[WillK]

Wanted to check to see if anyone can suggest what I might need to do different. This is up north so I only get there on weekends and have an hour of driving if I don't bring fittings with me.

The outlet side was put together 10 days ago and got 7 days to dry. The inlet side was put together Saturday and run within less than an hour of assembly.

I'm guessing the inadequate drying time left the joints in a state they couldn't prevent air leaks. This meant air was drawn in and meant pressure wasn't generated and eventually prime was lost.

I intend to replace with galvanized iron.

 

[lenaitch]

So we are guessing that your problem is loss of prime on the intake side. I'm certainly no expert on centrifugal pumps other than owning a cottage with one, but do know they can be frustratingly infuriating sometimes. ABS/PVC cements are solvent cements and 'cure' within a few minutes maximum. Assuming you used the correct cement on clean joints I don't think that is your problem. Do you have a foot valve? Is it clear? Are you within the maximum lift for the pump (normally about 25')?

Other than that, everything looks new. Wait for others to chime in.

 

[WillK]

Just to clarify, yes I'm losing prime on the intake side of the pump and I know that all of the joints on the intake side are leaking because if I shut off the pump, the backpressure from the pressure tank pushes water and it sprays out of all of the joints

The way I'm looking at it, galvanized iron should be the silver bullet. I did use primer and clear PVC cement, I'm assuming the leaks happened because I ran the system too soon. I didn't have any trouble on the outlet side where I used CPVC pipes, primer and orange CPVC cement and let everything sit several days.

I'm curious if the PVC connections should be adequate and normal for use in this way. I generally favor CPVC for water supply over PVC but it's not carried in 1-1/4" off the shelf at big box stores.

 

[lenaitch]

Interesting. Seems I stand corrected about the fast curing if you can see the joints leaking. I've only used ABS and gear clamps on the intake side. I doubt the pressure is coming from the pressure tank since I'm pretty sure there is a check valve on the pressure side. It might from latent pressure in the impeller chamber but I would think that would be quite brief.
Sorry, I'm out of ideas. Maybe a real plumber will come along. Good luck.

 

[WillK]

For the variety i used Oatey recommends in their instructions 15 minutes cure for handling and 2 hours before pressure testing, so I failed to allow enough time.