I have a rural home with a water well for domestic water about 25 ft from the house, then about 15 feet to the breaker. Pump is submersible 140 feet down. I decided to look over the wiring.

I found #10 two wire (black and red, both hot) with bare ground wire running between the pump house and a junction box in the house and then #12 to the breaker (black and white taped black at end to show hot). It is on a double pole 20 amp breaker providing 220 v. Everything works fine.

Is this OK?

Do I have to remove the #12 and replace it with #10? Is two hots and a ground OK (#10/2 w/ground) or must it be two hots, neutral, and ground (#10/3 w/ground) all the way from the breaker to the pump house.

Do I need to wire the pump to a ground rod or does the ground rod at the panel take care of it?

Tony

 

Pure 240 volt devices do not require a neutral. It is only appliances like dryers and ovens that need a neutral, because they have a 120 volt requirement, such as the light bulb or the dryer motor.

Your circuit has 10 gauge wire because of voltage drop. You can certainly consider replacing the short piece of 12-2 with 10-2, but I wouldn't rush right out and do this.

No ground is needed, and it would just complicate the issue.

 

why do pure 240v systems not require a neutral and why does it not also require a ground.

thanks

 

The neutral allows for return current to the source when you only use one hot wire, in other words when you want 120 volts.

With 240, the return current uses the other wire.

The pump is grounded through the ground wire.

 

Sorry i misread the grounding issue i thought that you meant it didnt need grounding at all haha i thought how crazy.
Does the other hot wire act as a neutral because they are out of phase, with each other????

Also will the well need to be put on GFCI protection as its outsides or is there no ruling on this in the NEC.

Cheers

 

It would be incorrect terminology to say that the other hot wire acts as a "neutral", but yes, it works because the two hot wires are out of phase.

 

In a pure 240 volt system, each wire acts as a return path half the time. It is not quite right to call that a neutral path, but rather a return path.

 

Is there any sites that could give me a good insight to how this works, i kinda understand whats happening but at the same time i dont haha.

cheers

 

For those who helped me, thanks.