Water prime problem
I do believe that you do have a small leak between where the suction pipe rises out of the water and the impeller/volute.
Try this: Go to your friendly hardware/home depot type store and go to the plumbing dept. and buy a Plumbing King thingee. What I am referring to is an attachment that screws onto the end of a garden hose and slides into a drain pipe. It is a readily available item tht is used to unclog drains. They are available in a few sizes, so make sure that you get the correct size for the 1-1/2″ pipe. Stick the thingee (that’s a technical term)into the end of your pipe where the water comes out. When you turn on the water, it swells up like a balloon and squirts water out the other end - the end in the pipe. So, what it does is to plug and pressurize the pipe. If you have a leak, it SHOULD be quickly evident. Remember that the leak, if it exists, happens when the pipe is in a semi-vacuum condition - sucking - instead of pressurized. But, if it leaks under pressure, it will probably leak under suction.
Your basic setup is probably OK because it starts to pump OK. Loosing the “prime” is going to be an air leak before the pump impeller. The usual place is the top of the strainer basket.
I assume that there is a valve on the fill side of the “Y” - could it be leaking? Fill the top of the valve with water and see if it gets sucked into the valve.
Good luck,
:-)
Bill
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
