Leaky Boot
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Removed a Sta-Rite last week that was installed April 1971. 47 years of service. 1 hp 3 wire set at 360 ft. LB
Oldest Submersible Pump Pulled?
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I have a factory rebuilt Reda from 1961 still in the original wooden box. I also have a 1/2 HP Grundfos in a personal well installed in 1982, still working.
I'll bet that Sta-Rite probably had an oil filled motor?
I'll bet that Sta-Rite probably had an oil filled motor?
ThirdGenPump
In the Trades
Oldest I pulled out was a Sumo 1/3hp from 1954 in 2014. My father actually had the pump out of them well in 1986 because the drop pipe failed. It was on a holiday and they didn't have a replacement, so replaced he the pipe and put it back in. The owner of the house was an apprentice for my grandfather in his teens. Spent most that time cranking a manual winch for a pump hoist.
Oldest my company has in service is a Goulds 1/2hp from 1952. Just waiting on that one to see. Owners of the house changed hands a few times so it's possible someone else replaced it. I'm going by the fact the 1952 control box is still in place and being used.
47 years on a 1hp is pretty impressive I don't think I've had any go that long. It's always the little pumps that keep going and going.
Oldest my company has in service is a Goulds 1/2hp from 1952. Just waiting on that one to see. Owners of the house changed hands a few times so it's possible someone else replaced it. I'm going by the fact the 1952 control box is still in place and being used.
47 years on a 1hp is pretty impressive I don't think I've had any go that long. It's always the little pumps that keep going and going.
Texas Wellman
In the Trades
I pull a lot of pumps from the 80's and 90's. Nothing that old yet.
Leaky Boot
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It looked like an oil filled motor. The whole thing was long and cast iron. I thought about asking the owner if I could have it and clean it up with new paint just to show. Then I looked at it again, all rusty and quite a mess laying there in a frozen state. Was below freezing that day. Decided to just let it stay there on top of the pile of rusty pipe we just grunted with cheater pipes on the wrenches to get apart.
I am sure it was an oil filled motor. Most of them were back then. And no ground wire of any kind on those old pumps. We installed them for decades without a ground, then some engineer decided it wouldn't work without one. lol
Leaky Boot
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There were 3 wires going down but we were so cold we didn't have much of a look at the details. I have seen a lot of the ground wires just taped up at the pump end and not even hooked up. I don't thing it matters as they last just as long and I never hear of anyone getting shocked or anything.
Boycedrilling
In the Trades
I don’t know exactly when a equipment grounding conductor (EGC) was required by the NEC.
Not all areas of the county are under the same year addition of the NEC. Washington state went to the 2017 version July 1, 2017, with state amendments to the National code. Previously we were on the 2014 version. Some states have stayed with the 2007 version. It is updated every three years. It is up to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), how often the update the edition of the code they use.
I first went to work for a company that installed pumps in 1984. The EGC was a recent requirement. Most of the pumps we pulled then did not have an EGC. we were required to add an equipment grounding conductor. It is required to have green insulation or be bare copper.
If the sub motor did not have a ground wire on its pigtails, we attach the ground wire to one of the bolts or studs that attach the pump end to the motor. Interestingly Hitachi brand submersible motors still do not have a ground wire as part of the motor leads. Their written instructions say to weld a lug to the drop pipe and attach the lug there.
I use Karlington branded motors above 20 hp. They are manufactured in Turkey. Their EGC is not part of the motor leads. It is an extra green wire that is attached to an eyelet under a motor bolt.
Not all areas of the county are under the same year addition of the NEC. Washington state went to the 2017 version July 1, 2017, with state amendments to the National code. Previously we were on the 2014 version. Some states have stayed with the 2007 version. It is updated every three years. It is up to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), how often the update the edition of the code they use.
I first went to work for a company that installed pumps in 1984. The EGC was a recent requirement. Most of the pumps we pulled then did not have an EGC. we were required to add an equipment grounding conductor. It is required to have green insulation or be bare copper.
If the sub motor did not have a ground wire on its pigtails, we attach the ground wire to one of the bolts or studs that attach the pump end to the motor. Interestingly Hitachi brand submersible motors still do not have a ground wire as part of the motor leads. Their written instructions say to weld a lug to the drop pipe and attach the lug there.
I use Karlington branded motors above 20 hp. They are manufactured in Turkey. Their EGC is not part of the motor leads. It is an extra green wire that is attached to an eyelet under a motor bolt.
GTOwagon
Member
My brother built his home in 1977 and has his original two wire pump. I think it is a Gould 1/2hp. Mine Grundfos went within 6 months, but in all fairness the local stormwater pollution Nazis made me plant the lawn in May of 2016 so I had to water for three months straight to get my lawn established in the driest summer in years. But it was warranteed. It just goes to show you how different folks have different luck.
Luck may have something to do with it, but cycling on/off is usually what destroys pumps. Cycling on and off for 3 months straight would have put more wear on your pump than decades of regular use. If that pump had been running continuous for 3 months, it would not have any wear on it. Pumps like to run 24/7, but they cannot survive cycling on and off for very long.
