PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I just tried to transfer fuel from the front to the aft tank for the first time. The front tank is full according to the gage. With the pump running and the valve open to transfer fuel aft, there is no indication of fuel transfer to the aft tank. Is there something needed to prime the pump? If so how? The pump sounds to be running fine.

Tom Green

I find that sometimes my pump does not prime when I start the transfer. I reverse the pump for a few seconds then switch back to the aft transfer and it works.

Thank you. I will give that a try.

Tom

Not wanting to sound silly...but....are you sure that the valves on the main tank are open? I leave them open all the time and just close the forward ones when transfer is complete.

Ron, not silly at all. I appreciate the ideas. I am pretty sure that they are open as I went though that according to the directions in the books I have before trying to transfer the first time. I tried your suggestion of reversing the pump, but no success. A call from another owner indicated that he found that his pump was wired backwards and that when switched forward it moved fuel aft and visa versa. I will have to check that out. I would think that the pressure valve would shut the motor off if it was pumping into a full tank. It did not shut down.

Ross, thank you for the phone call and suggestion. I will certainly look into the possibility that the pump is wired backwards. Nanci appreciated your thoughts and ideas about other things.

Anyway more head scratching. Thank you for your suggestions.

Tom

hi tom,

i don't think pump "knows" about a full tank if the return line is open. it will just keep circulating fuel.

do you hear the tick-tick of the pump running? i think transfer rate is about 6 gal/min.

If reversing the pump a couple of times fails to prime it, try filling the forward tank carefully to deck level and transfer fuel AFT. This is how we primed them during comissioning. When the pump primes you can hear it slow down. Try not to drain the forward tank, as this will allow the pump to suck air and loose prime. The pressure switches are designed as a safety feature. Its always good practice to watch the guage, and shut the pump off when done. I wonder if closing both forward and aft valves would keep the pump from loosing prime between fuel transfers ?

Have used James P's technique for a re-prime (at the suggestion of Chris Calver) and it worked quite well.

I got into the "starvation" mode when I tried leaving the valves open to allow the fuel to flow to the rear tank "on demand". I have no idea what I did differently, but since that time, I have kept both ends of the transfer hoses closed (also at Chris' suggestion) and have had absolutely no problems.

Tom

Clearly the pump is running. There is fuel in the tank so I am assuming that it is a priming problem. Thank you Jim and Tom for the suggestions for dealing with this problem. They both make sense and hopefully will solve my situation. I will see.

Tom Green

I finally filled up the forward tank to the deck level and then was able to prime the pump but only after switching the pump back and forth a few times. Fuel transferred. I then refilled the tank and closed the transfer line valves. Hopefully this well keep on working. Thank you for the helpful comments and suggestions.