Pump Won't Prime to Winterize

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by 5picker

There's no screen and no check valve in my winterizing port.

There are those items in the city water port but that's not where you connect a hose to have the pump draw antifreeze out of a jug.

Sounds like you have the Anderson valve on your water hookup...

[5picker]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

Sounds like you have the Anderson valve on your water hookup...

Nope.

Just a port exactly like the city water connection port (and the black tank flush port) but no screen or check valve.

The advice of removing the screen and turning it around to depress the check valve to help the pump prime would be good IF YOU DID HAVE the Anderson valve or similar set up where you turn a lever to direct where the city water port flows but my reply in that instance was simply to point out not everyone has what was suggested. Could be a wild goose chase.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Nope.

Just a port exactly like the city water connection port (and the black tank flush port) but no screen or check valve.

The advice of removing the screen and turning it around to depress the check valve to help the pump prime would be good IF YOU DID HAVE the Anderson valve or similar set up where you turn a lever to direct where the city water port flows but my reply in that instance was simply to point out not everyone has what was suggested. Could be a wild goose chase.

This was the part of the quote that I was addressing...

Originally Posted by 5picker

There are those items in the city water port but that's not where you connect a hose to have the pump draw antifreeze out of a jug.

If you know where your water pump is, then you may have a white hose connected to the pump with an open end on it with a valve right next to the pump on the white hose.

If you do...that is the winterization hose to draw the AF into the water system.

That is how mine works...you can see it laying there on the left side of this photo:

[5picker]

John, we must be on different wavelengths today.

I know what MY rig has and how it works. No open ended hose near the pump, just three ports on the side of the rig. (although I did own a SOB with the open ended hose/valve near the pump)

One port is for city water, one for the black tank flush and one to ingest antifreeze into the system.

The city water port is the ONLY one with a screen and check valve. See photo. Not mine but same concept.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by 5picker

John, we must be on different wavelengths today. I know what MY rig has and how it works. No open ended hose near the pump, just three ports on the side of the rig. One for city water, one for the black tank flush and one to ingest antifreeze into the system.

The city water port is the ONLY one with a screen and check valve. See photo. Not mine but same concept.

OK...

It sounded to me like you were trying to figure out how to get it to work...

Guess I didn't get that you had an outside inlet for the pink stuff!

[wde]

I have a 2017 Wildcat and last year when I tried to use the pump to winterize lines it would not prime itself to start the antifreeze flow to faucets.
Guess what, the factory boys (or girls) didn't have the strainer cup that is just before the pump intake tight.
Had to remove the access panel and track it down.
Tightened up the strainer filter cup cap and she pumped like a champ.
Got to love the quality control from Forest River !!

[5picker]

Originally Posted by wde

I have a 2017 Wildcat and last year when I tried to use the pump to winterize lines it would not prime itself to start the antifreeze flow to faucets.
Guess what, the factory boys (or girls) didn't have the strainer cup that is just before the pump intake tight.
Had to remove the access panel and track it down.
Tightened up the strainer filter cup cap and she pumped like a champ.
Got to love the quality control from Forest River !!

The suction/strainer is also in the mix when using the fresh tank.
If the pump didn't suck antifreeze because the suction/strainer was loose, it wouldn't suck water from the fresh tank either.

Did your dealer not have water in the fresh tank during your PDI/Customer Orientation showing you how that system worked?

If they did and it worked... the strainer or the cup came loose afterwards.

I had one that actually almost completely spun itself off the pump from the vibration of the pump during use, allowing it to suck air. While they can be... things are not ALWAYS the fault of the factory boys. (or girls)

[wde]

While you may be correct, the fact that I also had a drain problem with my gray and black tanks that turned out to be caused by someone putting an 1.5 inch pvc elbow in the black tank, I'm going to go way out on a limb here and stick with sorry quality from the factory.
Did the RV dealer do the pre-test on the fresh water tank ?
They said they did, but who really knows ?
Since I fixed the pump, it has not vibrated loose again, so you can draw your own conclusions.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by 5picker

While they can be... things are not ALWAYS the fault of the factory boys. (or girls)

Dealers are supposed to be the final check to make sure any factory oversights don't make it on to the customer. There are all kinds of dealers, good, average, and not so good. Good dealers take the PDI seriously and go over the unit in great detail. Mine scheduled my delivery a week after I purchased it and it was a unit on the lot. Their person spent a few hours going over everything and I mean everything. He even had a filled propane tank he connected to make sure all the gas fired devices worked (except the BBQ).

In the auto world I've encountered all three kinds of dealers. Some made sure the car I purchased was as perfect as they could make it and one just handed me the keys with the suggestion I start making a list of anything I found. In he automobile world the last kind of dealer was merely pocketing the allowance the factory gave him for PDI.

The last vehicle I purchased, I couldn't find anything to complain about. Only time I took it back to the dealer was for free oil changes and tire rotations.

Can't really say my Micro Lite had any problems that needed Dealer attention. I question some design issues but the dealer I bought the trailer from even filled the water tank and had the system under pressure when I stepped into it for the first time after it was mine.