Submersible pump doesn't work with recycle timer

I have a Supreme Mag Drive Water Pump that has powered my aeroponics rig for years. I just bought a recycle timer for it. Within a day, the pump is acting like an old-school pump that needs priming...it spins, but doesn't push water until I pull it out of the water. Once it gets a "breath" of air and I drop it back into the water, it pumps fine...until the next cycle. Then it won't start up again until I do the same. Needless to say, this won't work out. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? Buy a new pump and get rid of the recycle timer? I'd hate to do that. I hear such good things about running misters on recycle timers. Is it just a bad brand? I'm looking for something with 1/2" MPT output.

Thanks!

about the only quick solution I can think of would be to add some sort of check valve. It sounds like your pump is getting air into it and losing its prime while it is off. How deep is the container it is in? What is the water level at? Need a bit more information as to how you have it set up to give you a more educated answer.

still shouldnt happen. check power output on timer. if head pressure is not relieved on these pumps they have a hard time starting, is the water going back down when turned off ?

I thought the same thing, but when I disconnect all the PVC and just sink the pump, it does the same thing.

Might be a dumb question, have you tried plugging it back into what you had it plugged into before? Maybe the pump just went bad at the same time you got the timer. Just to clarify, by "recycle timer" you mean at interval type timer with a 1 min on 4 min off, for example right? I don't see how that could affect how you pump is working. Personally i use 2 NFT-1e 1min on 4min off and they work fine with my 800gpm pumps and lower. Have not tried it on anything bigger then that however.

Additionally, you could try plugging the timer into a different pump and see if it does the same thing to that pump as well.

That's a great thought. I did just try that and no dice. I have the exact same timer and the pump is smaller than 800 gph. The pump worked for a while. It just seems like the start/stops killed it. I have a few days to figure this out...the seeds have *just* sprouted in rock wool. I think it's just time to retire the pump. Now the question is...what brand/model is the best that has a 1/2" MPT output? Obviously, it must work well w/a recycle timer.

i run 5 1000gph pumps from one cap recycle timer.