The electrical conduit that supplies power to the well pump leaks into the house during periods of heavy rain such as our last tropical storm or 3/4 days of spring rain. The drips during this time are steady and I'd calculate at least 3-4 gal. in a 24 hr. period.
The conduit has a plastic casing around it and it drips right from the casing. This only happens when it rains for more than a few days and water collects at a low point about half way from the house and the well pipe.

What do you think...a break in the line or some problem with the pump? My plumber says " hydrostatic pressure"

thanks.

CB

 

I don't think a problem with the pump... that conduit only carries the electricity to the pump.

Hydrostatic pressure is the same thing as 'water' pressure. So what he's saying is that water is forcing itself into the conduit somewhere and leaking. Is it a problem? maybe, maybe not.

 

A conduit would not normally be in a plastic casing. Can you elaborate or post pictures?

 

Greenfield maybe? that's what I was thinking...

 

Is it a sleeve? I know code tells us to sleeve all plumbing pipes through the foundations now. Not sure about electrical.

Usually we just use a piece of pvc pipe.

Mike NJ

 

It looks like greenfield with a plastic casing around it. Its the one on the right in pic. The house is 20 yrs old, a dry basement except for this leak.

Wondering if I need to expose this conduit and the 50ft from the foundation to the well, or is this something that can be resolved at the pump.

Many thanks for your help.

cb

 

Your image doesn't work because to embed it must be in a file format such as "jpg". Copy Direct Link at Photobucket. Could not use the URL to access it at Photobucket because it is a Private album. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...your-post.html

 

I tried the link, I believe he has it set to private album. You need to set the album for public viewing.

Mike NJ

 

Sorry about the mixup



It drips from the end of the black casing.

thanks,

CB

 

here's a direct link to photobucket:

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...2/DSCN0804.jpg

 

Just from looking at the picture I'd say they are not approved for burial or any kind of outside use. I don't see the plastic covering you talked about. What is inside these? Individual conductors or cable. Does the water come from inside or around the outside. Can you tell us where they go in the house?

I think this needs to be moved to Electrical.

 

Ray I think he is talking about that black pvc pipe the MC cable is going through. It looks like 1/2" of something.

From what I got out of it water is leaking through from outside the foundation through that black pipe that the cable is run through.

That probably would meen that the MC cable is buried outside and not inside conduit?

Not a electrician but that dont look kosher......

Mike NJ

 

My tired old eyes didn't recognize that as pipe. A sleeve as you suggested. That is what I thought all along. In that case cleaning it up and caulking it would be the first try solution. Maybe dig up on the outside also and clean and caulk.

MC wouldn't be kosher IMO either but not a pro so I
started this post at Electrical http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...ml#post1887914

 

Looks to me like somebody just stuck a piece of pipe through the foundation when it was poured so they wouldn't have to core drill or hammer drill a hole later.

Some type MC cable is approved for direct burial, but there's no way no know if that one is or not. My guess is probably not, but there's not a lot you can do about it without a lot of digging.

I think hydrostatic pressure is the correct diagnosis here. The water is seeping in through a penetration that is not well sealed, and not really done correctly to begin with. I think you'd have the best luck digging down outside and sealing up the penetration really well with tar / mastic some type of product like that you can really goop into the crevices. Then you can backfill right around the conduit with free draining aggregate like pea gravel so you don't have wet dirt pressing right up against it forcing water in.

To do it right you would want to bring the electrical to a junction box or LB fitting above ground mounted on the exterior wall of the house and then run your cable or conduit in through the rim joist to access the basement. You could then permanently seal the subterranean hole through the foundation.

 

Even after sealing the sleeve the water will still leak into the greenfield. Except for the sleeve I don't know how much can be salvaged.

