Float lever sticking & power to jet pump problem

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So, the float is fine now but I am still having a problem with leaks from the PVC connected directly to the pump. I'm thinking I may need to have some sort of different transition piece. I just don't know what size outlet is on the pump though. I don't know if they just didn't use enough teflon tape (if any) or if it was cross-threaded or if vibrations or heat made it come loose... But I don't think I could thread it back on without having to cut it again. I almost wonder if I should try to get the straight thin PVC compression fittings like the ones used for the drain/trap arm for a kitchen sink. That way I could just screw and unscrew it if there were problems.

Or would that not work?

Any other suggestions of what I could use to bridge the pump to PVC that would be less likely to leak?
 
I use Schedule 80 PVC male adapters, and stainless steel banded PVC female adapters.

The only time I have had troubles with PVC joints leaking on pumps are if the pump runs dry and gets hot. That will make PVC shrink back and leak every time.
 
The only time I have had troubles with PVC joints leaking on pumps are if the pump runs dry and gets hot. That will make PVC shrink back and leak every time.
Click to expand...

That's always been my experience.
 
Thanks, Frodo! Any idea where I can find those? I couldn't find any at Home Depot or Lowes. Tractor Supply didn't have them either. And I need to try to figure out what size to get. If I find the model number or info on the pump, maybe I can find out what size? (Will have to check in daylight).


The heating and shrinking is what I think happened to it before, but this time I suspect they just didn't put it on right or didn't use enough teflon tape (if any) when they put it on. The helper was doing the work on connecting the pump while the main guy was working on the float.
 
Ok. So this is the pump I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EEOXYGA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I'm trying to determine if the female inlet part is the 1" or if it is the 1-1/4". And then I need to see if I can find the right hose for it. It's the side part that is leaking. So, looking at my photos again, it looks like it's where the water enters the pump from the holding tank.

I'm thinking maybe 1-1/4". So, something like this: http://www.metraflex.com/flexible-metal-hoses/model-sstt/

But I don't know if that is rated for potable water and I would like to purchase from either amazon or a place I trust.

71d58b5D1GL._SL1500_.jpg
 
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Dumb question, can a pneumatic one be used? Or would I have to get one specifically for potable water?

I checked the local hardware store and they didn't even know WTF I was talking about. Got in to a discussion with the owner about CPVC vs PVC and they didn't know that PVC is no longer allowed in houses. One of the employees commented that I knew a lot about plumbing and asked if I was a plumber. Told him I got advice and info from some awesome folks online.
 
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J10S has 1 1/4" suction and 1" discharge. Screwing PVC directly to the pump is not a good idea. I would use an 1 1/4" metal nipple that is 8-12 inches long on the inlet side. Then transition to PVC at the end of the nipple. I would use a metal nipple at least 4" long on the discharge side of the pump. Not only does the pump need a short distance of straight pipe coming in, but the metal nipples will not deform if the pump gets hot.
 
Valveman said:
J10S has 1 1/4" suction and 1" discharge. Screwing PVC directly to the pump is not a good idea. I would use an 1 1/4" metal nipple that is 8-12 inches long on the inlet side. Then transition to PVC at the end of the nipple. I would use a metal nipple at least 4" long on the discharge side of the pump. Not only does the pump need a short distance of straight pipe coming in, but the metal nipples will not deform if the pump gets hot.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! So, I could get a 1-1/4"x8" brass nipple (If I can find one) for the inlet and the 1"x4" for the outlet. I'm wondering if I should turn my pump around if that mess up the length of the wires to it. Right now the inlet faces away from the cistern. So the pipe goes out and then had some bends and loops around.

What is the best thing to bridge PVC to brass/metal? I'm guessing that PEX is not rated for use on this sort of system? I don't even know if they make it large enough.

Edit: Instead of brass, what about stainless steel vs galvanized? I saw some options on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JQJR8I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HS17NO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

and for the smaller one, something like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JQJQZ2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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Valveman said:
I would use a metal coupling on that 8" nipple, and then a 1 1/4" PVC male adapter would glue to the PVC and screw into the coupling.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I read somewhere that male metal going to female PVC was more likely to break the PVC, so using female metal to male PVC was better.

Of the 8" ones I linked, do you have any recommendations of which ones to choose? I wonder if they sell those locally...

I'll need some more PVC to accommodate the 8" nipple. I wonder if I could use a long sweep instead of a short elbow for the curve-- or is the PVC sweep in that size not rated for drinking water?
 
