Hi All,
Today I cleaned the strainer in my Jabsco inline strainer to my shurflow fresh water pump and now the pump is short cycling. The filter assembly will also not fill with water. I replaced the strainer assembly suspecting an air leak but that didn’t fix it. Prior to cleaning this strainer I cleaned the strainer to my shower drain and used the shower head to fill the shower cavity to make sure that strainer wasn’t leaking and the pump worked fine. Am I missing something with the pump or am I just a victim of circumstance? I clean the strainer at least once a year and have never had this problem. The pump is a SHURflo 225-3000. Thanks
Bill
NS30U Summer Song
Noank, CT
Did you have a faucet open until all the air got pumped out of the hoses? If not, maybe it’s an air lock? O/w, I’m as much in the dark as you are.
-- Bob
Bill, I would not focus only on an air leak at the strainer.
Your SHURflo is a diaphragm pump with internal check valves. If a small piece of debris got past the strainer while you were cleaning it, it may now be stuck in one of those check valves. The pump can still build pressure and shut off, but the pressure then slowly bleeds back internally from the pressure side to the suction side. You will not see an external leak, but the pressure switch sees the pressure drop and turns the pump on again.
That would fit the timing very well, since the problem started immediately after cleaning the strainer.
A simple test is to let the pump pressurize the system and shut off, then completely clamp or close the pump inlet hose. The inlet must be sealed completely—if the clamp or valve leaks, the test is meaningless. If the pressure no longer falls and the pump stops cycling with the inlet sealed, the leak is most likely internal to the pump, through one of the check valves.
Before replacing the pump, I would remove the pump head and inspect the check valve assembly. On my SHURflo this has been a straightforward job, and I’ve opened and cleaned it several times over the years. It only takes a tiny piece of debris to prevent a check valve from sealing properly.
Mark H
Thanks guys. The check valve makes a lsense, I will try the suggested test. I ran the pump for what seemed like a couple of minutes and the strainer never filled.
Interestingly I opens a faucet and shut off the water supply valve when the pump stopped. Pump came back on and I let it run until it obviously had no water to pump. I reopened the supply valve and there was a big gush of water, obviously a vacuum in the plumbing, the strainer filled and now things are back to normal. I have theories why but will never know for sure.
I had a similar issue a last year. It turned out to be a tiny crack in the strainer near the pump allowing air into the system. That’s all I have to contribute to this issue. Good luck with it.