Do you need to prime ballast pumps?

[jameslyle]

Hey guys, I just flipped my ballast pumps over, so that the motor was on top. We went out yesterday, and it seemed to be having a hard time priming. Is there something I need to be doing differently? Does the engine need to be on for some reason? Before I flipped them over, I never had to keep it running. Thanks for the help

[jpwhit]

Hey guys, I just flipped my ballast pumps over, so that the motor was on top. We went out yesterday, and it seemed to be having a hard time priming. Is there something I need to be doing differently? Does the engine need to be on for some reason? Before I flipped them over, I never had to keep it running. Thanks for the help

No, you don't have to prime them. Did you hook it up backwards? If you rotated it 180 degrees, but hooked the pipes up on the same side, then you reversed the flow. Then it'll be draining when you think you're filling and vice versa.

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Also, I always have engine on at 1500 rpm as recommended for best performance and so you don’t run your batteries out!

[MLA]

You likely swapped inlet and outlet, so now the pumps are running in "reverse" so to speak. Easy way to do this it reverse the polarity of the wires to each pump.

[jameslyle]

I did spin the head 180 degrees.. and the hoses are on the original sides.. so I need to swap them?? I thought that was the purpose of spinning the heads 180?

[blackhawk]

I did spin the head 180 degrees.. and the hoses are on the original sides.. so I need to swap them?? I thought that was the purpose of spinning the heads 180?

If you did this, it should work. You should not have to prime the pumps. What shape are your impellers in?

[LostDriver669]

Easy to check, just see if they fill when you empty. If they do, then they need to be swapped.