There are thousands of seasonal water systems in the world, and most of them are in rural areas. And while it’s great to have running water at lakeside cottages, cabins and irrigations systems, getting these pumps going again for the new season is often difficult. Priming is the reason why.
Since water pumps can only move water when they’ve got water in them, it’s necessary to manually fill pumps and pipes before anything worthwhile will happen. This is called “priming” and it’s got a well deserved reputation for being a nasty and frustrating job. I know because every year since 1986 I’ve helped seasonal friends of mine struggle to get water flowing at their summer cottage. Actually, we don’t struggle any more because of a simple priming system I rigged up. You’ll probably find it helpful at your place, too. It uses simple, inexpensive plumbing fittings you can find anywhere to make the pump priming process super-easy. What used to take us hours, now gets done in minutes. The fittings you see here are part of the set-up. To learn more, including a diagram of what’s required, check out the details at www.SteveMaxwell.ca/cottage-seasonal-water-system
Contributing Editor Steve Maxwell has been helping people renovate, build and maintain their homes for more than two decades. “Canada’s Handiest Man” is an award-winning home improvement authority and woodworking expert. Contact him by visiting his website and the blog, Maxwell’s House. You also can follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook and find him on Google+.