jmoser
New Member
My well pump is frequently tripping. I hope I am using the right names of the parts as I try to describe this.
When it trips, I find the tank is totally empty, and there is no water running in the house. I can restart the pump by using the reset button on the bottom of the control box.
I noticed there was a humming sound coming from the control box when the pump was running. So I replaced one of the capacitors and the start relay switch. I also replaced the snifter and the pressure switch (where the contacts are). I realize now that I didn't replace the AVC which I removed but I thought it was ok because the float wasnt' broken. I will replace that, but could it be the cause of this problem?
When I press the overload reset button on the bottom of the control box, It resets. The well turns on when I hold the little metal lever on my pressure switch. Initially the tank pressure is zero, and it takes several minutes until the tank pressure reaches over 20# so that I can release the metal lever and the pump will keep filling the tank. after I release the lever the tank continues filling to 50# and stops. When it runs down to 30# the pump kicks on and refills the tank again. I think that is how it is supposed to work. But within days, it was tripping again. Now it is tripping even more frequently.
I emptied the tank when I checked the float on the AVC so it seems like it shouldn't be waterlogged already.(I don't have a bladder tank, its the old fashioned kind). My pump does cycle frequently, always has. We just don't run enough water at a time. We replaced the pump and the bleeder valve (the one about 20' down in the casing) just a few years ago.
So I'm thinking maybe my pump is going bad from so much cycling. Can you tell me how to test the pump? Obviously if its bad I will call the pump company but I'd like to see if I can trouble shoot it myself. I have a voltmeter that I used to test the components in the control box (except for the switch relay which I just replaced and discovered it was the source of the humming sound).
Also, is there anything I can do to keep our pump from cycling so frequently? It is very hard for us to run enough water at a time to run the pump continuously.
The pump is a 1.5HP pump running on 220v. The breaker is a 30amp double pole. The only thing running on the breaker is the well pump. The pump is down about 126' (well deptyh 140', water level 100', last measured in 2010).
When it trips, I find the tank is totally empty, and there is no water running in the house. I can restart the pump by using the reset button on the bottom of the control box.
I noticed there was a humming sound coming from the control box when the pump was running. So I replaced one of the capacitors and the start relay switch. I also replaced the snifter and the pressure switch (where the contacts are). I realize now that I didn't replace the AVC which I removed but I thought it was ok because the float wasnt' broken. I will replace that, but could it be the cause of this problem?
When I press the overload reset button on the bottom of the control box, It resets. The well turns on when I hold the little metal lever on my pressure switch. Initially the tank pressure is zero, and it takes several minutes until the tank pressure reaches over 20# so that I can release the metal lever and the pump will keep filling the tank. after I release the lever the tank continues filling to 50# and stops. When it runs down to 30# the pump kicks on and refills the tank again. I think that is how it is supposed to work. But within days, it was tripping again. Now it is tripping even more frequently.
I emptied the tank when I checked the float on the AVC so it seems like it shouldn't be waterlogged already.(I don't have a bladder tank, its the old fashioned kind). My pump does cycle frequently, always has. We just don't run enough water at a time. We replaced the pump and the bleeder valve (the one about 20' down in the casing) just a few years ago.
So I'm thinking maybe my pump is going bad from so much cycling. Can you tell me how to test the pump? Obviously if its bad I will call the pump company but I'd like to see if I can trouble shoot it myself. I have a voltmeter that I used to test the components in the control box (except for the switch relay which I just replaced and discovered it was the source of the humming sound).
Also, is there anything I can do to keep our pump from cycling so frequently? It is very hard for us to run enough water at a time to run the pump continuously.
The pump is a 1.5HP pump running on 220v. The breaker is a 30amp double pole. The only thing running on the breaker is the well pump. The pump is down about 126' (well deptyh 140', water level 100', last measured in 2010).