Well pump, high amps, delayed start

[stymee]

I have a 505ft well, 6.25" diameter, casing depth 84ft. The placard says it was drilled in 1977, not sure if anything has been done to it since then. I have lived there since 2012. It is 240v, not sure what size the pump is. It runs from a 30amp breaker.

About a year ago we had some intermittent issues where we would lose all water pressure for a few seconds up to a minute. It would always kick back on. I never caught it in the act at the well house. The issue went away and didn't start again until this morning.

This time I was able to get to the well house with my amp clamp. When the pressure switch closed, I am getting full voltage to each leg and I read 36 Amps on each leg. Is that even possible? While the amps are that high I get zero pressure. Then the amps drop to zero (still have voltage) for a few seconds, then the pump starts up like normal with ~8amps on each leg. At this point, it builds pressure like normal. I ran the pressure down a few more times and it only repeated the high amp scenario one more time so I cannot reproduce at will.

There is no capacitor that I can see, the wires go right into the top of the casing. Can I add a "new" control panel with capacitor to something this old?

Thoughts? I have contacted a well company to come look at it, but I'm curious what my options might be. Thanks in advance!

 

[Reach4]

There is no capacitor that I can see, the wires go right into the top of the casing. Can I add a "new" control panel with capacitor to something this old?

Do you have an old control panel (not counting the pressure switch)? The start capacitor would be inside of the control box.

What model number is the control box?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[stymee]

Do you have an old control panel (not counting the pressure switch)? The start capacitor would be inside of the control box.

What model number is the control box?

Thanks for the quick response! There is no control box that I can see. Just the two 8(ish) gage wires from the pressure switch going into a pipe in the top of the casing. Is it possible to not have a capacitor on an old pump?

 

[Reach4]

Thanks for the quick response! There is no control box that I can see. Just the two 8(ish) gage wires from the pressure switch going into a pipe in the top of the casing. Is it possible to not have a capacitor on an old pump?

Yes: there are 2-wire pumps. If you have a 2-wire pump, it sounds to me as if it needs replacing. It is probably binding up for a while.

Yes, 36 amps before the motor is spinning is very possible. It is also reasonable that the 30 amp breaker does not trip from several seconds of 36 amps.

 

[stymee]

The problem got worse throughout the day. The consensus is that the motor probably had a bad winding where it was getting stuck on restart, would trip out on overload and then eventually restart. Could have lasted another 6 months or 6 hours, no way to know. Turns out the pump was actually replaced in '96 but only set at 380' (instead of 480'!) and used black poly pipe. Not sure if that pipe is supposed to be used quite that deep. I ended up getting a new Grundfos SQE pump (constant pressure system) in there with new wire and new pipe (schedule 80 threaded PVC). Cost a bunch, but I shouldn't have to worry about it for another 25 years at least. Props to Rowan Well Drilling, they were great (and fast!). Thanks to everyone contributing to this forum, it is is pure gold!

 

[Reach4]

Cost a bunch, but I shouldn't have to worry about it for another 25 years at least.

Watch for the CU301 controller to fail. If that happens out of warranty, you can use the pump as an SQ pump with a pressure switch.

 

[Valveman]

The problem got worse throughout the day. The consensus is that the motor probably had a bad winding where it was getting stuck on restart, would trip out on overload and then eventually restart. Could have lasted another 6 months or 6 hours, no way to know. Turns out the pump was actually replaced in '96 but only set at 380' (instead of 480'!) and used black poly pipe. Not sure if that pipe is supposed to be used quite that deep. I ended up getting a new Grundfos SQE pump (constant pressure system) in there with new wire and new pipe (schedule 80 threaded PVC). Cost a bunch, but I shouldn't have to worry about it for another 25 years at least. Props to Rowan Well Drilling, they were great (and fast!). Thanks to everyone contributing to this forum, it is is pure gold!

Lol! If that SQE last 25 years I will eat my hat! We replace a lot of those CU301 controllers with Cycle Stop Valves and a regular pressure switch. Many people call us after replacing the CU301 controller about 3 times in 5 years. Watch the pressure gauge peg out in this video from an SQE pump and CU301 controller. This is just one of many ways they fail.