The first link is best. The second is galvanized, the last is a 1" nipple. I don't know of any sweeps made for pressure. Most are for conduit or drain/waste/vent.
 
Valveman said:
The first link is best. The second is galvanized, the last is a 1" nipple. I don't know of any sweeps made for pressure. Most are for conduit or drain/waste/vent.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The 1" one was for the top outlet part so the PVC wouldn't be connected directly to the pump.

Then I could use this for the bridge between the nipple and PVC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GSKXX2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And for the 1" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GSL1W4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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So, life has been crazy and I never got around to this (surprise surprise since I'm the queen of procrastination). Looking at the photos I realized that the top outlet is already connected to metal but it's the side 1-1/4" outlet that is pvc.
I'm still trying to decide what to get. There are braided steel hoses that I could either thread in to the pump or on to a coupling. The hoses seem to be pretty expensive and I can't tell if they are approved for potable water.
There's this one with some kind of fire rated coating. I would only need about 3 to 4 feet of it, but it would still be like $60+ sans shipping.
Then there's this one that doesn't have the fire rated coating but is slightly more expensive than the other one. I wish the swivel adapters for those weren't so damn expensive. I hope I can find something that is less expensive. I was thinking of going with hoses because the pipes have to go around and then back in the opposite direction to the holding tank. I wonder how difficult it would be to turn the pump around to have the inlet closer to the tank to have a straighter run of pipe or if I could find inexpensive swivel adapters to hook things up.
I could still go the route of having some sort of adapter/coupling that fits inside the side inlet of the pump and connect a hose to it or go with the thing of hooking pvc to it.

Currently it's leaking a bit and letting water in to the hot water tank so the water spurt out every time we use it and it's extremely annoying.

My brain isn't firing on all cylinders right now though. Been having a headache since yesterday.
 
Procrastination, not-so-jolly procrastination. I should be working on my bathroom floor or cleaning but I keep re-injuring my damn arm/shoulder.
The water getting in the line has really been a problem. The water will suddenly spurt very hard and spray all over me & soak me-- not good when it's hot water. It even broke a dish when it spurted. It's now affecting the cold water too. No smell of anything from the water that we can detect, but we could be noseblind.
I tried to wrap flex tape around the PVC to try to stop air leaks but it's too stiff & didn't stick well so the air problem is getting worse. We can't wash something in the sink or fill something out without having to swear when it spurts hard. Checked for other outside leaks but found nothing.
So, I'm trying to go ahead with fixing this up.
My current plan is to use the 1-1/4" stainless steel NPT pipe coming out of the pump, then have a stainless steel street elbow. From that elbow I can attach a PVC NPT x socket elbow. From that I will have to figure out what pipe size it reduces to coming out of the main shutoff as well as figure out the angles & if I need additional elbows/couplings/reducers. It has one of those PVC half-turn shut-offs (ball valve would be better, but I can't take it apart w/o draining the whole cistern- unless I added it after the existing shutoff). I wish I could find a suitable flexible hose to use instead, but I couldn't seem to find anything that could be used on the suction side so I'll just have to make the PVC work.
Well-Pump-idea.png
How does this look?
Any revisions/suggestions?
 
The pump needs to be the high spot in the suction line. If there is a high spot in the suction line before the pump, air will accumulate and gulp through when there is enough. A suction leak usually causes a loss of prime, not just air in the faucets. What kind of pressure tank do you have?
 
Thanks, Valveman. I think the pump is the high spot but will have to check. IIRC, right now the PVC comes out of the holding tank/cistern running horizontal, then has a 90 to go vertical, then another 90 to go horizontal, then a 90 to turn to the right for a bit, then another 90 to run to the pump. The outlet of the pump comes out of the top of the pump & has a pressure gauge, then runs horizontal and I think goes down again to the pressure tank. Not sure on what kind, it's a fiberglass one that the pump guy brought out when we had things replaced awhile back. We didn't get to pick it. The older one was a metal Goulds brand.

I know there is a leak where the PVC goes in to the pump's inlet.

Do you think the corrugated hose would be able to handle the PSI of the pump pulling water from the holding tank? Would there be more than 125psi?
 
Those kind of hoses maybe 1 1/4", but make sure the insert fitting on the ends doesn't restrict it to like 3/4". That would still work, but would limit the max flow. The suction line being too small can cause cavitation/air as well.
 
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