breaker "this is my choice" or a check valve to stop a back syphon and emptying your bogs water back into the pond.

so no i was talking the pump to the ponds water level. the ultimate level is for the basket of the pump where you open to clean the basket . this should be a couple inches higher than your pond water level. this is optimum but you can go higher but the higher the harder to get the pump to prime.

 

[sherry]

I added a swing check valve before the pump intake (below the pond water level) and now the pump prime immediately after I turned it on. Now the issue is, after around 15 min, pump was running but no more water came out of the pump. The pump seemed to be priming again. Is this normal? Thank you.

 

[sherry]

Forgot to add, filter basket is clean. I added water to pump and primed the second time. After running for 15 min, no water came out again.

 

[GBBUDD]

you need to have enough water / feet of pipe to prime the pot if theres say only 5 feet, odds are its going to start right up pull the air in and fight to prime check valves need to have some back pressure to hold water vertical orientation work better than do horizontals

 

[Pablo]

Its definitely not normal to not have water coming out after 15 minutes. I have the Performance Pro external pump and no issues with priming. But my pump is below the water line, I have ball valves for the intake and output so I can easily control the water if I shut down the pump and not have to worry about the water pouring out of the priming pot. I did not want to deal with having a check valve.
I would say you need to make sure the water is filling that intake pipe from the pond to the pump, not just the basket, maybe too much air in there and it is triggering the check valve. The other thing to check is to make sure you do not have anything blocking the water flow in the pond to the pipe, ie do you have a skimmer or something else that might be restricting the flow. I think you had another thread where you mentioned you had a lot of muck at the bottom of the pond.

 

[sherry]

I would say you need to make sure the water is filling that intake pipe from the pond to the pump, not just the basket, maybe too much air in there and it is triggering the check valve.

I was filling the intake pipe as well when I fill the basket (I fill it to the top line covering the intake pipe).

The other thing to check is to make sure you do not have anything blocking the water flow in the pond to the pipe, ie do you have a skimmer or something else that might be restricting the flow. I think you had another thread where you mentioned you had a lot of muck at the bottom of the pond.

There are lots of muck at the bottom. But for now I am only testing with a short intake pipe that's only taking water from a few inches below water (no muck there)
Now I am thinking, as GBBUDD also pointed out, maybe it's because the check valve was not vertically deep below the water (was 45 degree and 2-3 inches below water) and air somehow got in after a while. Will do more runs to check. Thank you both for the help!

 

[sherry]

Just to update, I made the change so that now the check valve is vertically a few inches below water. Now it runs without stop. Thank you all for help!