Priming AC pump

[Genkigary]

AC runs for 60 sec then shuts off. No water circulating. Seacock is open. Appears the pump after the strainer is not primed. Could not remove strainer to clean so that could be the cause. Intake is open and clear.
How can I prime the centrifugal pump?

 

[Mulf]

On my Air Conditioner water pump there are three wing nuts on one end. Turning the pump on and opening the wing nuts just a little bit results in expelling air and primes the pump. Only have to do this the first time using the system after it being on the hard all winter. Good Luck.

 

[kloudie1]

The suction port of the pump should be below water level.. Ya should be able to verify flow by loosening the suction hose and very carefully pulling the hose back a bit.. Then replace that hose and loosen the discharge hose a little while the pump is running.. It should give a good squirt! Then you can put the hose back on and tighten the clamps..
First make sure the mud daubers haven't plugged your outlet and flow through the condenser is open.

 

[DougMc]

It can be tough sometimes. I have to loosen the strainer to bleed air out of the system. A trick is to pull out put hose of through hull insert funnel and poor water in to prime system. I have also undid hose after pump and before air conditioner and started system to prime pump.
Good luck.

 

[Genkigary]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

 

[KZW]

Air lock. You can pull the hose from the line leading from the pump to the A/C unit. Turn on the A/C (which turns on the pump). Have a friend be ready to turn the A/C unit off or be able to push the hose onto the barb quickly as things get wet quickly when the water hits the pump!

I clean the strainer every two weeks (things grow in the water here). The air lock has occurred once in the last year after cleaning the strainer. I leave the seacock open when I pull the strainer. It helps clear out anything in the line. It is also a great check that the bilge pump works in the auto position! The airlock occurred when I closed the seacock to clean things. The strainer is at the lowest point in the line, so both sides of the hose emptied.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Our AC looses prime each time the boat is hauled and occasionally after sailing. I have a "T" on the thru hull. One side goes to the strainer and AC pump. The other side of the T goes to a ball valve and a hose barb. It is usually used to flush the salt out of the AC after the boat is hauled for storage. To prime the pump I close the thru hull, attach a piece of clear hose from the galley facet to the hose barb. Open the ball valve, turn on the galley facet, hear water running out the AC discharge. Then close the ball valve, open the thruhull and turn on the AC. Faster to do it than explain it.
Bob

 

[Capt Mike]

My AC looses it's prime occasionally, seems to get an air-lock I just turn the unit on, loosen the strainer just enough till air is bled out and water starts flowing out, retighten the strainer and check your outside thru-hull to make sure it's pumping.

 

[sailboss]

The previous owner installed a tee fitting in the pump inlet line with a shutoff valve in the section that leads to just a bilge drain. When the pump loses prime (every time you clean the strainer) you just open the valve and get water flowing again. If you're fast, you get very little loose water. Turns it into a one-handed reliable fix.

 

[Rick486]

Each spring I must remove the forward overboard cooling drain hose and suck on it briefly to prime the system. Always works. I do it with the a/c running then quickly hit the off button which is about 1 ft away.

 

[Benny17441]

Make sure you have not ingested a plastic bag in the intake. Some may act as a flap valve letting water in when the pump is off but shutting off the flow when suction is present. Clean the strainer and insure there are no obstructions to the flow of water in the lines from inlet to outlet. Priming if needed should not be any harder than removing one side of a hose and pouring water down it.

 

[Pat]

We installed a plastic in-line valve w/handle that can be opened to prime the pump...we just open it with a pan or glass under it to catch the water, then close it....wa - la...! the pump is now primed....it is important that all lines headed to pump are below the water line....but I think that the obviously must be or it would never work...good luck

 

[Genkigary]

Thanks all for the advice. We are chill

 

[PGIJon]

Adding my 2 cents, I loop the intake lines to and from the filter so that I am able to first fill it with water then if necessary, with the extra tubing, I can easily raise it above the level of the pump. -Jon