Well, for a plumber or the more astute DIYer, this is something that doesn't bite them - but for me, it bit me hard.
In my Landmark, behind the Anderson Brass Kantleak 200 4-Way Valve, there are 4 ports + the City Water Inlet. One or more of the fittings connected to the valve are "1/2" Female Swivel x 1/2" Barb Elbow". Like this one but white:
What bit me was the o-ring inside. I was "reusing" this fitting and had disconnected and reconnected it many times. At some point, the o-ring had become deformed and fell out without me noticing. Because this fitting was on the "suction" side of the Anderson Valve (suction line from water tank to inlet of water pump), it did not present with a water leak when installed in a vertical fashion (barb pointed down towards floor).
What was happening was my pump would not prime - no water at all! In troubleshooting this, myself and my Heartland neighbor, Howard B checked out each component (lines, connectors, pump etc.). In doing so, we had laid down flat on the floor, a section of PEX with the above pictured fitting connected between PEX and 1/3" vinyl hose going to the pump. And there it was - a leak at the fitting the only presented when the connector was horizontal (laying on it's side). The fitting was very tight on a union I was using to connect it to the vinyl hose, with a straight fitting.
Lessons learned by this plumbing dufus:
Hoping this is all behind me now. I have it jury-rigged for now and I'd like to reconnect the suction side back to the Anderson valve to give me flexibility back. I plan to pick up some of these Apollo brand fittings from Lowes. I've used these in the past, though not elbows. The o-ring in these are MUCH better than in the inexpensive fittings.
And for my plumbing kit, I'll get a few straight fittings like this:
In my Landmark, behind the Anderson Brass Kantleak 200 4-Way Valve, there are 4 ports + the City Water Inlet. One or more of the fittings connected to the valve are "1/2" Female Swivel x 1/2" Barb Elbow". Like this one but white:
What bit me was the o-ring inside. I was "reusing" this fitting and had disconnected and reconnected it many times. At some point, the o-ring had become deformed and fell out without me noticing. Because this fitting was on the "suction" side of the Anderson Valve (suction line from water tank to inlet of water pump), it did not present with a water leak when installed in a vertical fashion (barb pointed down towards floor).
What was happening was my pump would not prime - no water at all! In troubleshooting this, myself and my Heartland neighbor, Howard B checked out each component (lines, connectors, pump etc.). In doing so, we had laid down flat on the floor, a section of PEX with the above pictured fitting connected between PEX and 1/3" vinyl hose going to the pump. And there it was - a leak at the fitting the only presented when the connector was horizontal (laying on it's side). The fitting was very tight on a union I was using to connect it to the vinyl hose, with a straight fitting.
Lessons learned by this plumbing dufus:
- Air is easier to pull in by a water pump than water when the water is lower than the air admittance point
- Air in the suction side will noticeably aerate the water, the pump will never shut off and could be ruined (run dry)
- Lower cost plastic fittings use o-rings that apparently aren't reenterable many times without extreme o-ring deformation
- Air in the suction system can be tricky to find
Hoping this is all behind me now. I have it jury-rigged for now and I'd like to reconnect the suction side back to the Anderson valve to give me flexibility back. I plan to pick up some of these Apollo brand fittings from Lowes. I've used these in the past, though not elbows. The o-ring in these are MUCH better than in the inexpensive fittings.
And for my plumbing kit, I'll get a few straight fittings like this:
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