would like to get my well going, need advise


  #1  
Old 03-04-05, 09:20 PM
garyl24
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would like to get my well going, need advise

well first of all i would like to say i am glad i found this site, it has alot of good peeps here. well here is my problem. i just bought a 4 bed 2 bath double wide and 3 acres of land. about 2 years ago we had a bad tornado here and it wiped out the previous house that was here. so i bought the land and moved a double wide here. there is a drilled well here and the previous owners said it is 209 feet deep and it has the pump in the well. the well is 15 years old and they never had a problem with it. i opened the lid on the well and i seen the electrical wires. i know it is a 220volt. it has the red, yellow, black wires and then there is another wire that runs down as well and it is a bigger gauge black wire. i cant tell where all the wires go it is too far down. but it looks like the wires connect at the spot where the water return line
( 1 1/2" or so pvc that comes from the pump to the house)exits the well casing. this is all there is as the tornado took everything else. now you have the story here are my question.
1. i have been reading and all the parts needed for the well is the well(of course) the pump, pressure tank, pressure switch. is that it?
2. there is a 42 gallon pressure tank at home deopt i was looking at.will this be big enought for me and my wife and my 2 kids (both boys and ages of 3 and 6) the only thing water will be used for is you normal stuff inside the house(laundy, dishes, baths)
3. where can i get the pressure switch at?
thanks for any help guys i really appreciate it
 
  #2  
Old 03-04-05, 09:36 PM
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Welcome

This type of pump requires an external starting relay.
It could be where the large wire and the three colored ones join up but you will have to check to be sure.
The three colored ones are the ones for the pump.
 
  #3  
Old 03-05-05, 01:08 PM
garyl24
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does anyone have any advise on my other questions? thanks. i am going to see if can pull the pump out of the well. will it be allright to try to pull it up by pulling on the electrical wires? that is the only way i can see how to pull it up. and also should i have my well checked since it hasnt been used in a little over 2 years? thanks guys
 
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Old 03-05-05, 02:19 PM
garyl24
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i went and tried to pull the well pump up by pulling on the wires and it wouldnt move. i didnt want to pull to hard and tear something up. i took a few pic's of the inside of the well where the water line exit's the casing and right there it is a brass connection and right below the brass looks to be something green could that be the external starting relay since it looks like that is where all the wires connect? like i said it is hard to be sure of it all since i cant get the pump up and the connections are 4 1/2 foot from the top. thanks for the help guys
" i cant post pics so if you need to see them please let me know what i need to do to post them"
 

Last edited by garyl24; 03-05-05 at 02:21 PM. Reason: i cant post pics
  #5  
Old 03-05-05, 02:53 PM
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Hi Gary,
here's some answers for you on the well ;
1 . the 42 gal. tank is about the right size, and should work fine.
2. you can usually also get the tank tee, pressure switch and gauge at HD.
3. As Greg said, this pump requires a Control box. This is generally grey, about 4"x8"x 3" thick. Available also at HD.( about $70-80) This has to be matched to the pump size (hp). If it was a regular size home before, you should be safe with a 3/4 hp.
4. The object you see 4 1/2 feet down is the Pitless Connector. This is a 2 piece bronze holster unit. One piece is bolted thru the well casing and the other holds the pipe and slides into the main piece. If necessary to pull it up, you make a 'T' bar out of a 6' x1" black steel (threaded both ends)and two 15"x 1" pieces threaded into a 1"Tee at the end of the long bar. This is lowered into the top of the Pitless and threaded in about 5-6 threads. You then pull up the Pitless, pipe, wire and pump.
I do not advise this at first. If the pump runs, there is no need to pull it.
5. to post photos, try 'Photobucket.com'

Do it Right - Do it once.
 
  #6  
Old 03-05-05, 04:59 PM
garyl24
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thanks for the help that was exactly what i was needing. the previous owners of the house was a older woman and her 2 sons so, it was about the same size family. i am unsure of the pump still working as i have not tried anything with it, but surely it is alright. and the only reason i was wanting to pull up the pump is to see what that single black wire is for. do you have any idea? so should i pull up the pump to see what the single wire connects to? i am not going to do anything unless you guys recomend me to as i dont want to tear anything up. thanks for the great help so far.
 
