New Flotec well pump wiring (2 wire has 3 wires) ??

Denny Smith · May 21, 2013

I am replacing my old 1/2 horse well pump with a 3/4 horse flotec 2 wire.

The problem is, my well has only two wires. A white and black wire. The flotec on the other hand has 3 wires (even though the box said it was a 2 wire) the three wires consist of two black wires and one green wire. What am I to do with the 3rd wire? And is green considered the ground?

Thanks,
Denny

Craigpump · May 22, 2013

The green wire is a ground. To be code compliant, you need to put in new 3 conductor wire and bond the green wire to the casing, well cap and to the breaker panel in the house.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

Denny Smith · May 22, 2013

You know, that just seems silly to me. The best (ground) you'll ever have is the well in which the pump is in. What possible good would running a ground to the breaker box do?

So, the two black wires are the same as the red and whit wires currently running to the pump? Are they 2 hots technically?

Thanks!

Valveman · May 22, 2013

Yes the two blacks are hot wires. You know it ran fine for years on just the two wires, so you can just cut off the green one. But it won't be up to "code" if you don't have a third wire for the ground.

Cacher_Chick · May 22, 2013

There are also 1/2 HP pumps that are 120 volt, so the smart thing to do is check in the main panel make sure it is what you think it is.

Valveman · May 22, 2013

cacher_chick said:
There are also 1/2 HP pumps that are 120 volt, so the smart thing to do is check in the main panel make sure it is what you think it is.

I don't think you can get a 3/4 HP in 115V, so the new pump must be 230V. But CC is right, the old pump could have been a 115V, so you need to check the breaker, or the old control box should say 115V or 230V.

Denny Smith · May 22, 2013

Yes, I'm sure it's 230v. I had it out once before. The old one was a 1/2 HP 230v Red Jacket. I replaced it with 3/4 HP 230v Flotec. I hope that's not a mistake because I'm not sure the GPM is equal to the old one. I gather the HP doesn't really matter, it's the GPM. I ran the green wire up to the top of the casting and just attached it to the old ground that is coincidentally grounded at the connector. So far so good.

Cacher_Chick · May 23, 2013

The Flotec pumps are not known for their quality or longetivity. Let us know how that works out for you.

New Flotec well pump wiring (2 wire has 3 wires) ??

Denny Smith

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Craigpump

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Denny Smith

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Valveman

Cary Austin

Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!

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Denny Smith

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Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!

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