Hi - has anyone had issues with their airpump? I was 3/4 way through a seeding sequence, and it stopped picking up seeds, and I haven’t been able to resolve.
Checked UTM connector, changed needle, zip tied and shortened air tube, check the tool itself.
Checked at the pump and it seems to be sucking in air at the appropriate port (though not very strongly) but at the actual tool if you put the needle into the seed bucket it almost seems to pushing the seeds away - as if it was pushing air out of the needle?
Yes, this seems to happen to a couple of people.
Mine does it too. Blowing until a seed or finger is right at the needle and then sucking.
people recommend to clean the pump.
My pump started to do this on Saturday.
After reading a few posts, seeing the dirt in the vacuum line and noticing the erratic behavior, I decide to do the following:
1). Remove the vacuum pump, open it up, and remove (very gently) all the dirt that had worked it’s way into the pump assembly. Reassemble.
2). Took a quick trip to a local auto parts store (Autozone) and purchased a $4 fuel filter (Duralast Fuel Filter p/n FF5-16DL). Any fuel filter should work, but one that is clear will allow you to see if it needs changing over time.
3). Add the fuel filter to the vacuum line.
I have no more issues with the vacuum not working or reversing, and I do see some accumulation of fine dirt in the filter chamber.
@roryaronson, @Gabriel - maybe add this to the BOM? I picked a low price filter, but I am sure you could get cheaper in bulk and at wholesale.
Yes, we’ve already added this tip to our troubleshooting docs for picking up seeds. And thanks for sharing the specific part number you purchased - I’ll add that as well
For future kits, we’ll look into adding a filter so that we can hopefully reduce the number of people who experience this issue.
It would be good to have a solenoid valve for water with a simple filter as well. Mine made a swimming pool from the planting bed once… after cleaning all ok
