Water won't pump

[Pottsygsxr]

Hi everyone. I'm new to caravaning and have bought a 95 corfu 4 berth. I can't get the water to pump through. The heater is working fine and it must have water in it as it has heated the small cylinder. The little control panel... Carver cascade 2...has the green power light on fine.
The only prob is that the water does not pump. I have a little 6 volt battery which I tested the pump with and it seems to be OK I think. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

 

[Sproket]

Hope this is a typo error .....

I have a little 6 volt battery which I tested the pump with and it seems to be OK
Just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

Have you tried a 12v battery ?

 

[Damian]

If you cannot get water from the hot tap DO NOT use gas or electric to heat the hot water tank, you will do a lot of damage doing so.

Secondly, if no water comes out of the hot tap, but does from the cold tap(but see note below about voltages), then the non return valve in the hot water tank inlet has stuck or failed and needs replacing.

Thirdly, 6 volts is absolutely no use to get a 12v pump to operate at its correct speed or pressure, you MUST have a full 12v.

I would strongly suggest getting a mobile caravan engineer to give the van a full service to ensure everything works and is safe to use.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi everyone. I'm new to caravaning and have bought a 95 corfu 4 berth. I can't get the water to pump through. The heater is working fine and it must have water in it as it has heated the small cylinder. The little control panel... Carver cascade 2...has the green power light on fine.
The only prob is that the water does not pump. I have a little 6 volt battery which I tested the pump with and it seems to be OK I think. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

Hello Pottsy,

Just because the water tank is hot and the green light is on does not necessarily mean the tank is full. Damian's warning should be taken seriously. Running the heater empty may damage the heater.

As for the pump, given only a couple of minutes in a van an experienced fitter would know what to look for and would have probably diagnosed the fault, Unfortunately trying to do it through the forum makes it quite difficult, as we can't pick up the clues so quickly.

For example How is your pump controlled, is a pressure switched system or is a switched tap system? - it could be faulty wiring or switch adjustments.

Has the pumped ever worked for you?

As someone has already asked, is it just a problem with the hot system, or is there no cold water delivered either?

When you turn a hot tap on, does the pump actually run, but just does not deliver water? Could be a problem as describe with the water heater.

Do you drop your pump into the water container before you connect the pump to the caravan to allow the pump to prime? or the other way round, in which case the pump may have an air lock preventing water getting to its impeller.

I assume when you mention a 6V battery you have tried to test the pump away from the caravan. Water is far more viscous than air and it loads the pump much more. Whilst a faulty pump in air may well spin up with only 6V, it may still struggle and fail in water even with 12V supplied. so your test does not conclusively prove the pump - though it probably you have shown its not seized.

If you are not confident with resolving any of these issues then you should be using a qualified fitter (Could be a mobile engineer) to help you.