# My Brand New Graco 395 will not prime or pump. Help!



## pain-ter

I recently purchased a new Graco 395 upright. It worked fine for the first job. I cleaned and flushed it well. When I attempted to start it up this weekend, it would not prime the pump. Something appears drastically wrong. The pump piston still moves, the motor still works, but no pressure at all.



What can I do?

Please help me.

Thank you,

So much Pain! Gosh, this rig is brand new with less than 5 hours on it!

Pain-ter


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## caulktheline

stuck check ball in the inlet?


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## Workaholic

caulktheline said:


> stuck check ball in the inlet?


Sounds like it to me. 

Give it a couple taps where the suction tube enters the inlet. 

Odd for a new unit my guess would be you did not get it as clean as you thought.


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## HJ61

Make sure to leave fluid in the pump and lines after cleaning if you not using the unit again right away. If inlet is dry that ball likes to stick. Sucks when it happens.


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## pain-ter

caulktheline said:


> stuck check ball in the inlet?


I cannot see the check ball in the Graco Parts Diagram. Where exactly is it?



Workaholic said:


> Sounds like it to me.
> 
> Give it a couple taps where the suction tube enters the inlet.
> 
> Odd for a new unit my guess would be you did not get it as clean as you thought.


Well, I did clean it thoroughly. I used warm soapy water, then cold water. Water came out clear as crystal before I set the sprayer aside.

I did try the tap as you said, and still no go.



HJ61 said:


> Make sure to leave fluid in the pump and lines after cleaning if you not using the unit again right away. If inlet is dry that ball likes to stick. Sucks when it happens.


Well, I should have added the Blue Graco Storage Fluid immediately I suppose. I did not.

Now I am not sure what else to do.

After waiting a number of days, Graco finally replied today.

Here is what they told me to do [and it is not very clear to me]:

If you remove the inlet valve from the pump, you will see the displacement rod in the cylinder
using a small rod (1/8" Allen )push up in to the center if the displacement rod and verify the ball is moving
reassemble and test.

I added a Graco Parts Diagram as an attachment.

Where is the inlet valve they are referring me to? Is it the part labeled #24?

Do I remove the entire pump assembly?

Feelin' kind a lost and definitely disappointed. This was a big investment and my old Graco [XR-7] worked flawlessly for 12 solid years! Not a good way to start!

Pain-ter


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## Workaholic

The lower ball is seated where I circled on this 695 but at the bottom where the suction tube first comes into the fluid section. . That is the spot I was suggesting to tap but I meant a decent tap but not hard enough to damage it. If still not cycling on this rig you can unscrew the suction tube and access the lower ball to make sure it is free. There is also a smaller ball in the packing portion but the lower is usually the one that gets stuck. 

Improper cleaning techniques is a common cause of this ball getting stuck that is why I mentioned it.


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## Paradigmzz

If your rigs is going to sit a bit, leave mineral spirits in the lines. It probably doesn't help that you put it straight to paint. Get a bucket of water and try to prime again. You can tap it or take a wooden dowel, unscrew the rock catcher (intake filter) and push the rod up the cylinder until it rests on a solid object. That is your check ball. Give it a tap, it is probably sealed and needs a little nudge. This is a giant ball bearing that when under pressure, allows the paint to get sucked in, but when on the off stroke seats in a down position not allowing gravity to drop the paint back into the paint bucket. Water, being a thinner vehicle, may allow suction to bust that seal loose quicker and is a whole lot easier to fiddle around with while you are trying to figure this out. 

Good luck. Hope this helps somewhat.


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## Paradigmzz

Didn't realize you were talking about a lowboy. Take snorkel loose at 14 in your diagram, check ball should be directly over this.


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## pain-ter

Paradigmzz said:


> Didn't realize you were talking about a lowboy. Take snorkel loose at 14 in your diagram, check ball should be directly over this.


Thank you for your reply.

Actually I have a high boy. Sorry about posting a pic of a low boy. It was the only diagram online I could find of a 395.

