[pikeman]

Got a pump connected to digital varistream had it about 4 years. Been fine but now as soon as I connect to pole keeps pulsing and when I turn it up stops altogether. Battery flashes green but battery fully charged. As soon as I disconnect from hose reel runs fine no flashing green light. Any ideas.

[CleanClear]

Twist in your pole hose inside the pole ?

[pikeman]

No cleanclear  looks ok

[Don Kee]

Re calibrate it mate

http://www.williamsonpumps.com/ekmps/shops/wpltd/resources/Other/varistream-digital-vsd6-user-guide-may-2011.pdf

(Instructions are shown as 'changing pressure')

[pikeman]

Cheers don ill try that tomorrow. What I cant understand why is green light flashing when running which usually means low battery. But when I disconnect from hose reel and run through the half inch hose green light stays on and runs fine

[Don Kee]

(I think) green flashing light actually means 'dead end' i.e your tap is on
If you get a 'U' where your flow number is, that means battery is low...

Or in your case, because you pressure is too low (at a guess) there isn't enough pressure to push the water through the hose
When you disconnect the reel, there isn't as much restriction so its fine

Imagine connecting garden hose to your outdoor tap
Water flows out nicely but when you put your finger over the end you get a good old jet
Well the water needs enough pressure to get it past your finger and create the jet
Same flow but differing pressure requirements

[pikeman]

Thanks for that don appreciate it.

[Spruce]

Also check any Hozelock stop connectors. We found they sometimes play up by not opening properly when the male connector/joiner is pushed in and cause a restriction.

Never had a digital Varistream lose it's calibration settings in all the time we have had them.

[pikeman]

Thanks spruce also thought it may some sort of problem break down in the wiring some where so loosing the voltage. because when I try to turn it up cuts of altogether lower the power runs a bit longer if that makes sense.

[dai]

They do need calibrating more as the tempreture changes. I can adjust mine on a cold morning,and have to do it again when the sun warms the temp up. The colder it is the thicker water becomes, eventually of course turning to ice. I have had to calibrate mine as many as four times a day. Of course you can set it high to start with but if I do, my simple flow control wont hold the pressure. My water stop consists of a bit of garden hose tied to my SLX pole, I just fold the pole hose and push it into the bit of garden hose to stop the flow.

[Dave Willis]

Strainer clean?

[pikeman]

Yes dave cleaned the strainer Thanks for the replys. No rush to get it fixed have a second pump, but would like to get it sorted. Ill take a look tomorow

[Mike #1]

Check all of the above mentioned  your pump could be fine but your varistream could be on its way out after 4 years .

[jk999]

If your calibrating up to four times  a day you have probably  Got a problem  with your system I have had pure freedom  trolley over three years and only calibrated  a couple  of time s

[Smurf]

If the pump works properly when no hose reel is attached then it' sounds like it's building up pressure prematurely and the controller is reaching dead end detection so will cause it to pulse. This can be caused by air in the system, restriction of water flow – kinked hose, bad connectors, blocked wfp jets etc when using the hose reel and wfp

Things I would check

Air in the system -Without the hose reel  or wfp connected first turn the pump on full to bleed any trapped air. Could take a while but you will hear the pump tone change and the water flow will eventually become constant and strong. I’ve found any air is the system will play havoc with a controller dead end detection when using a hose reel and turning the flow on/off at the wfp end.

Hose reel  attached  (no wfp) – again run it on full bore and see what happens. If you are not getting water through at a good flow rate or at all most likely cause is a bad connector or kink in the hose Also check the connector/joint and hose in the centre of the reel too as is mostly overlooked.

Wfp attach to hose reel – again run it at full bore, check connectors are good, no kinks in the pole hose and the jets in the brush are not blocked. If you are using some kind of wfp tap make sure it’s open and see if you get a strong flow of water ok. If so the final bit is to recalibrate the controller.

[Ian Sheppard]

If the pump works properly when no hose reel is attached then it' sounds like it's building up pressure prematurely and the controller is reaching dead end detection so will cause it to pulse. This can be caused by air in the system, restriction of water flow – kinked hose, bad connectors, blocked wfp jets etc when using the hose reel and wfp

Things I would check

Air in the system -Without the hose reel  or wfp connected first turn the pump on full to bleed any trapped air. Could take a while but you will hear the pump tone change and the water flow will eventually become constant and strong. I’ve found any air is the system will play havoc with a controller dead end detection when using a hose reel and turning the flow on/off at the wfp end.

Hose reel  attached  (no wfp) – again run it on full bore and see what happens. If you are not getting water through at a good flow rate or at all most likely cause is a bad connector or kink in the hose Also check the connector/joint and hose in the centre of the reel too as is mostly overlooked.

Wfp attach to hose reel – again run it at full bore, check connectors are good, no kinks in the pole hose and the jets in the brush are not blocked. If you are using some kind of wfp tap make sure it’s open and see if you get a strong flow of water ok. If so the final bit is to recalibrate the controller.

plus 1

[Ian Sheppard]

I would tend to agree with all the above advice. It is likely you are looking at air or a restriction/blockage in the system. Or as the low battery warning comes on as you place the system under load (increase flow) Volt drop due to  a worn or faulty connector or wire could be the issue.

Another possibility is the battery how old is it and do you know what the voltage is? A worn battery can make the pump cycle as the pump tries to draw current, If the battery is not holding a charge rather than a nice even current draw you get pulse of varying current as the battery tries to supply the pump. As the battery comes under load the volts fall off the pump tries to pull more current causing a spike then the volts fall off again.

As above though I think air or blockage is more likely.

[pikeman]

Many thanks guys. Don't think its a battery issue ian tried a couple of batterys one fairly new. Think it may be a wiring problem as have a pump in a box also with digital varistream and that seems fine. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[dai]

It's amazing how quick a film of oxide builds up on battery terminals,  I was having to wire brush them regularly, I have now switched back to the crocodile clips and it's so far running like a watch.

[Spruce]

It's amazing how quick a film of oxide builds up on battery terminals,  I was having to wire brush them regularly, I have now switched back to the crocodile clips and it's so far running like a watch.

A thin coating of Vaseline stops that. We always had issues with crocodile clips.