120v Pump Confusiom and Chaos

[FeedTree]

According to well records my well was drilled 70-80 ft deep. I can find no records of the pump specs and the pump size is not written under cap. I have had issues woth my pump not keeping up with a higher demand for water. The pump will shut off from cycling after running a yard sprinkler for 10 minutes and a pressure washer is out of the question. I have replaced the tank and check valve. Today after some research i found it is very uncommon to have a 120v pump. I spoke to a few electricians who said they have never seen them. I checked voltage at my 2 pole two lead pressure switch and found i only had one leg with 120 volts. I checked the panel and found one lead landed on a 20 amp tandem breaker and the other lead on the neutral bar. Between the panel and the switch there is a basic light switch it runs through to coveniently shut off pump. From the pressure switch out to the well there is a basic receptacle it runs through as well in the basement by the tank. Probably a dumb idea but i decided to wire it up 240 in my panel on a two pole breaker and tested it and the pump would build pressure slowly and only get up 5 lbs and than shut off, well before the cutoff pressure and with the switch still closed demanding water. I wired it back to 120 and it is back to normal. I requested info on my well to see if the pump specs are available but havent heard back. Does anyone have any idea what could be going on. Thanks

 

[Reach4]

120 volt 1/2 HP submersible pumps are not uncommon.

I think you are saying that you have good water to the sprinkler for about 9 minutes.

What is the current thru the hot lead when the pump is pumping water? Expect about 10 amps.

Since you replaced a check valve and did not see the pump labels, I am going to assume that you have an above-ground check valve. It is best to only have a check valve at and/or in the pump.

 

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[FeedTree]

120 volt 1/2 HP submersible pumps are not uncommon.

I think you are saying that you have good water to the sprinkler for about 9 minutes.

What is the current thru the hot lead when the pump is pumping water? Expect about 10 amps.

Since you replaced a check valve and did not see the pump labels, I am going to assume that you have an above-ground check valve. It is best to only have a check valve at and/or in the pump.

Yea I do believe it is a 120 now to. I got 7-8 amps of current. And yes there is a check at the tank. With that being said, when the house was built there was only one full bathroom and a kitchen, water heater washing machine. There has since been an addition added with another full bathroom and a half bath was added to basement along with a water softener system and reverse osmosis. I suppose a 120 pump made sense when the house was built, but with the addition of two bathrooms and the water softener should the house now have a 240v pump?

 

[Valveman]

The pump will shut off from cycling after running a yard sprinkler for 10 minutes and a pressure washer is out of the question.

Nothing wrong with a 120V pump, but 1/2HP is about as big as you can get. But from your statement above I think the overload in the motor is tripping from all the cycling on and off. Got to stop the cycling if you want the pump to last.