Above ground pump tripping off

Last summer, I replaced my old above ground well pump with a new one. We have a bored well about 30-40' deep. The water table does get as high as within 20' of surface during heavy rain periods.

Yesterday the well pump began tripping off at the circuit breaker box every so often. When I got up this morning, it had tripped off again with no water running. I cut it back on and took a shower without a problem. No varying pressure or anything.

My wife just called me at work and told me it tripped off for the third time since yesterday. Obviously, there is a reason for it. While we have had low rain lately, the foot valve is still below the surface.

My first response is to check for water leaks
then check the wiring of the control box on the pump for shorts
then replace the circuit breaker in the house as it could be defective.

Beyond that, what would anyone suggest?

Things to Check

1. Make sure the screws on the breaker are tight. Loose screws = high resistance = heat = trip breaker.

2. See if you can borrow a clamp-on ammeter to check the current while running. It should not exceed full load current on the motor.

3. Is it a GFI breaker? They are sensitive and can trip with little leakage current.

Most small motors have internal overload protection that will trip before the breaker trips for current overloads.

Do you have a 3/4 HP or 1 HP pump on a 15 Amp 115 Volt circuit? Do you have other loads on the circuit? Either can cause the breaker to trip.

You could have an intermittent short to ground, such as where a piece of Romex is clamped too tightly.

If there are no electrical problems, then maybe something is causing the pump to drag. That will cause an overload, but usually the motor overload will trip first.

Did you upgrade the horsepower of this new pump?

Check the SF amps or full load amps on the motor. Then see what amperage the breaker is. It is also important to know if you have 115 or 230 volts running the motor.

bob...