Submersible pump question

One of my submersible pumps went out Friday, blows the fuses nicely on startup. 1 hp Red Jacket pump with the control topside. I get infinite resistance from all motor wires to ground (GOOD!), 14 ohms black to red,

4 ohms black to yellow, and 18 ohms yellow to red. I'm presuming black is common, red is run, yellow is start. Do these sound like reasonable numbers?

I can't find my spare starting cap, I'll put a new one in on Monday. The old one is 88-106 ufd. Does that sound about right for 1 hp? I'm suspecting that is a bit small.

Reply to
RoyJ
Loading thread data ...

...

Your pump should be 220 1 phase. The red and black go to the 1 phase hot L1 and L2. The yellow wire goes to the pump control box. FWIW, my pumps have great on-line manuals for things like trouble shooting ohm readings, and cap sizes.

Replacing all the caps is a good idea. My control boxes also have run caps. You may want to replace these also.

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Depending on depth they aren't that hard to pull. But if the problem is topside, it sure won't help :)

Reply to
Leon Fisk

Reply to
RoyJ
88-106 is usually a 3/4 start capacitor. 108-130 is a 1, 1 1/2, 2 hp start capacitor yellow is common winding, black main winding and red is the start winding normal running amps on a 1 hp is about 10 amps, locked rotor is 42 amps These numbers are for franklin motors. Red Jacket quit manufacturing motors years ago. I think ITT owns them now. My guess is a bad thrust bearing in the motor. Check amp draw in the red wire if it is not a capacitor run box you should have 0 amps on the red leg after start up. If you have any amps you have a bad relay. Blowing fuses is not a good sign. I cannot diagnose over the internet very good. My guess pull it. Sometimes a power surge will swell the stator and lock it up. It will check good, but the amp draw will be high.

Scott in Texas

Reply to
jano

Good idea on the run cap.

This one is a bit of a pain to get tuned just right. It won't run 3 circuits, running two without starts needs to have the cutout pressure increased higher than I like (65 psi)Otherwise it does 90 to 120 second cycles for hours on end.

Reply to
RoyJ

Now I know it is the thrust bearing. A 3/4 hp is rated at a maximum of

300 starts PER DAY. A 1 hp is rated at 100 starts per day. The hardest thing on a submersible motor is starting it. It is continous duty motor, run it till you finish the job.
Reply to
jano

Ugh! not a lot of fun without a small well rig. A couple frames of scaffolding can be a big help. Even a sturdy Multi-purpose ladder would take the sting out of the job.

From one of the other posts telling about how much it cycles, it sounds like you might be better off with a smaller pump. Our's is only a 1/2 hp and hanging on plastic pipe. Maybe 50 feet down? I helped Dad hang/lower it, but that was a few years ago...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

The pumps in my area are normally hung from 110' to 160' down. A residential system with a 3/4 HP pump will use 1" pipe at the 110', total pull weight is a bit over 200 pounds. You can do that with 2 guys on pipe wrenches and a third on the clamp. If I have to pull this one, I'll get the Jeep up to the base of a small tower, use the tow bar to anchor it in place, use the winch to haul it out. BTDT.

If I run the system correctly, I get no cycling at all. I really should flush the lines and use the next size larger sprinkler jets to get a bit more flow in the lines which would drop the top pressure. Haven't gotten the particular round tuit.

My other well has 7 sticks of 1-1/4" pipe, had some issues with what appeared to be lighten> >

Reply to
RoyJ

Karl had it right: Replace both caps. The run cap was shorted, took out the starting cap. Running happily of a temporary run cap, permanent replacement in the AM . So I don't have to pull the pump ............. yet.

And a small rant about Gra> One of my submersible pumps went out Friday, blows the fuses nicely on

Reply to
RoyJ

They are cheap, it is good to have a few on hand, helps with misc. projects. Buy a few extra. It was nice to have them handy to put into the baldor.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus5615

If you have a legitimate need Grainger will send an employee to open the store for you. They did it for me on a Saturday night when the lift pump for our septic system failed.

"Call 800-CALL-WWG and we will open a branch--even nights and weekends (a $50 fee may apply)."

I suspect the $50 fee is to prevent abuse of the policy. Grainger didn't charge me anything for the service and the guy who showed up wouldn't even accept a tip.

Ned Simmons

Reply to
Ned Simmons

Oh heck yes - way too many starts for ANY electric motor, even if it's an oil filled submerged. That helps the cooling, but you are still going to cook the center of the windings from all the start surges - it's drawing locked rotor current for a second every time it starts, which is why the lights dim.

If you are running solenoid valves and irrigation clocks, almost all good clocks also have a "PUMP" output contact closure on them, it closes whenever there is a valve cycling. It is meant for a pressure booster pump when irrigating off city water with low mains pressure, but can be wired to make the well stay on constantly just as easily.

You should have a pressure regulator on the water main line going into the house (if it's on the same well) so you don't blow toilet and sink flex lines off the wall.

The sprinklers can handle 125 PSI no sweat, but the patterns will change a lot - you can put a pressure regulator on them, too.

As long as the well pump output with no draw is under the maximum pressures of the sealed-air accumulator tank and other things in line, and there is always enough water flow from at least one sprinkler circuit to not cavitate or overheat the pump head, ignore the pressure switch - wire the pilot-duty PUMP leads across the pressure switch, and have a 24V coil contactor that starts the well.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

If you are a regular customer with a legitimate emergency like an entire apartment complex dark because the Main Fuses blew, I can easily see them waiving the fee. Most of their stores have one or two employees or managers that live close by, so it isn't that much trouble.

If you're just being an AH "Type A Person" and have to get that project done today rather than wait for Monday morning, they aren't charging enough.

I haven't had to test that myself, most of the stuff I get handed where Grainger would be the solution can be worked around for a day - I usually have an extra sump pump I can drop in the hole, and run a hose out to the street.

And on the Fuses one it was already 4 AM on a weekday, I just went over and camped for a half-hour till the Opening person came in - Yanno, the disgustingly cheerful 'Morning Person' that likes to get there early before even the roosters are up and start the coffee...

If you haven't guessed, I'm not one of them.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Bruce, someone has to wake those lazy roosters. :)

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.