Lost Prime Water Pump

[imagine30]

Doing the Spring start up to include a major project of replacing the exhaust system on my Pearson 30 A4. Every thing went well up to the point of water circulation. Engine started better than my car but no water running through the system. As always I ran the water intake hose into a 5 gal. bucket but there was no suction. Checked water pump and impeller working. Checked all hoses and ther are no blockages. I assume that somehow I lost the prime for the water pump. Any suggestions as to best way to restore the prime /

[Don Moyer]

Unfortunately, flexible impeller pumps do not self-prime very well after cavitating when a boat is still out of the water. We have frequently had to elevate the end of the suction hose and fill it with water before the pump would re-prime.

After launching, the pump benefits from what engineers refer to as a "flooded suction" since the intake of the pump is usually well below the theoretical water line of the boat.

Don

[imagine30]

Don: Thanks for the sound advice. Followed your instructions and was able to get the pump primed although I was surprised at the amount of water the system took. Everything seems to be running fine.