Electrical Question: I mentioned last week that my well wasn't giving me any water. I called a plumber, and he checked the pressure switch for power. He said that power was getting to...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I mentioned last week that my well wasn't giving me any water. I called a plumber, and he checked the pressure switch for power. He said that power was getting to the switch, but the pump wasn't working, so the pump was bad. Also, the circuit breaker would trip itself after a few minutes.

Nine days later, and I have a new pump. Just like last week, there is current at the pressure switch, the circuit breaker trips, but the pump doesn't work.

The plumber is guessing that the wires running from the pump into the house are old and bad. He wants to dig a trench and run new wires from the pump into the house.

This is a big company with thirty plumbers and HVAC people, and they are not about to say that they needlessly installed a pump. So, what do you think is going on here?

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Jerry, It would be inexpensive to buy a roll of UF and lay it without burying it to test the conductivity issue. Just a thought.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Disconnect the wires to the pump at the pump and see if the breaker still trips - if it does, you have a wiring problem - of course this should have been done in the first place.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

imagemeister wrote:

Disconnect the wires to the pump at the pump and see if the breaker still trips - if it does, you have a wiring problem - of course this should have been done in the first place.

Sounds good to me.

Wasabi

broncomaniac wrote:

Jerry, It would be inexpensive to buy a roll of UF and lay it without burying it to test the conductivity issue. Just a thought.

Agree. Run a new parallel set of wires above ground and see if that works. Also test the breaker. It may be tripping for another cause. Did they put new wire to the pump in the well?

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Wasabi wrote:

Agree. Run a new parallel set of wires above ground and see if that works. Also test the breaker. It may be tripping for another cause. Did they put new wire to the pump in the well?

First, though, I'd bypass the pressure switch to see if the pump runs and breaker holds. If you get nothing then new wire is indicated. Might be a bad splice in the ground somewhere...how far is the well?

if you have the old pump, feed it and see if it runs. You should not have to pay for a new pump if it is faulty wiring.

A10 Loc: Southern Indiana

I would check the voltage at the pressure switch just to make sure you don't have a high resistive short under ground in your wiring. The short would cause low voltage at the pressure switch and could cause the breaker to trip. Also check the old pump for proper ohm reading for the windings. You can also connect your old pump using a short "pigtail" and plug in to power in your home. If pump is 240 volt you would need to hook-up in the circuit breaker panel. Good luck I have been in the electrical field for 40 years and a 200' pump owner for 11 years.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I mentioned last week that my well wasn't giving m... (show quote)

Second opinion? And if it’s the wiring instead of the pump, they owe you a refund. It would be great if the payment is on a credit card, so you can dispute the charge.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TriX wrote:

Second opinion? And if it’s the wiring instead of the pump, they owe you a refund. It would be great if the payment is on a credit card, so you can dispute the charge.

At this point, there is no payment.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

broncomaniac wrote:

First, though, I'd bypass the pressure switch to see if the pump runs and breaker holds. If you get nothing then new wire is indicated. Might be a bad splice in the ground somewhere...how far is the well?

if you have the old pump, feed it and see if it runs. You should not have to pay for a new pump if it is faulty wiring.

Unfortunately, the company has the old pump, and if it was working when they pulled it, it won't be working when they "test" it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

broncomaniac wrote:

First, though, I'd bypass the pressure switch to see if the pump runs and breaker holds. If you get nothing then new wire is indicated. Might be a bad splice in the ground somewhere...how far is the well?

if you have the old pump, feed it and see if it runs. You should not have to pay for a new pump if it is faulty wiring.

The pump is about 200' down, and the wiring to the house is about 4' down. That's where the new wire joins the old.

Edit: The new wires are accessible from the surface. They run straight to the pump, so that would be an easy connection.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

broncomaniac wrote:

Jerry, It would be inexpensive to buy a roll of UF and lay it without burying it to test the conductivity issue. Just a thought.

Great idea!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Wasabi wrote:

Agree. Run a new parallel set of wires above ground and see if that works. Also test the breaker. It may be tripping for another cause. Did they put new wire to the pump in the well?

They ran new wire from the pump to the underground wire that goes to the house.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Wasabi wrote:

Agree. Run a new parallel set of wires above ground and see if that works. Also test the breaker. It may be tripping for another cause. Did they put new wire to the pump in the well?

They ran new wires from the pump to the underground wires that go to the house.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Glad you haven’t paid yet. Is the breaker that trips a ground fault breaker? I’d go get the old pump ASAP (with zero notice - just show up) without saying anything if you haven’t already.