Northern Tool Garden - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

Got an Onga Riva-Flo water pump, model number TF30, its not working, can you suggests why and how to fix it please.

As it is a diaphragm pump some pressure fluctuation will be normal but that is likely to be more of an oscillation at the speed of the pump rather than a steady or slow cycling of pressure. If it is important those oscillations are damped to provide a smooth noise-free pressure the design would include an accumulator. If everything remains constant - a constant fluid intake and a constant spraying orifice and the pump running at a constant speed then the pressure would be constant and the motor would be consuming a constant current. Clearly something is not constant. Something must be changing and cycling to cause the pressure fluctuations. I have a theory but am not in a position to test the theory myself - Inserting an ammeter in series with the motor in the electrical supply to the pump and monitoring the current drawn should show it fluctuating at the same time the pressure fluctuates. If the current falls as the pressure falls my theory is the pump intake is being restricted somehow and if the current rises as the pressure falls the pump is labouring due to outlet being restricted in some way or because there is a motor fault. It would be important to monitor the supply voltage at the pump at the same time to ensure it remains stable.

I assume the pump runs when switched on until a preset pressure is reached in the outlet when it cuts off, remaining on standby until the pressure falls due to a demand for water when it automatically restarts. To achieve that automatic function there must be a pressure switch in the outlet side of the pump and that or the associated circuitry is where the fault must be as the pump seems to run ok when reset is pressed. If it is modern it is likely electronics are involved and it would seem more likely those are at fault than a faulty pressure switch which could be expected to remain faulty all the time. Another possibility is the motor is overheating due to a fault or due to the duty cycle being exceeded and the safety cut-out must be manually reset.

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The motor start capacitor has failed. This is replaceable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-cVgpz7GYQ

Most machines will have a negative earth, this is normally a black wire , follow the wire , it will be screwed down to eart against the chassis, the live wire will be red, follow this wire and it will go to the start solinoid, there may also be a low tention wire from the live terminal this will have a fuse somewhere in it,

That is a relief valve that is modulating the pressure. When the nozzle is closed the outlet pressure is diverted back to the inlet of the pump. I think you will be okay just servicing that unit. The water is coming from the inlet side of the pump back through the relief valve outlet and into the valve. There is a diaphragm issue with the valve.

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Water is not supposed to come out of the inlet valve. The inlet valve is where you connect the water hose. Water comes out of the outlet valve on the pump. I assume you mean the outlet valve. If no water is coming out even with the hose attached and turned on then the inlet screen filter is stopped up. Check the screen filter and clean it. If you have the pressure hose attached and no water is flowing check the screen filter on the wand. Water should flow through the pump even with the unit shut off.

An exact model number would help. I'm assuming you'r refering to a lawn sprinkler that you can set say to turn 180 degrees, and then reverse back to the beginning and start over. Most sprinklers have two adjustable tabs that determine where it stops. You move these around the dial to set the stop and return positions. Then the top part of the sprinkler that moves, has a tab that can be flipped down for fwd-rev operation, or left raised for 360 degree coverage.

This sounds like a pressure switch and if water is comming from both ends the diarpham is probally bad and it's best to get a new one.