Pain-ter


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## mr.fixit

if you remove the foot valve that Sean circled in red and look up into that space you will see the end of the piston rod and there will be a hole there and if you push something up into it it will hit the outlet ball as Graco suggested. you may also have a blockage somewhere in the manifold housing or the prime valve. remove the fluid hose from the back of the pump and attempt to prime the unit if water comes out of the pump it is working ok. put the hose back on and remove the manifold filter cap and turn unit on if water comes out of the top chances are your prime valve is clogged. there is a pin on the prime valve knob that can be removed then the knob and base can be removed and then the prime valve can be taken off of the unit. look at the bottom and see if there is anything that may be keeping it from operating properly if not take it to a service center


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## pain-ter

Paradigmzz said:


> If your rigs is going to sit a bit, leave mineral spirits in the lines. It probably doesn't help that you put it straight to paint. Get a bucket of water and try to prime again. You can tap it or take a wooden dowel, unscrew the rock catcher (intake filter) and push the rod up the cylinder until it rests on a solid object. That is your check ball. Give it a tap, it is probably sealed and needs a little nudge. This is a giant ball bearing that when under pressure, allows the paint to get sucked in, but when on the off stroke seats in a down position not allowing gravity to drop the paint back into the paint bucket. Water, being a thinner vehicle, may allow suction to bust that seal loose quicker and is a whole lot easier to fiddle around with while you are trying to figure this out.
> 
> Good luck. Hope this helps somewhat.


Paradigmzz,

Thank you for the education. Yes, your post did help me a lot to understand the mechanics of what is going on!



Paradigmzz said:


> Didn't realize you were talking about a lowboy. Take snorkel loose at 14 in your diagram, check ball should be directly over this.


Ok, did that. Thanks!



mr.fixit said:


> if you remove the foot valve that Sean circled in red and look up into that space you will see the end of the piston rod and there will be a hole there and if you push something up into it it will hit the outlet ball as Graco suggested. you may also have a blockage somewhere in the manifold housing or the prime valve. remove the fluid hose from the back of the pump and attempt to prime the unit if water comes out of the pump it is working ok. put the hose back on and remove the manifold filter cap and turn unit on if water comes out of the top chances are your prime valve is clogged. there is a pin on the prime valve knob that can be removed then the knob and base can be removed and then the prime valve can be taken off of the unit. look at the bottom and see if there is anything that may be keeping it from operating properly if not take it to a service center


mr.fixit,

Thank you for your post and you have helped me understand so much more about how these rigs operate.

Ok, I did everything you guys asked me to do...

I am posting pics of some of the parts...

My new 395 high boy is pumping again but....

I am not entirely sure what the problem was.

Here's some strange things I found:

The ball seemed loose [as in not stuck] and also appeared to be thoroughly saturated with pump oil [I added pump oil to the pump rod as described in the Graco manual].

Not sure if too much oil caused it to create suction and then prevent the ball from breaking loose...

Next, I stuck a small plastic shim up the hole of the main body of the pump[I know, this sounds gross]. Not sure if that is where the small ball is located, but I noticed whatever that metal piece was, it also began to rotate and move. It seemed stuck before I moved it with the plastic shim.

And now, the strangest thing of all...

For the first time, I also decided to check both ends of my hose and I received the shock of my life.

Each hose end was completed plugged up with tiny compacted, previously chewed up green leaves.

I know this seems strange, but I am not joking.

I think some type of weird insect crawled in and loaded both ends with compressed chewed up leaves [the leaves were compacted so hard that it was very difficult to dig them out].

We live on a large ranch and there have been massive amounts of bugs and I made the mistake of leaving my paint hose outside under a metal overhang for 4 weeks. I know, kinda dumb of me to do that.

Anyway, the good news is that the pump works just fine now. Primes and pumps like a good ol' bugger.

I suspect one or more of these 3 things was the problem:

1. Ball stuck like you guys said.
2. Smaller ball stuck up in the pump area.
3. Chewed up compacted leaves in each side of the paint hose.

Good news: My Graco 395 High Boy rides again!

Thanks guys!

Soar

PS Oh, many people are suggesting leaving the Graco 395 rig, hose, and gun filled with paint thinner. Does Graco sell a small hose attachment for this?

I purchased the Blue Graco Long Term Storage Fluid. Was gonna use that but seems many painters here suggest paint thinner.

Any more thoughts on this?

Pain-Ter


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## Paradigmzz

Leave your gun connected to your normal hose, your hose connected to your rig. By leaving them unconnected, any residual paint in lines will dry out, become brittle (because hose lines flex) and ultimately clog your tip the next time you reassemble and use it. 

And apparently get bugs crawling in the line. First time I've heard that.


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