Shurflo pump wont run properly?

wonderer99 · Jan 25, 2021

Hey guys and gals. So the last couple of weeks I have developed an issue I cant seem to rectify. I have the Shurflo pump and controller from Pure Freedom and it has just doesn't run properly now. When I pull the Univalve the pump starts up but then almost immediately stops again, then gets going again and then stops. This just repeats constantly and the result is that the water just ebbs and flows, dribbling out then coming out normal and the repeating every few seconds.

The controller is not telling me anything is wrong, it just goes from the flow rate to DE when the water shuts off as it should. If I disconnect the hoses the water flows out of the pump itself fine. The pump is making all the right noises and I am 95% confident there is nothing wrong with the actual pump itself.

My only assumption is that there is air getting into the setup somewhere but I have checked all joints and used fresh PTFE tape on every thread to no avail.

Any suggestions or ideas would be most welcome as my main hose is practically unusable until I figure this out. I am having to backpack every job right now. ?

High-tower · Jan 25, 2021

Have you recalibrated the controller?

they usually need it when the temperature changes ?

Ian Sheppard · Jan 25, 2021

wonderer99 said:
Hey guys and gals. So the last couple of weeks I have developed an issue I cant seem to rectify. I have the Shurflo pump and controller from Pure Freedom and it has just doesn't run properly now. When I pull the Univalve the pump starts up but then almost immediately stops again, then gets going again and then stops. This just repeats constantly and the result is that the water just ebbs and flows, dribbling out then coming out normal and the repeating every few seconds.

The controller is not telling me anything is wrong, it just goes from the flow rate to DE when the water shuts off as it should. If I disconnect the hoses the water flows out of the pump itself fine. The pump is making all the right noises and I am 95% confident there is nothing wrong with the actual pump itself.

My only assumption is that there is air getting into the setup somewhere but I have checked all joints and used fresh PTFE tape on every thread to no avail.

Any suggestions or ideas would be most welcome as my main hose is practically unusable until I figure this out. I am having to backpack every job right now. ?

The Calibration needs to changed as mentioned above. In cold weather the hose can not expand as fast and as temps fall closer to 0c cold water moves slower. This means the pump is working harder and cal need to be changed to reflect that. Cal is currently a little low and the pump is being cycled in/out of Dead end. Please see the following video to auto cal the controller. But before you start set the flow rate to your preferred rate. ( Auto cal can be run at any flow setting)

spruce · Jan 25, 2021

wonderer99 said:
Hey guys and gals. So the last couple of weeks I have developed an issue I cant seem to rectify. I have the Shurflo pump and controller from Pure Freedom and it has just doesn't run properly now. When I pull the Univalve the pump starts up but then almost immediately stops again, then gets going again and then stops. This just repeats constantly and the result is that the water just ebbs and flows, dribbling out then coming out normal and the repeating every few seconds.

The controller is not telling me anything is wrong, it just goes from the flow rate to DE when the water shuts off as it should. If I disconnect the hoses the water flows out of the pump itself fine. The pump is making all the right noises and I am 95% confident there is nothing wrong with the actual pump itself.

My only assumption is that there is air getting into the setup somewhere but I have checked all joints and used fresh PTFE tape on every thread to no avail.

Any suggestions or ideas would be most welcome as my main hose is practically unusable until I figure this out. I am having to backpack every job right now. ?

Just another point. PTFE tape is used to seal a male threaded component inside a female threaded component. A shurflo pump has male threaded ports with a cone taper. If you use the correct Shurflo filter with wingnuts, you will see that it also has a corresponding cone shaped seat which is how the joint seats and seals. It doesn't need PTFE tape. If you are getting an airlock then there is a pretty good chance the problem is with the PTFE tape.

This also applies to the other Shurflo straight and elbow hose connectors.

Tango · Jan 26, 2021

I used clear tubing from my tank to pump, there's always air in there but it still pumps out fine. As the pump is pumping out water, you can literally see a trickle of replacement water running through the air bubble. If the pump could suck my tank inwards as it did when i forgot to remove my air valve cover then it can cope with a bit of air.

As for the DE'ing.. if you're starting in the cold you might have a frozen section in your pole hose. My reel was fine and the pump would pump out water but the moment i stuck the pole hose on the reel hose, it would start DE'ing. Only a trickle of water would come out even if i disconnected it and held it up high and then pulled the inlet end through my hand to the outlet end - diddly came out but if i did it the other way (holding the outlet end higher and working back) water would come out of the inlet end. Stuck it on the radiator for an hour and it was fine.

wonderer99 · Jan 26, 2021

High-tower said:
Have you recalibrated the controller?

they usually need it when the temperature changes ?

22 hours ago, Ian Sheppard said:

The Calibration needs to changed as mentioned above. In cold weather the hose can not expand as fast and as temps fall closer to 0c cold water moves slower. This means the pump is working harder and cal need to be changed to reflect that. Cal is currently a little low and the pump is being cycled in/out of Dead end. Please see the following video to auto cal the controller. But before you start set the flow rate to your preferred rate. ( Auto cal can be run at any flow setting)

Awesome, thanks guys, that sorted it! I think I was so obsessed it was an air leak somewhere I didn't even think about cold weather recalibration. ? It hadnt been done since the summer! Thanks again!

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Shurflo pump wont run properly?

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