Fresh water not pumping water????

Youngin19

Youngin19

New Member
Jan 10, 2010
53
Maryland - Rock Creek
Boat Info
2005 Amberjack 290
Engines
350 Merc Horizons
We filled up our fresh water tank for the first time the other day. Ran some water through the sink, the shower head, and the fresh water washdown. After a few minutes it shut off, I opened the cap back off to release the air pressure and added more water into it. It finally started flowing throughout the faucets with a decent amount of pressure so we ran each faucet for about half an hour each. I thought I had all of the air blown out of the lines.

I went down last night and turned on the faucets, it started coming out and spurts for a 2-3 minutes then it completely shut off. My fresh water gauge is showing full, I opened the cap and tried to put more water in but it was full. I couldn't get much water to come out of any faucet.

Any help with what may be causing them not to work properly?

FYI, this is my first boat with a fresh water tank so I am a rookie!
 
The pink antifreez used to winterize clogs the strainer at the outlet of the pump. Find it and clean it.
 
"opened the cap back off to release the air pressure" ??
Not sure what you're talking about here...there is a vent plumbed from the tank. You should see a small fitting on the side of the hull under the fill. Water will pour from this first when the tank is full...it is there to let air into/out of the tank to eliminate any vacuum from water being pumped in, or out...

If it's not the strainer (be sure it's clean, and there are no cracks in the plastic cover), and all your fittings are tight it's the pump. They are self-priming and will pull water from the tank provided there are no air leaks between it and the tank. If it doesn't self prime you need to rebuild the pump, or just replace it.

Turn it on and observe what's happening through the plastic strainer. Any air bubbles getting sucked in?
 
Water was coming out of the hull and I figured that meant we were full. When I said I removed the cap, I meant the fill cap I just unscrewed it. I could feel the air pressure as I was unscrewing it, like a vaccum seal.

I can not get down to the boat tonight so I will try and get down there tomorrow and clean the strainer, hopefully that is all it is.

Thanks for the advise guys, I appreciate it.
 
If there is any presure (or vaccum for that matter) in the system you have a bigger problem. As mentioned earlier, Clean the strainer, & watch the plastic strainer cover as the system runs.

Lets be sure too that the tank is indeed full. If you have some kind of blockage in either the fill tube or the vent you could potentially see water pouring from the overflow before the tank even begins to fill. I'm not saying this is the problem but just check everything out from the tank forward & you'll find the culprit.
 
If you have a low spot in your vent hose and you over filled the tank, it oculd be vapor locked... that would explain the pressure release when you open the fill cap. Check the vent hose to see if there is any water in it.
 
Alibuma said:
If you have a low spot in your vent hose and you over filled the tank, it oculd be vapor locked... that would explain the pressure release when you open the fill cap. Check the vent hose to see if there is any water in it.
Click to expand...

If that is what happened, what is the fix for that?
 
You say in your OP that it ran for a while then it "shut off".
Do you mean the pump shut off or the water stopped coming out, and the pump kept running
 
Water stopped coming out. To be honest I didn't check the pump. I will do that tomorrow along with the strainer.

It is very weird. When I filled it it wasn't coming out strong. After a while it started coming out with a decent amount of pressure and it held that pressure for a long time (which is why I didnt think it was the pump). I just left the faucets open so I could get a few tanks of water through it (est 45 minutes). All of this was Sunday. Then last night when I went back hardly anything was coming out and I couldn't get the same pressure back at all, then after a few minutes thats when the water stopped coming out.
 
Another easy possibility is the mesh filter on the faucet where the water comes out could be clogged. Just unscrew and see if water comes out with one of them off. This happened to me first time I ran water thru mine after winter.
 
If water stops coming out but pump continues to run, and you can actually hear the pump increase in speed as the water stops, you have a blockage on the supply side, or you are out of water. could be a plugged vent as you alluded to in your OP ( vacuum in the tank) or a blockage, like something in the tank that finds its way to the pickup as water is drawn out. In every boat I have owned, the strainer has always been on the supply side just in front of the pump, so as others have said check that.
If the pump shuts off, the blockage is on the delivery side, one poster has said that his stainer is on the delivery side so I suppose that could be a possibility.
Your last post kind of makes me think plugged screen on the suction side of the pump, or plugged vent. Your pump could be heading south, but you said it pumped good out of two or three outlets originally so, hopfully not.
Good luck....let us know how it turned out.
 
Last edited:
docofthebay said:
Another easy possibility is the mesh filter on the faucet where the water comes out could be clogged. Just unscrew and see if water comes out with one of them off. This happened to me first time I ran water thru mine after winter.
Click to expand...

The screen was out of the sink in the galley, I actually had it apart to clean them. So unfortunately thats out the window. That would have been great if that would have been the case!

my3sons said:
If water stops coming out but pump continues to run, and you can actually hear the pump increase in speed as the water stops, you have a blockage on the supply side, or you are out of water. could be a plugged vent as you alluded to in your OP ( vacuum in the tank) or a blockage, like something in the tank that finds its way to the pickup as water is drawn out. In every boat I have owned, the strainer has always been on the supply side just in front of the pump, so as others have said check that.
If the pump shuts off, the blockage is on the delivery side, one poster has said that his stainer is on the delivery side so I suppose that could be a possibility.
Your last post kind of makes me think plugged screen on the suction side of the pump, or plugged vent. Your pump could be heading south, but you said it pumped good out of two or three outlets originally so, hopfully not.
Good luck....let us know how it turned out.
Click to expand...

That is great information. I will check all of this out tomorrow and I will certainly get back on here when I take a look at it and see if I can figure it out.

Thanks again for all of the responses!!!!
 
You are welcome...thanks for the update.
 
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