I suspect you had a different problem as the grundfos submersible pump should've lasted longer running your submersible pump continuous for 3 months straight. Either pumping your well off (dry well conditions) or you didn't have proper flow going across the motor and through the pump.
LLigetfa
DIYer, not in the trades
I suspect it was cycling a lot, not running continuous. It really depends on how many GPM the sprinklers used versus the GPM of the pump and size of tank.
GTOwagon
Member
It was definitely cycling on and off a lot those three months of dry summer. Actually the well driller believe it was a lightning he strike but that somehow didn't make sense since it is a three wire and the module in the basement didn't fry up. The bottom of the pump looked like it exploded outward and was visible. I was happy to be fully covered by warrantee. We use maybe 1,000-1,200 gallons a week here in the home and now that my lawn is established I honestly never water my lawn. Occasionally a small patch is replanted or fixed and you know, anyone who is informed waits until autumn for that. Then you might water it 1-3 times for an hour at a time or something. Trying to plant a two acre lawn the week before Memorial Day in upstate NY is futile but you can't argue with the inspectors, and they like tell you that the EPA can fine you 38 grand a day for runoff violations and all that nice stuff.
Like I said, if the pump had been running continuously for 3 months, it wouldn't have hurt a thing. Running continuously is what pumps are made to do. But cycling on and off for 3 months will cause years worth of damage to any pump/motor. It could have also been lightning, but usually the pump quits the second you hear the thunder, so there is usually no doubt when lightning is at fault.
LLigetfa
DIYer, not in the trades
Three wire as in type or quantity? Modern three wire pumps use a fourth wire for ground. Lightning could be common mode, meaning the potential rose on all the wires which might not trip breakers or show damage along the path. My electrical service ground is bonded to my metal well casing with #6 wire so hopefully it takes the brunt of the energy.
The bottom of the pump looked like it exploded outward and was visible.
It was definitely lighting to do that. If you were to take the motor apart, you would've seen the windings in the motor swelled up and locked the shaft in place as well as blowing the bottom off. Usually you will see a small burnt hole on the outside of the motor.
Damage from lightning like that would have been immediate. There would have been no water after the thunder stopped rolling. Lightning damage to a motor usually makes a hole in the upper end of the motor where the wire attaches to the winding. But I have seen heat build up from both cycling and lightning blow the bottoms off of motors. However cycling takes a while, while lightning would cause instant motor failure.
GTOwagon
Member
I wasn't moved into the house at that stage, we were still doing the rough-ins and I would go up every afternoon. We were taking so long to do the job we actually had the siding done then graded and planted lawn early because the storm water engineer inspector was a real pain about runoff. I had 700 feet of silt fence and all they did was hassle me that some mud might end up in the woods. Then we took another year to finish the inside. My house took 602 days from staking out the foundation to C.O.
One day I went to my house and no water was coming out of the sprinklers. I checked the breaker and the module or relay or whatever that is called. The one on the basement wall that you change out. But that was fine. So I called the driller, and they pulled the pump and it was exploded. The bottom was like a dome. I don't recall seeing a hole. Nonetheless when they replaced it I went to a 3/4 HP and we installed 10 wire rather than the 12 wire that was there. The pump is set at 280 on a 302' deep well. With my 7gpm recovery I don't think i pumped the well dry. Static pressure is 6 feet from surface. We had simply a pressure tank and the pipe leading to the temporary spigot that I ran my sprinklers on. I buried the line and wire at six feet below final grade running to the house. Too many guys I know around here had frozen water lines in hard winters with their pipes only four feet down. So maybe it was lightning if you guys concur. There were a lot of thunderstorms that summer and not once a soaking rain it seemed. It didn't matter a lot to me as it was all covered and the driller was kind enough to upgrade me for free on the pump and wire and relay module. I always recommend them to people as good service should be rewarded. But nonetheless we laugh about my six month old pump and my brother and his 41 year old pump!
One day I went to my house and no water was coming out of the sprinklers. I checked the breaker and the module or relay or whatever that is called. The one on the basement wall that you change out. But that was fine. So I called the driller, and they pulled the pump and it was exploded. The bottom was like a dome. I don't recall seeing a hole. Nonetheless when they replaced it I went to a 3/4 HP and we installed 10 wire rather than the 12 wire that was there. The pump is set at 280 on a 302' deep well. With my 7gpm recovery I don't think i pumped the well dry. Static pressure is 6 feet from surface. We had simply a pressure tank and the pipe leading to the temporary spigot that I ran my sprinklers on. I buried the line and wire at six feet below final grade running to the house. Too many guys I know around here had frozen water lines in hard winters with their pipes only four feet down. So maybe it was lightning if you guys concur. There were a lot of thunderstorms that summer and not once a soaking rain it seemed. It didn't matter a lot to me as it was all covered and the driller was kind enough to upgrade me for free on the pump and wire and relay module. I always recommend them to people as good service should be rewarded. But nonetheless we laugh about my six month old pump and my brother and his 41 year old pump!
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