 

Hard to tell from the picture, but my parents have a similar setup. There are two runs of PETE (black water pipe) out of the basement. One for water, one as conduit for the UF cable. I'm not sure if the second run of pipe goes all the way to the well or if it's just a sleeve through the cement wall. They used a piece of greenfield from the pump relay to the PETE pipe. The end of the greenfield is just stuck into the black pipe.

So in my opinion, it is just water building up outside the house and finding a way in. I'd pull the greenfield out, seal the black pipe as much as possible.

 

Looks to me as someone driled through the foundation, ran some mc through it and then stuffed either some duct seal or black caulking around it.

 

Yes, thats what I saw, Justin, but it seems except for us everyone else is seeing a pipe.

 

This is what it said in the first post.

Mike NJ

 

OK. The conduit on the left goes to a junction box which feeds to the relay & pressure gauge. The one on the right travels to the pump. Above this I have a switch that feeds into the box to turn the pump on/off. I would think the plastic sleeve should be the entire length of the exterior run to the pump. 50+ feet.

I've tried to caulk the end of the black sleeve. It only forces the water up the aluminum end of the conduit.

All electrical was done by electrical contractor who was a electrical inspector in another town and everything was up to code in 1990.

Never had a leak until pump( GOULDS) replaced by plumber in 2005.

Is it possible he installed improperly and there is a seal missing from the pump end and that is why it leaks into my basement?




Your ideas are appreciated.

thanks,

CB

 

The wiring method pictured is Flexible Metal Conduit (FMC) or "Greenfield", not MC which is a cable.

Since the wiring was done by an EC, I would suspect that the FMC is just protecting some UF cable going out to the well pump outside. If you open the first junction location (Disconnect, box, pump relay) I bet you will find UF cable going in the FMC. The black pipe was just a opening left for the EC/well driller to run the well pump wires as somebody else mentioned. The other reason I say there is UF in there is FMC is not rated to be buried. Unless the EC was a hack.

If all the above is found to be true then I suggest disconnecting the FMC from the first junction location (Mapping how it is wired before you disconnect it ) Then I bet you will find that you will be able to just pull the FMC out of the wall. Seal the hole with caulk, silacone, or duct seal, and install another 4x4" box over the hole (using the proper connecters of course). Then run the FMC from the new box and sleeve some NM-b from the box to the previous junction location.

I don't think the plumber did anything wrong. Most cases I see the cable for the well coming up through the floor. Less chance of leaking then.

 

(Just saw Tolyn’s post, so looks like the pro’s vote not-a-pipe)

I had a similar problem. I had to replace my water supply pipe from the well head to my basement and so at the same time I replaced the old galvanized pipe that carried the wires to the pump. I replaced it with pvc pipe. I used the old conductors through the pvc pipe and they are conductors especially for pumps and are rated for underground use.

I don’t have a pitless adapter but a well pit instead. In the old setup the wires came out of the other end of the galvanized pipe in the well pit, and then turned down and went through the well seal down to the submersible pump. Someone had put hydraulic cement at the end of the galvanized pipe in the well pit and the wires came out through the cement. In other words it was all sealed up at that end with the wires sticking through. Well I know you shouldn’t have cement around the wires so when I replace the galvanized pipe with the pcv pipe – I didn’t seal the end of the pvc pipe with anything. (I know the whole setup is wrong anyway).

Well I found out why they had hydraulic cement at the end of the galvanized pipe for the pump wires in the well pit. Turns out the well pit fills with water when it rains hard and the thus water flows into the pipe for the wires. It looked like Niagara falls coming out of the pipe in the basement.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is can’t you check the other end at the well head and see if that black pipe continues to that point? I’ve heard you always get condensation in the pipes but if you are getting a few gallons in a 24 hr period that’s obviously something else. Shouldn’t you be able to see the conduit or cable or something emerging out at the other end at the well? Seems like the other end of the pipe (if that’s what it is) should be above grade? At least it would seem so. Maybe you would be lucky and see something obviously wrong at that end.

But I am a newbie and no real expertise.

But good luck!