Trying to install my HFS-3 and upon test mounting the pump found that the foglights interfere with the intended mounting location. Thus I need to move the pump higher and sideways for clearance resulting in the the pump head being roughly at the top of the tank.
Can the Aquatec pump that comes with the HFS-3 maintain prime for long periods of time if the pump head is above the water level?
If not, is a priming pump recommended with the newer Aquatech pumps?
I've seen people talking about it in regards to the older race pumps, and I'm have an unused headlight washer pump on my tank that could be used for this.
Aquatec states that:
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POSITIVE INLET PRESSURE WILL INCREASE THE DISCHARGE PRESSURE BY A SIMILAR AMOUNT, FOR A GIVEN FLOW. MAXIMUM INLET PRESSURE IS 60 PSI.
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So with the headlight washer pump making ~3-4 bar of pressure that would bring system pressure up to ~210 psi. One would have to adjust the jetting accordingly but this sounds like the pump would be OK.
This would also require the high pressure inline filter as the tank tap wont be used and the standard disc filter are only rated at 30psi. It also might introduce bubbles into the system when the tank is low as the headlight pump picks up from the front right of the tank, and there wouldn't be any place for air to escape except out the nozzle.
The other option is to build a small swirl-pot or surge-tank that will sit above the new pump location. The headlight washer pump would be used as a lift pump in this case, and it would stay at roughly atmospheric pressure. This would require a check valve on the lift pump, surge foam, and a return line with check valve from the top of this tank to the top of the washer tank.
The downside of doing this is mostly cost, complexity, and introducing a LOT of leak points.
Both options would make the washer pump 100% critical to system reliability and create additional failure points. So is it worth messing with?