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Old 03-05-05, 05:27 PM
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Hi garyl24,
- What's called a 3 wire pump actually has 4 wires to operate it. The yellow and black are the 'run' wires, the red is 'start' , and there is usually a green for ground. I've never seen another wire. To be safe in this case, it may be advisable to 'ohm' the wires. Yellow-black should be 3-3.5 ohms, black-red should be 10-13 ohms . Any of them to green or to casing should be infinity.
Any other wire should be unnecessary. There may also be a safety rope on the pump.
Where do the wires and the waterpipe terminate?
Post back with ohms readings, if different, I'll tell you why.

Do it Right - do it once.
 
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Old 03-05-05, 05:41 PM
garyl24
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i know a little about electricity. and this 220 line doesnt have a green or a bare copper wire. as far as the safety rope i dont believe there is one because i havent seen it. as far as where the wires and and the water pipe terminate, do you mean where do they exit the casing? is so the wires come all the way to the top and exit under the metal lid and there is a piece of 1 1/2 " pvc that connects to the top as well and that is how the wires run. and the water line exits the case 4ft 6in from the top. and to ohm the wires do i set my ohm meter to 20k? i am a satellite installer and that is the setting we use to ohm grounds. thanks for your help bud, i appreciate it!!
 
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Old 03-05-05, 06:09 PM
garyl24
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i went and looked at the 220 wire and on it, it said 10awg 600volt submersible pump wire. just thought i would let you know in case it helps. and another question on ohming the wires do you want me to put both of the leads from my meter onto one of the colored wires or red from meter to red on pump and the same with the black wire? also need to know what setting on my meter i need to set it at. thanks
 
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Old 03-06-05, 01:53 PM
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Hello, gary124
Just wondering, Does the heavy black cable have any lettering on it? Maybe that would give a clue as to what it might be.
Waterdoc
 
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Old 03-06-05, 05:36 PM
garyl24
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no bud it sure doesnt. but i think i might have it figured out. i went to lowes today and i talked to a guy that told me to talk to another employee and he knew alot about wells. he said what i have is a 3wire with a ground. they had a book there and i looked at it and it was just like in the book. then on the prices of the pressure swith and control box was $21 for pressure switch and $45 for the control box. does this sound like good prices to you guys? thanks for all the help i appreciate it.
 
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Old 03-06-05, 06:28 PM
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Glad it's working out.

Are you able to get the numbers off the old relay box?
The replacement has to be the exact one or if it's not it will either not start the pump or could burn it out.
 
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Old 03-06-05, 06:59 PM
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Hi Gary,
- all sub pumps have a ground, usually the green wire, same size as the rest. The 10 awg should have a '3' or '4' behind the 10.(eg , 10/3 or 10/4)that is the conductor number. I suppose it's possible that the installers only had a '3 ' core that day, and used the heavier wire for ground. Unusual setup . Usually 10 awg is only used on 2hp and up. 14 awg is the norm for 1/2 and 3/4 hp.
Set your ohmmeter to 1k. if possible, if not wherever you get the best small reading. Remember we're only measuring less than 20 ohms, very small. Put one meter probe on black and the other in turn on yellow and red.
I was asking if the pipe and wires ran into the old foundation , or just ended at the well head ?
Don't buy the control box till you've ohmed the pump, that way we'll have a better idea of what size you need.

Do it Right - Do it once.
 
  #14  
Old 03-06-05, 08:11 PM
garyl24
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where the lines used to run is in the basement of the old house before the tornado blew it away, so right now i will have to dig a few feet to tap into the water line. i an fixing to gooutside now and try the meter on the wires like you suggest and i will let you know what i come up with and i will take a better look at the electrical cable and let you know about the conductor number.
 
  #15  
Old 03-06-05, 08:22 PM
garyl24
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allright bud i just went with my ohm meter and here is what i got. i had it set at 200ohms (that is the lowest setting i had) and my readings on yellow and black was 5.5 and on red and black i had roughly 23 so what do you think? and thanks!!!
P.S. there was no 3 or 4 after the 10 awg.
 
 

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