[chris turner]

I have been having a few issues with airlocks this week since using hot water and changing to 6mm grippahose. I also have a new pump fitted, all connectors are good, system is leak free but still getting issues. Weak flow, calibrating does nothing, auto cal sets itself to 1 and everytime I turn off flow dead end never activates and I get PS on the controller.
I have to whack the controller upto to full and wait for flow to return to normal, which it does, sometimes after a minute but sometimes 15 mins or longer. In that time flow is a trickle and is so damn slow.

Anyway this weekend I'm changing all connectors and pipes from tank outlet to hose reel to JG 15mm speed fit with a non return valve just before pump.
I have an incline that the pump strainer may not like hot water and could be contributing to the problem as I notice alot of air bubbles in my water on the glass.

Does anyone work without the strainer?
I had a look at alot of the "big" companies systems and it seems that most of them don't have strainers before the pump, unless I'm missing something..

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

I would locate the none return valve just after your tank outlet. This will prevent any fall back throughout the entire pipework. I did this about 10 years ago and it cured air ingress issues entirely. However, a complete refit with JG should do this anyway.
As for the strainer, I would leave it there.

[dazmond]

I have been having a few issues with airlocks this week since using hot water and changing to 6mm grippahose. I also have a new pump fitted, all connectors are good, system is leak free but still getting issues. Weak flow, calibrating does nothing, auto cal sets itself to 1 and everytime I turn off flow dead end never activates and I get PS on the controller.
I have to whack the controller upto to full and wait for flow to return to normal, which it does, sometimes after a minute but sometimes 15 mins or longer. In that time flow is a trickle and is so damn slow.

Anyway this weekend I'm changing all connectors and pipes from tank outlet to hose reel to JG 15mm speed fit with a non return valve just before pump.
I have an incline that the pump strainer may not like hot water and could be contributing to the problem as I notice alot of air bubbles in my water on the glass.

Does anyone work without the strainer?
I had a look at alot of the "big" companies systems and it seems that most of them don't have strainers before the pump, unless I'm missing something..

I've never had a strainer since I had my hot water system fitted over 3 years ago..no problems so far....

[Ched]

Sounds like the strainer isn't sealed correctly or has a crack. The pump is trying to suck through the strainer so if any there is any slight crack or gap air could be sucked in! Air is thinner than water so water might not show where the leak is!

Non return valve should be as close to tank as possible.

[deeege]

I had my system originally installed without a strainer. Caused no end of issues when my DI canister cracked and leaked resin into the tank, ceasing both pumps at the same time.

There’s no reason, imo, not to add a £10 strainer prior to each pump, potentially save loads of issues.

I still have to empty each strainer every couple of weeks or so and there’s still resin in them, even 4 years on.

[Simon Trapani]

Slightly going off on a tangent but if you’re the sort that takes the lid off the tank & fills via a gun or similar, dragged across the dirt, then i think a strainer’s a good idea. I’ve seen tanks with all sorts of leaves & dirt in them. I leave my tank lid on with a 1” filler hose sealed through it. When I need to fill from the static I just connect the hose via screw thread adapter to my statics transfer hose. Never had to empty the strainer or had bits in the tank. JG 1/2” fittings help. Never get problems with air. Much better than barb connections etc & easy to make any system adjustments.

[chris turner]

My water is purified before it goes to tank so no resin vessel in the van.
I have been wfp for 11 years and not once have I had to clean out the strainer, thats why I'm wondering if its even needed.
Might just remove it and see how it goes, worst case scenario is a new pump in a few months, I can live with that.

[Richard Groves]

My strainer has been blocked once and needed cleaning after a couple of months. But that was down to the fact I'd drilled an additional hole in tank to fit a gravity feed for my backpack. If your tank is clean with no debris in it then I can't see a problem. I suppose the only thing to be aware of is if your tank ever gets a bit green with algae, but once again that's not really an issue for most.

[NWH]

Never used a strainer since I started WFP 15 years ago never had any issues with the pump being blocked other than when using too much Vision.

[Stoots]

Never had strainer but would probably be a good idea with the amount of crap in my tank and ibc

[NWH]

I look regularly if I’ve ever had any tiny bits in I’ve fished em out with a little fishing net but never needed to do that often,I’ve seen the way some people work and how untidy they are some people would need to get dynorod in I don’t know about a little strainer.

[Spruce]

There is no warranty on a new pump bought from Gardiners if the pump is used without a strainer.

We have used strainers before our pumps for many years now and will continue to.

[NWH]

I’ve always used Shurflo pumps and I’ve never had a problem not using a strainer ever it’s another break in the chain for air locks,some window cleaners have all sorts of crap inside there tanks sloshing about so I could see the benefits for them.

[Smudger]

I’ve always used Shurflo pumps and I’ve never had a problem not using a strainer ever it’s another break in the chain for air locks,some window cleaners have all sorts of crap inside there tanks sloshing about so I could see the benefits for them.

As above - I did use a strainer on one set once it was nothing but problamatic with air locks - so I dumped it. - I can understand why its recommended and a warranty issue because some will use a pump with a a tank of water full of crud - I have the same with pressure washers they have a prefilter but I feed them through a tank and the water is always clean - if I used pond water the filter would be essential

I have no strainers - we very rarely get a blocked nozzle -  so  my system is pretty free of bits front to back

Darran

[Rob.Hall]

I had the same problem.
Slow water flow then normal back to slow.
After striping everything down I found a bit of plastic was wedged in the non return valve. It was able to move but not free itself.
Changed it over to a straight coupling and had no problems since.

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

The solution is to cure the problem (air ingress) not remove the strainer.
Using PTFE tape on all male threads and silicone grease on all rubber seals will cure 99% of these issues.

[NWH]

If you have a clean tank you don’t need a strainer it’s also something else that leaks look in a strainer normally you can see the air bubbling about inside them.

[Smudger]

the one I used used to draw air in the through the clear "trap" thread - all other joints were good as you pointed out wrapped with PTFE tape

Darran