Fresh water not pumping after filling

Hi,
Apologies if this has been answered before but here goes.
I have had an Autosleeper Broadway EK 2010 for two years. It's got a Whale filling system. Lately we have had a problem with hot and cold water not pumping from taps after filling fresh water tank. Tried leaving pump run for a minute or two etc but nothing doing. By a process of elimination I found that if I opened the hot water dump valve for a few seconds and opened taps and shower tap, then sucked on shower hose there is a gurgling sort of sound and after a few good sucks water srarts to flow slowly. After a while the water pumps normally and all remains good until the next tank fill. On our last trip I filled the tanks before leaving home and carried out the above process and all remained good for the trip - until I needed to add fresh water through the Whale inlet!!
Any advice would be most welcome. The pump itself is an inline one under the seat near the filler with all the other water pipes etc. No leaks spotted. Only one other curious thing - when I shut taps off in bathroom I hear what I can only describe as a 'creaking' sound from behind the wall as the water shuts off? Pump shutting itself off normally etc.
HELP!! Thanks in advance

The tank fill system and the water distribution systems are independent of each other and not connected in any way.

You describe a diaphragm water distribution pump and the symptoms indicate a minute leak in the system, a failing pump or a high resistance electrical connection to the pump. Sometimes the seal around the diaphragm can fail, in which case you will see a slight bubble appear when the pump is operating.

Thanks Peter. This is the pump. Just hoping the leak is not somewhere inaccessible!!

That not a pump. Its the solenoid operated valve that blocks the water fill path when the float in the fresh water tank hits the full point.


You may therefore have an 'in the tank' pump for the water distribution system and they are notoriously difficult to prime and the pressure switch that controls it is very sensitive to supply voltage.

Thanks again. Lucky I posted the pics then! 
So when the tank is full this solenoid should stop the incoming  water when tank is full? I did notice that the water seems to be coming from an overflow in the tank which it didn't before?

Yes, its designed so that, if available, you can connect to a tap and leave the tap switched on with the tank auto-filling. Not the valve housing also contains a filter that often silts up and slows down the filling process.

I've looked at my Autosleeper owners manual now and apparently I have a Flojet R3426-500 Triplex Diaphragm automatic water system pump. As Peter Brown has advised above, the fill system and water distribution system are separate so I don't understand why filling the fresh water tank seems to cause my water distribution problems? I'm going to try and locate my pump now, which is apparently under the Pullman seat.

I can hear the pump clearly with the Pullman seat up but cannot locate the actual pump!! As I said before, it's a Flojet R3426-500 Triplex Diaphragm pump and I also looked in the area of the water heater under the wardrobe but can't see it there either? Can anyone help with the actual location? Thanks

If you have the Whale filling system you may have a submersible pump in the fresh water tank.

Mike

I'm not familiar with the layout of your van but if you note where the outlet pipe from the fresh water tank goes up through the floor then look at the same area from the inside will find either a diaphragm pump of a Whale Pressure switch (little white assembly in line with the pipework with a knurled adjusting knob on top). If you post a picture of what you find, that will help.

This air-locking issue is a real pain. I am tempted to fit a replacement diaphragm pump.

Dennis

If you can hear a whine from the pump then it is in the tank, a deeper throb is a diaphragm pump like the Shurflo or FloJet.  Peter L is correct - it sounds as if you have an airlock somewhere.  If you fill up before the taps run dry you should not have the problem once you have got the water to flow normally as in your first post.

WThanks to you all for the information and suggestions. Yes, I think a call to Autosleepers may benefit

Called Autosleepers. It is a Whale submersible pump and will need replacing. Not an easy job and may require the tank to be dropped. Bite the bullet time I think!!

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Have you tried driving around with water in the tank to clear an airlock, before you get into pump replacement. If necessary dump the submersible and fit a Shurflo external pump.

What Peter said - with knobs on.

Get a Shurflo fitted and your problems are over forever.

If the Shurflo should ever go wrong, which is unlikely because they don't, you will only need a screwdriver and half an hour (maximum) to replace it with ease.

A/S are now fitting Shurflo pumps without dropping the tank I believe, using the old submersible as a pick up. That will make the job cheaper for a start, as the tank will not need to be dropped.

See here for loads of information, kindly supplied by MoggyMinor.
https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t23133-replacing-a-submersible-pump-with-a-shurflo#195863

I am un-informed about the number of people on this forum who have actually replaced a Whale submersible pump with another Whale submersible.  The received wisdom appears to be remove the Whale and fit a Shurflo system. I can recall reading several posts reporting this.   They are very reliable and do not appear to suffer 'air-lock-problems'.      Keith

I see that Gromit can type faster than I.     Keith

For once Keith! I'm usually beaten by someone.