Air in My Water System

[gettinthere]

I thought I had this solved. I was always getting the water pump running and not stopping. No leaks in the system downstream of the pump. I finally redid all the connections in the intake side and the run-on pump and spitting stopped. The water pump would suck air from tiny gaps in the intake side of the plumbing and run continuously. Repairing the connections fixed that.

Until now. I think it put air into the system this time by running the water tank dry. But I've run about 200 gallons through since then and I still get spitting, gurgling, and some pump run-on (where the pump continues to run with no water flowing). I think I have air in the system, including the hot water tank, but running 200 gallons thru should have cleared the air out by now.

I have a new flo-jet pump, a new 1 gallon accumulator tank, a 6 gallon hot water tank. The water storage is the lowest point of the system and the hot water tank is the highest point of the system. I have a brass check valve on the input side of the hot water tank and a check valve at the output of the storage tank.

Again, the system worked very well for several months until I ran the water tank dry, sucking up air into the system.

How do I get the air out of the system?

[daddle]

You have an air leak. Check everything again. Did you use any larger hoses on smaller barbs? (Naughty)

[gettinthere]

Nothing changed since the system was working well except that I ran the tank dry. The system was working exceptionally well before that. Now I have air downstream.

[pumpcity]

Air pockets can trap on high spots both on suction and discharge. One solution is to run full flow with as many faucets open as possible to try and scour the air pockets out of their hiding places thru water velocity.

Either that or daddle is correct, you still have or recently acquired another air leak on the suction side.

[svHyLyte]

We have gone through the same ballony a few times and it can be very frustrating, In our case I found that air trapped in any of the yacht's lines had to be purged, including the line to the foot pump in the galley and the line from the hot water tank. On our boat it generally takes two or three tank refills before all of the air is expelled or disolved into the water itself.

FWIW...

[Unicorn Dreams]

I may have missed it, but did you replace the pick up line going into the water tank. I has the same problem with my boat, but also had a bad diaphragm on a brand new pump .. GOOD LUCK

[sailorboy1]

If you pumped the tank empty, are you sure you haven't clogged the pump strainer and it is barely pumping and that's why it runs all the time?

[Charlie]

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be that the new pump had to high a pressure. When I turned the pressure down everything worked great. I found the solution after I had replaced the accumulator tank and some other parts.

[gettinthere]

I think it's air trapped in the lines. The pump does not run ALL the time, but it will start to run when running water and then Sometimes won't shut off. Very intermittent. I think I need to run & run & run water to flush water bubbles out of pockets. Hopefully.

[Sailmonkey]

I had to change the copper pickup tube in the tank. Easy to do, but drove me nuts looking for the source of the air in the water system.
I just unscrewed the pickup fitting, looked at the little pinhole at the halfway point, groaned, bought a bronze elbow and some copper tubing, drilled the elbow a little, brazed in the copper, cut to length........good for another 30 years.

[Chief Engineer]

Start bleeding the syatem from the furthest fixture back towards the pump. Fore and aft. Bleed both hot and cold water sides.
Ensure that hotwater tank is full

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by armani

Hello, what a superb information providing from you. I like this so much. Today i know something different because of you as fresh air is a must to ensure the health of those who live in the house good ventilation is a must.
Thanks for this great sharing.

What are you trying to sell!!!!

[gettinthere]

since you brought it up...

I totally rebuilt the manifold for the two tanks, resealing every single joint. And it fixed it perfectly. No more problems at all...

for about 2 months. Then it started up just as bad if not worse. I think it's because the manifold is in the engine space. The heat is loosening the joints from expansion/contraction and eventually I get an air leak on the intake side.

So this winter I plan on moving the manifold out of the engine room. Big chore but hopefully it will work permanently.

Thanks all

[MVDarlin]

Wow. I am having same problem. Replaced pump twice. Pump runs constant. I turn it off at breaker when not needed. Ill have to check the supply side fittings.

[Jerry Woodward]

Originally Posted by gettinthere

I thought I had this solved. I was always getting the water pump running and not stopping. No leaks in the system downstream of the pump. I finally redid all the connections in the intake side and the run-on pump and spitting stopped. The water pump would suck air from tiny gaps in the intake side of the plumbing and run continuously. Repairing the connections fixed that.

Until now. I think it put air into the system this time by running the water tank dry. But I've run about 200 gallons through since then and I still get spitting, gurgling, and some pump run-on (where the pump continues to run with no water flowing). I think I have air in the system, including the hot water tank, but running 200 gallons thru should have cleared the air out by now.

I have a new flo-jet pump, a new 1 gallon accumulator tank, a 6 gallon hot water tank. The water storage is the lowest point of the system and the hot water tank is the highest point of the system. I have a brass check valve on the input side of the hot water tank and a check valve at the output of the storage tank.

Again, the system worked very well for several months until I ran the water tank dry, sucking up air into the system.

How do I get the air out of the system?

Perhaps if you go sailing and open all the faucets this will help dislodge air pockets?