Full aux tank of fuel, but ???

[3Ts]

I have an aux tank that is full of fuel and a 12v Fill Rite pump model #FR1200G. Today I went to transfer fuel into my tractor and no fuel came out. I squeezed the nozzle lever and a burst of air came out. - That's odd, never got air before, just fuel. -

So, I figured the water block was plugged and changed that. Tried the transfer again and no change. Took the water block filter off and looked inside to see if there was fuel in it. There was absolutely none. So I put it back on and made sure it was tight.

The pump runs and will pressurize the line with air. When I squeeze the nozzle, I get a burst of air. Release the nozzle lever, the pressure builds up, squeeze the nozzle and get a burst of air. Rinse and repeat many times with no change. Well, maybe the inlet screen is plugged so I took the pump off and the intake screen is not plugged and was actually quite clean. I did notice the bolts holding the pump and dip tube together were not tight so I put gasket sealer on and reassembled the system. Still no fuel, still the same results. Rinse & repeat.

I took the filler cap off and ran the pump. When I shut it off, I got a burbble of fuel out of the filler neck which splashed all over the tank.

The only thing I can think of at this point is that the dip tube is plugged at the bottom. I'm not looking forward to pulling that out to check it, but it's the next step. If I don't find anything there, then what? It seems like I have an air leak in the intake line, but the only place that could be is at the gasket between the dip tube and the pump and I resealed that.

Any advice before I tear the whole thing apart?

 

[alexpops]

Have you tried tightening the rotor cover? If not that, could be one of the O-rings split. Looking at the parts in the rebuild kit, it would seem like a bad o-ring or cover gasket is letting in air & not letting you get it primed. OR the check valve failed & the pump can't create enough vacuum raise the fuel

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fill-rite-rebuild-kit-for-600-1200-2400-4200-and-4400-series-with-rotor-cover-4200ktf8739?cm_vc=-10005

 

[RjCorazza]

My FillRite did something similar a few years ago, but tightening the 4 bolts holding the pump onto the base got it working correctly.
Perhaps where the pickup tube connects to the pump is drawing air? It's been a while, so I don't clearly recall what that connection looks like.

 

[5030]

Could be a wad of algae plugging the tube as well, especially if it's been sitting untreated for a while. I always add Bio-Kleen biocide to my 500 gallon bulk tank.

 

[Dftodd]

Coworker had a similar issue with our pup tank at the shop.

I told him to check the alligator clips.

Sure enough, he had positive hooked to negative so the pump was running backwards

 

[3Ts]

This has a permanent installation and has been working for years so I'm sure it's not electrical, and it does pressurize the hose with air.

I've got to have the truck available for the next week so I won't be getting to this for awhile, but I'll be disassembling it in the near future and I'll post the results.

 

[3Ts]

Ok, I pulled the pump apart today and this is what I found:

Once I got it all cleaned up and reassembled, it worked properly. I have pipe & fittings for 1/2" all the way up to a few 6" PVC fittings, but I used the last of the 1" pipe and fittings I have on this. I did not expect the problem to be a broken off dip tube. The old one is now rolling around in the tank, so maybe that's a good thing keeping the fuel agitated and any debris will get picked up by the filter. I did not expect acetone to take the paint off the adapter fitting.