Two questions Water Pump/Auto Jacks

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John From Detroit

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Joined
Apr 12, 2005
Posts
28,644
Location
Davison Michigan
Two questions

1: This last week was our final trip of the season, Now it's time to winterize (Soon as they gravel the parking spot, if not sooner)

So, I decided not to hook up park (city) water right away and sure enough... Wife ran the supply tank dry and did NOT turn off the Sure-Flo water pump.  IT was running dry when I got back to the MH from a meeting (I don't know how long)

Put some water (Perhaps 5-10 gallons, well above the outlet) in the supply tank and it did not self-prime.

I was able to pressure prime it and it's worked fine ever since

The question:  Can I expect it to take a prime when I drain and re-fill with antifreeze and again with water as the seasons change or should I pull it when I dry out the rig and have it re-built


Question 2:

Power Gear Automatic Leveling Jacks:

How do then sense "Jacks down"  (or better yet Jacks not down)  I can find no sensor or sensor leads on the jacks themselves so I'm guessing, and I do stress GUESSING, they do it by sensing hydraulic fluid level in the reservoir... (The things seem to want to show jacks down even when they are very clearly up per mark one eyeball inspection)
 
John In Detroit said:
Question 2:

Power Gear Automatic Leveling Jacks:

How do then sense "Jacks down"? (or better yet Jacks not down)? I can find no sensor or sensor leads on the jacks themselves so I'm guessing, and I do stress GUESSING, they do it by sensing hydraulic fluid level in the reservoir... (The things seem to want to show jacks down even when they are very clearly up per mark one eyeball inspection)

There is a float in reservoir. When fluid goes out to jacks i.e. jacks down or going down-  it then says jacks are down on control panel no matter the degree as long as float has dropped sufficiently. If jacks are up and light is still on - then fluid level is low. Generally it supposed to be with 1/4 inch of fill plug. I use pipe cleaner to guage depth since at least on my rig its not easy to get to plug.
 
And it's been very cold lately so the fluid level is down a bit due to the temperture if nothing else

After inspecting the jacks I kind of assumed that might be the case but it's nice to have verification before I fix it.  And now that I'msure of what the problem is I can fix it,  Should take about 2 minutes (or perhaps 2 hours, 2 minutes to work and 118 to get the proper fluid)

Thanks for the info
 
The pump is supposed to self-prime and not be bothered by running dry, i.e. it does not depend on water flow to lubricate the mechanism.  Perhaps you need to add more water to yours to get it to prime, or maybe just wait longer for the water to work its way up the pump inlet tube.  It doesn't have much suction when its only moving air, so it takes awhile.  Using pressure will of course hurry the process along.  If priming continues to be a difficulty, don't drain it bone dry before you add antifreeze - leave a few gallons and just add enough pure antifreeze to compensate.

My PowerGear jacks were stopping a bit short of full up, leaving the light on. They looked OK, though. While inspecting them, I discovered zerk fittings on each jack, at the collar where the sliding shaft enters. A squirt of grease in each zerk let the jack retract much more quickly and the light went off immediately rather than lagging behind the event.  Don't know if this will help you or not, but the jacks do need lubricating periodically.
 
John In Detroit said:
Question 2:

Power Gear Automatic Leveling Jacks:

How do then sense "Jacks down"? (or better yet Jacks not down)? I can find no sensor or sensor leads on the jacks themselves so I'm guessing, and I do stress GUESSING, they do it by sensing hydraulic fluid level in the reservoir... (The things seem to want to show jacks down even when they are very clearly up per mark one eyeball inspection)

John,

The jacks on my coach have a sensor in the hyd tank. The manual says to lower ONE jack six (6) inches and fill the tank until the alarm/light stops. I would check your manual to be sure on which method to use to fill the tank.

 
RV Roamer said:
My PowerGear jacks were stopping a bit short of full up, leaving the light on. They looked OK, though. While inspecting them, I discovered zerk fittings on each jack, at the collar where the sliding shaft enters. A squirt of grease in each zerk let the jack retract much more quickly and the light went off immediately rather than lagging behind the event.  Don't know if this will help you or not, but the jacks do need lubricating periodically.

Re: Water pump.. Thanks,, That's the best I could hope for... Thankfully (worst case) pressure priming is easy to do, The coach has a valve setup that allows me to pressure prime easily so long as I have water under pressure to prime with... I have 3 1.5 gallon sprayers, Usually 2 of them have water and one is fitted with a fitting that matches the drain line for the main supply tank... Open drain valve, close tank outlet valve and you can pressure prime the pump... Once it starts pumping open tank valve and close drain valve and remove pressurised tank... Very easy

As for the jacks... Power Gear instructions do not mention those zerks.... I found them during my inspection (P.G. says use a spary lube)
 
(P.G. says use a spary lube)

A "spary" lube?  That's a new term to me, John. Or was it intended to be "spray".  I wipe down the jack cylinders once in awhile, but srpaying them just seemed to collect extra dirt.

Like you, the limited documentation that came with my PG jacks did not mention the zerks or a lubrication schedule for them.
 
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