Pumps

Q: "My pump is running but no water is moving"

Q: "My pump is running but the water is at a very low pressure"

• Sometimes this is simply air in the pump head. See 'How do I clear an airlock in the pump?' further down the page.
• More usually it's a dirty pump head, the area where the water flows through the pump. This is usually made from a black plastic and has the inlet and outlet hoses attached to it. This area is very sensitive to getting dirt in there, blocking the action of the pump even though the motor continues running. The result? Either no water flow or very weak flow.
• The only solution to a dirty pump head is to strip the pump head down and clean it VERY thoroughly, under running water, then re-assemble the pump. It's a job that will get you wet so be prepared!
• A bigger issue to the cleaning is, 'how did the dirt get in there in the first place?' so a good clean of the tank / water inlet hoses / fitting a strainer will all be good ideas.
• For these reasons it's best to avoid setting up a van system with the resin before the pump. In the case a pump is taking water from the tank to push it to the pole, and it pulls this water through the resin on the way, it will almost certainly suck some resin through from the vessel. Even a strainer on the pump will not always prevent it from clogging. Nearly all the dirty pumps we've had returned to us had resin in them. Pumps MUST ALWAYS GO BEFORE THE RESIN!

Q: "When I turn on my controller my pump does nothing"

• This sounds like an electrical fault. As long as there really is power coming into the pump (don't tale this for granted) and there are no other electrical issues in the system then it will almost certainly be the pump's pressure switch that is dead, or activated by having the water pressure built up in thr hoses. Spare pressure switches can be found here.
• Of course, there can be other areas of electrical problems in a system. Starting at the battery, there are wires, should be a fuse which has to be in a special holder, there will be connections etc, all of which could have become faulty. It would be wise to check these as well.

Q: "Can I pump chemicals through my pump?"

• They are designed and guaranteed to run with water only.

Q: "I need a window cleaning pump but it needs to run on a higher voltage. Can I get one?"

• Our pumps are made to run on 12V DC only. But we can usually get others that are designed to run on higher voltages. Please contact us for more information.

Q: "How do I clear an airlock in the pump?"

• These pumps are made to pump liquids only so they must always be full of water. If they run dry they might not be able to pump properly until all air has been removed from inside them. One way to do this is to take the outlet hose and suck on it to encourage the air and water through the pump until the pump is running on its own. Even better if you have another pump you can use to push water into the dry one. Usually, putting the hose in your mouth is enough to get this started. If it doesn't then see the first point above: 'My pump is running but no water is moving'.

Q: "My pump has been damaged by water getting inside. I thought a water pump would be waterproof?"

• Yes, they are waterproof in the area where water is meant to go but not in the other areas (the electrical end). So they must be kept dry. A little condensation will not hurt them but a lot of water running onto them over time will get inside and cause problems like washing the oil from the bearings and corroding the contacts.

Q: "Will my pump get damaged if it freezes?"

• Most of the time window cleaning pumps are fine if they freeze but in some cases they will be damaged so it's best to avoid it if possible.

Q: "My pump runs for a few seconds then stops, and keeps doing it over and over again"

• This is probably a case of controller calibration needing adjusting. See our Controllers page.