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Prime the Pump?

21 years ago

OK, you're hiking in the hot, dry, scorching desert for days. You've lost your way back to your campsite.

You're dehydrated almost to the point of death.

Then, you come upon a well with a pump. Beside the well is a large, corked, glass container filled with water! The instructions on the pump read: Pour every drop of water into the well to prime the pump. Then, pump all the water you need to drink and fill your canteens. Once finished, refill the glass container, replace the cork, and leave it for the next traveler.

Would you pour all that precious water into the pump to prime it? Maybe it won't work... How long has it been since it's been last used?

Or, would you chug the water, refill your canteens and leave?

Think about this one awhile... remember, you are almost dying of thirst...

What would you do?

I'll give my answer later....

:)

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Comments (5)

brianh_va
21 years ago
The answer to this one is pretty easy, since it also involves people who came before and will come after you.
rustyj14
21 years ago
Pouring the water into the well, not into the pump, it seems to me the pump wouldn't get primed! Although, since the pump can't pump water if its below the bottom end of the pump intake pipe, you'd have to put the water into the well, instead of the pump! And how could you fill yer canteens, drink all you want, and still leave enough for the next guy? Or would you think about the next guy? If you survived, and made it out of the desert, would yer consciense bother you forever afterward?
Of course, you could pour half the water into the pump to prime it, and the rest into the well to bring the water up to the end of the pipe!
I guess the best thing to do would be to run around in cirles, screaming yer lungs out, and then falling down and dying right there by the well, at which point the next guy would come by, figure the water is poisoned, and he'd run off to die someplace else!
now, give us the simple answer! PLEASE!!
by: Rustyj
Preceding is either a nut case scenario, or an active mind at work!) :o)
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r, What is the well diameter? What is the pump size and type and location in relation to the well? Aloha
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rick, Bus is entirely correct. If your check valve is stuck open. You are pouring water down your well. If it is a minor leak, you can fill up your pump housing and start your pump that it will open the check valve and pull from the well. It you turn off your pump and hose and wait 1/2 hour and start your pump. If you have lost prime replace you check valve. If you did not wait an hour and check again, etc. till you determine how long it takes to lose the prime. Then replace the check valve. Place you hose in a 5-gal bucket and time how long it takes to fill the bucket. Compute you gallons per minute. Estimate the volume of the housing (cubic feet) x 7.8 14 gallons per cubic foot. Time your house to put that many gallons into the housing and start the pump and see what happens. Let us know how it goes. Aloha
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Get you some Magic lube from your pool store and lube the lid gasket with it. This product can be used on any gasket on your pool equipment. As Scott said if you rule out the gasket check the connections before the pump by taking a water hose with a slow stream of water over each connection with the pump running.When the pump primes up you have found your leak/air gap. Here is a link that might be useful: Magic Lube
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Hello, I've had this irrigation pump for a couple of years and recently the pump hasn't run for a few months. (I'm remodeling the house but don't live there, so it took me a long time to notice that the grass was dying). It's a well system feeding the irrigation only. I tried to prime the pump and I open the bleeder on the filer and air comes out, but no rotors every pop up. So yesterday I decided I would run the pump (after priming) and then open up the filter housing. Expecting either no water in the housing or for it to over flow, neither happened. The water just bubbled like the pump was only pushing in air. I dropped a link to a video that I took. I was wondering what my solutions are. Is my well too shallow? My pump broken? (I'm not sure if I trust the installer. I had nothing to do with that.) Any advice would be great. My HOA is getting on my about the lawn. Thanks, Chris VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/167624776a
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jennmonkey
21 years ago
I would probably take one sip (just in case), then dump the rest in and cross my fingers!!
OklaMoni
21 years ago
Prime the pump. I do, and did. I saw peeps trying the pump last year, and getting no water. They drove their car up to it. I rode a fully loaded bicycle up, but knew I would have to pump a lot, before anything would come up. Ok, so I didn't have to prime with any water sitting there... but I pumped and pumped and I did get nice cold fresh water. Yeah!

Moni
rustipup
Original Author
21 years ago
There is no correct answer... just what would YOU do?

Me? I would be so thirsty, and grateful that there was a corked jug of life saving water there. I would guzzle all the water in the jug, fill my canteens with the rest and head on my way. I would never prime the pump. Then, feeling "guilty" about it later, I would make a trip back with enough water to prime the pump and refill the jug.
Hopefully, no crazy person will have died from running around in circles at the site.

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