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Headhunter Fresh Water Pump Help

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Danvilletim, Mar 5, 2019.

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  1. Danvilletim, Mar 5, 2019
    #1
    Danvilletim

    Danvilletim Senior Member

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    We have two Headhunter fresh water pumps servicing a 105' MY. We usually just run off one. On Occassion (every couple days) they would suck air or something else would trigger a pump fault. Now its happening every couple hours or more. It trips the same on either pump.

    My question is how do you go about tracking the air leak? Lots of connections, big boat. Suggestions?
  2. Pascal, Mar 5, 2019
    #2
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I am having the same issue. Pump is almost new. I m thinking about pressurizing the intake line although without a valve near the tank it will be hard to put the intake line under pressure. It s heavy duty PVC that runs from the forward part of the boat to the ER

    We have a 24v back up but it doesn’t have enough pressure and flow with a full house

    First thing is to bleed pressure then make sure the accumulator is charged with 30/40 psi of air

    HH has a video showing how to bleed. You need to open 6 faucets, turn on the pump, let it run a while then turn it off (breaker) wait till pressure is bled then turn it back on. Repeat 5 or 6 times. Close the faucets then restart the pump. When I do that it s fine for a few days.

    I talked to HH and they said any filter needs to be after the accumulator tank.. the guy said it doesn’t seem like it should matter but it does.

    They re great pumps but finicky

    Also check the intake check valve for debris
  3. Capt Ralph, Mar 5, 2019
    #3
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    How do we know it's sucking air?
    Headhunter support is usually pretty good, have you compared your notes whit them yet.
  4. Pascal, Mar 5, 2019
    #4
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I have called them. Helpful but defaulting tonyiu have an air leak. I guess it’s possible but unlikely with heavy duty Grey PVC.

    Also don’t see why having the charcoal filter between the pump and accumulator tank would make a difference
  5. Capt J, Mar 5, 2019
    #5
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Check the fitting right on the intake of the pump. They tend to vibrate loose and you can usually tighten them 1/2 a turn on most boats.
  6. Danvilletim, Mar 6, 2019
    #6
    Danvilletim

    Danvilletim Senior Member

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    Okay so we figured it out... The boat has a port and starboard water fill. each intake has a T value. After shutting one of the T Values all problems went away. I guess the seal on the water fill cap isn't good.
  7. Pascal, Mar 6, 2019
    #7
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    That’s a weird set up... usually the filler is separate from the pick up.
  8. Danvilletim, Mar 6, 2019
    #8
    Danvilletim

    Danvilletim Senior Member

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    Im not sure where the filter is. But it’s working. Now sending the boat to a 5 day Miami trip with oldest daughter and her friends. Definitely Haulover and Nixon Beach. Maybe some more stops. Good think they are coming from sub freezing temps.
  9. Capt J, Mar 6, 2019
    #9
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Your tank vent is clogged most likely. When it starts sucking water of any volume, it sucks a vacuum and it sucks the level that's up the fill pipe and starts sucking air from there.
  10. chesapeake46, Mar 7, 2019
    #10
    chesapeake46

    chesapeake46 Senior Member

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    An old well guy told me he used to use the old style shaving cream to look for air leaks on the suction side. I never tried it. Put a dab on fittings and see if it gets sucked in.
  11. Capt Bill11, Apr 2, 2019
    #11
    Capt Bill11

    Capt Bill11 Senior Member

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    I stopped using HH pumps years ago and stated using Grundfos MQ 3 pumps.

    Same performance at half the price or less.

    I find they are less finicky about air as well.

    “Features:
    • Compact design: Because of its compact design, the pump requires no additional space around it.
    • Built-in protection: During dry running, excessive temperature, or any overload condition the pump will stop automatically, preventing a motor burnout.
    • Convenient all-in-one design: The Grundfos MQ is designed boost low water pressure for domestic water supply and a variety of other applications.
    • Simple operation: The pump features a user-friendly control panel with an ON/OFF button and lights to indicate the pump’s performance.
      Additional Features:
      • Automatic reset
      • Low noise level
      • Pressure tank
      • Limited two-year warranty”
  12. Pascal, Apr 2, 2019
    #12
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I ll have to look into it. Does it have as much pressure as the Mach 5 so the HH flush correctly?

    We ve been in the Exumas for the last month and I ve had only 3 or 4 errors. I have pulled the pump inlet check valve, cleaned it and resealed with fresh Teflon, gone thru the purging procedure and also kept the DC back up pump off. Not sure which of the three helped but it has cut down errors.
  13. Pascal, Apr 2, 2019
    #13
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Looks like they have to version ... 45 PSI and 63 PSI. The lower pressure version won’t work with HH heads.

    I also see a max ambient temp of 113 F, that’s marginal for an ER installed pump...
  14. Capt J, Apr 3, 2019
    #14
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I have managed yachts with Grunfos pumps and they have worked well. Problem is that they're much harder to find for sale. etc.
  15. Pascal, Apr 3, 2019
    #15
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    But can they flush a HH Head? They need quite a bit of pressure. Our back up DC pump (shurflo) doesn’t have enough pressure
  16. Capt J, Apr 3, 2019
    #16
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Yes, they were installed on several Neptunus' that I managed several years back and Neptunus used Head Hunter toilets on all of those boats. Shurflo is not a good pump for the size of your vessel, can make enough pressure but cannot sustain it.
  17. Pascal, Apr 3, 2019
    #17
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Yeah... it s just a back up. It will flush one head and needs to rebuilt pressure.