Ballast pumps losing prime...

[Guma]

This happened last week and I had to pull the cartridge and put it back while the pump was running to start water flowing to the bags again. This is only happening on the front bags. I noticed today that the pumps were running but the front bags were not filling with water. Any ideas as to what may be causing this to happen and how to fix it?

[talltigeguy]

Try looking for an S curve or loop in the lines causing an air pocket. Make sure the lines are as straight as possible.

[Guma]

Thanks tall, I'll look for that this weekend. It has happened again since I started this thread.

[chpthril]

If Tige was still using the bronze check-valves, I would suspect those. Sometimes with the weight of the bronze flapper and water on top of it, its too much to allow the trapped air to purge. This prevents water from entering the pump body.