How to Burp Draft Properly When Your Primer Fails

If your primer gives out, burp drafting can get you back in the game. But it only works if you do it right. These steps are not just about cracking a valve. It is all about pressure control, patience, and knowing what your gauges are telling you. Here is how to do it without stalling your draft.

Step 4: Throttle Up to 150 PSI

Start by opening your Tank to Pump and Tank Fill valves. Then throttle up to around 150 PSI on your master discharge gauge. This creates enough pressure to start drawing air from the hard sleeve and pushing it out through the tank fill.

Not enough pressure and nothing moves. Too much pressure and you risk turbulence in the system. That 150 PSI target gives you just enough force to get the burp started without throwing things out of balance.

Step 5: Crack the Master Intake Valve

Once you are holding at 150 PSI, slowly crack open the master intake valve. You are not opening it fully. You are easing it open just enough to see the master discharge gauge start to flutter. That flutter tells you air is being pulled from the hard sleeve into the pump and then vented through the tank fill valve. That is the system burping.

Step 6: Open in Increments and Let the System Burp

This is the most common place things go wrong. Operators get impatient and open the valve too far, too fast. That floods the pump with air and kills the burp.

Instead, crack the valve until you see the gauge fluctuate. Stop and wait. Once the gauge settles back near 150 PSI, you know the air has been released. Then crack the valve a little more. Watch the gauge. Wait. Repeat.

Burp drafting is all about timing and small moves. You are letting the system clear air one pocket at a time. Do not rush it or you will lose the draft before it even starts.