RODI Tube Mystery

[bevo5]

I have a large RODI reservoir behind my tank with a small pump. It's been set up for about 6 years now, so I'm sure the pump is nearing it's end...but over the past couple weeks I've had an issue with the pump running, but not pushing water into the tank.

The set up: The pump is at the bottom of a rubbermaid so it pumps up about 30in then through a wall and down into my sump. I've had issues in the past with it draining the whole reservoir, so the end of the tubing is up a bit.

What happens now is - the pump is running, but no water is pushing. When I disconnect the tubing I can feel water from the pump. I use my powerful lungs to clear the tubing - just pushing air until it's all clear - then reconnect the pump and water pumps again just fine. But, after a couple days the same problem comes up.

Just time for a more powerful pump? I haven't changed the tubing position at all, so I can't imagine some weird water/physics thing is all of a sudden happening?

What do y'all think?

 

[Rtaylor]

Have you taken apart , inspected, and cleaned the pump? You will be able to see if there is any damage by doing some routine maintenance. It may be clogged or have something wrapped around the impeller.

If all looks good, the tubing is clean, and it’s still less powerful, then the motor is probably going and it’s probably time for a new pump.

 

[bevo5]

Have you taken apart , inspected, and cleaned the pump? You will be able to see if there is any damage by doing some routine maintenance. It may be clogged or have something wrapped around the impeller.

If all looks good, the tubing is clean, and it’s still less powerful, then the motor is probably going and it’s probably time for a new pump.

Thank you. I'm going to give it a good cleaning. It's capable of pushing water still - as it functions just fine for a good amount of time. Eventually it just stops until I clear the tube. Maybe pressure builds up in the tube somehow and it becomes too much for the pump to handle? I don't know why it works sometimes and then stops eventually.

 

[Rtaylor]

Thank you. I'm going to give it a good cleaning. It's capable of pushing water still - as it functions just fine for a good amount of time. Eventually it just stops until I clear the tube. Maybe pressure builds up in the tube somehow and it becomes too much for the pump to handle? I don't know why it works sometimes and then stops eventually.

What are you clearing from the tube? Your RODI lines shouldn’t collect any debris….

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a large RODI reservoir behind my tank with a small pump. It's been set up for about 6 years now, so I'm sure the pump is nearing it's end...but over the past couple weeks I've had an issue with the pump running, but not pushing water into the tank.

The set up: The pump is at the bottom of a rubbermaid so it pumps up about 30in then through a wall and down into my sump. I've had issues in the past with it draining the whole reservoir, so the end of the tubing is up a bit.

What happens now is - the pump is running, but no water is pushing. When I disconnect the tubing I can feel water from the pump. I use my powerful lungs to clear the tubing - just pushing air until it's all clear - then reconnect the pump and water pumps again just fine. But, after a couple days the same problem comes up.

Just time for a more powerful pump? I haven't changed the tubing position at all, so I can't imagine some weird water/physics thing is all of a sudden happening?

What do y'all think?

After blowing through the tube to assure no blockage indicates r suggests sediment or plaque-like buildup and time for a stiff tube brush and small bottle brush cleanup

 

[bevo5]

Just so I'm clear - this is the tube that runs water from my ATO reservoir to my sump. Here's what happens.

-Pump is fine, water is pumping into sump. Everything good.
-After a couple days, the water stops but the pump is still running and when I remove the tube from the pump I can feel definite pressure from the pump.
-I blow a bunch of air through the tube, clearing out any built up water.
-I re-attach the tube, and things work great again for a few days.
-Process repeats.

I'm wondering if maybe little bits of air get built up into the tube and even though the pump works OK, it's not strong enough to overcome that somehow?

 

[Rtaylor]

Just so I'm clear - this is the tube that runs water from my ATO reservoir to my sump. Here's what happens.

-Pump is fine, water is pumping into sump. Everything good.
-After a couple days, the water stops but the pump is still running and when I remove the tube from the pump I can feel definite pressure from the pump.
-I blow a bunch of air through the tube, clearing out any built up water.
-I re-attach the tube, and things work great again for a few days.
-Process repeats.

I'm wondering if maybe little bits of air get built up into the tube and even though the pump works OK, it's not strong enough to overcome that somehow?

Air won’t block a pump. There must be some debris or buildup in the tube. You could replace with new tubing to see if that fixes the problem.