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
120v Pump Confusiom and Chaos
- Thread starter FeedTree
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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.
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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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?
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.
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