I posted a little while ago, but would like more thoughts before pulling the well pump.

Issue: 15A Breaker trips about once per day.

Symptoms: If I turn all of my faucets and shower on, pump starts off pulling about 5 amps, tapering down to about 2 amps until high pressure (50 psi) is reached within seconds. If I leave the water and faucets running and let the system reach low pressure (30 psi) again, the pressure will not recover like the first time. It will stay just above 30 psi until I shut ALL of the faucets off. Once ALL of the faucets are shut off, the pressure will quickly raise back up to high pressure (50 psi). So this means that the pump is probably stuck running to no avail for the entire time the dish washer or washing machine is running. I have noticed that the pump will sometimes pull over 15A when starting up. I have also noticed that the breaker will trip even if the current drawn is only 5 amps during the process. I have tried other breakers and the breaker still trips under 15A at times.
I am using a clamp meter to monitor this.

Here is the setup:

Wiring: breaker is 15A, 5 feet of 12/2 wire leading to the well pressure switch and about 70 feet of 14/2 wire running underground to the well.

Well info: Bored well, 38 feet deep 2 feet diameter.

Pump: r200a water ace pump .5 hp, 2 wire 120 VAC, Max Amps 11.9

Pressure Tank: Well Saver LPT20 set at 28 psi.

Pressure Switch: Pro Plumber PPS3050 set at 30/50

Additional Info: I spoke with my neighbor who is a plumber. He suggested that my pump was just getting old and that I might try running 12/2 wire from the switch to the well (for a while before burying it as a test) along with a 20 amp breaker.

I am also tempted to replace the pressure switch just to try it since it is cheap enough.

Any ideas?

Thanks again.

 

What is the distance from the pump to the breaker? What is the voltage drop at the pump when it starts. What is the voltage at the pump when it is running?

 

Thanks, great questions. I'll respond in just a bit!

 

Distance is anywhere from 70 feet of wiring to 100 feet of wiring. Physical distance is probably about 50-60 feet.

120.8 VAC measured at pressure switch input with no load.

117.8 VAC measured at pressure switch input under load.

114.7 VAC measured at wiring to well pump as it enters well under load (then goes ~20 feet downwards)

 

Your voltages are within limits so larger wire wouldn't help. I will leave this to the pump experts. I was just checking your electrical.

 

Thanks for letting me know. I'll await feedback from the pump folks. I'll also leave the leads attached with the cover on since this situation is intermittent. I didn't experience the scenario described below when I provided these numbers. Pressure jumped up very quickly even with all faucets running during the test.

 

That would be an indication of a waterlogged pressure tank.

I would agree with your plumber buddy in regards to a tired pump. Next pump get a 240v model.
I doubt it's the pressure switch.

Increasing the wiring size and breaker may buy a little more time but is not the answer to a permanent repair.

 

Do you mean that the inverse would be an indication of a waterlogged pressure tank? The pressure should go back up to 50 psi quickly and it does once the faucets are shut.

My concern is that the pressure stays very low when all of the faucets are running.

So you think that it is a waterlogged pressure tank and a bad pump?

Also, any idea how the breaker can be tripping when the current doesn't exceed 5 amps? Are clamp meters not quick enough maybe?

Sorry if I am confused.

Thanks again.

 

You would need a peak reading meter. You said it tripped once a day. Have you had the meter on when it tripped ?

The pressure tank takes time to charge up. If the pressure is rising very quick then the tank isn't charging.

 

Gotcha, how fast is too fast? I timed it and it took 25 seconds to charge up.

While on that part of the topic. Is it normal for pressure to never reach 50 psi when all of the faucets in the house are running? It sits just above 30 psi while this is happening. This would mean that the pump is running constantly during that time period. While running constantly, it is only pulling about 3-4 amps though.

I don't have a peak reading meter, but I had a meter on it when it tripped once. Was pulling just 5 amps when it tripped. Maybe there was a spike so quick that it didn't register on the meter?

I have tried 2 different breakers and they both trip.

EDIT: Watching more closely, I saw the pump draw 15A on one start and 17A on another. The draw is quick and tapers down to 3-7Amps after less than a second. I wonder if this is what is tripping the breaker. It still doesn't explain why I saw the breaker trip at like 5A in the past.

EDIT 2: I just noticed that all of the wiring is actually 12/2 as opposed to 14/4. I thought that just because the insulation was grey it was automatically 14/4 but on the insulation jacket it says 12 gauge.

I'll go run a 20A breaker and see what happens.

Thanks

 

Looks like the 20A breaker bought me a little over 5 months.

Last night the water pressure went down to 0 psi. I heard some rumbling from the pressure tank and the piping that attaches to it.

I killed the breaker and flipped it on a few times. Every once in a while, I can get the pump to reach high pressure and I can get water in the house but as the water is used, the pressure never comes back up and drops back down to 0.

Pressure switch terminals are constantly engaged even when I turn the breaker off.

Tired pump for sure?

 

That is correct. The water pressure activates the switch. No pressure=switch on.

It would appear that the motor will require servicing.

 

Duh.....thank you! Never thought of it that way.

Great thing is that I am learning so much along the way here! Thanks so much.