2 wire submersible well pump question

[cichyb]

I'm trying to help my niece out. She has a 2 wire with a ground submersible pump. It wasnt building pressure then it would back and forth then nothing now. I changed out the pressure switch and checked the pressure tank at empty. It was registering at 7 psi which Its suppose to be 28 with a pressure switch of 30/50. Tried to pump air into it and can't get it over 15 psi I assuming busted bladder also.
I have power going to the pump. 120v and 240v when contacts engage. Turned off power I ohmed the black and white wires from the pump wich I assume is l1 and l2. I got 3 ohms. L1 to ground- nothing and l2 to ground -- nothing. With contacts and power back on i amped draw 0.1.. well failure???? And the pump should still kick water whether pressure tank is working or not right?

 

[Reach4]

Bad pressure tank, plus another problem.

That other problem may be a failed pump. But lets do more checking.

You are measuring the current with a clamp-around ammeter while clamping around one of the power wires, right?

In that state, what is the L1 to L2 voltage going to the pump?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[cichyb]

Bad pressure tank, plus another problem.

That other problem may be a failed pump. But lets do more checking.

You are measuring the current with a clamp-around ammeter while clamping around one of the power wires, right?

In that state, what is the L1 to L2 voltage going to the pump?

Have clamp around one wire going to pump. Power at that time with contacts engaged is 240. Shows 0.1 amps

 

[Reach4]

It is odd that you show 3 ohms L1 to L2 with the power off.

I wonder if there is an intermittent. But with a 2 wire pump, there is only the wire and the pump after the contacts -- unless you have some kind of out-of-water protection device in between. Do you?

I am not a pro. Maybe one of the pros has seen something like this, but I am thinking bad pump.

 

[cichyb]

It is odd that you show 3 ohms L1 to L2 with the power off.

I wonder if there is an intermittent. But with a 2 wire pump, there is only the wire and the pump after the contacts -- unless you have some kind of out-of-water protection device in between. Do you?

I am not a pro. Maybe one of the pros has seen something like this, but I am thinking bad pump.

Just pressure switch straight to well. This is how it's wired up before I changed pressure switch.

 

[DonL]

Just pressure switch straight to well. This is how it's wired up before I changed pressure switch.

That switch has a low pressure cutoff.

Are you holding the rod up to get the pump started ?

Good Luck.

 

[cichyb]

That switch has a low pressure cutoff.

Are you holding the rod up to get the pump started ?

Good Luck.

I put one on that had the lever and I put one on that didn't have the lever and got the same thing. I know how the lever works. Also when it was working it would get to about 30 psi only occasionally 50 but then yesterday it quit and couldn't get the pump to run anymore.. Yesterday I got it to work one time. It went to about 35 psi I ran the hose till it drained because I wanted to see if would come on and that was then end, never came back, but my niece says this has been going on a lot since she bought the house a month or so ago.

 

[Valveman]

Typical well pump problem. Pump cycles on and off "normally", which isn't good. Cycling causes the bladder in the tank to break. Tank gets water logged and causes the pump to cycle rapidly, which is even worse. Automatic overload in the motor starts tripping occasionally. These auto overloads will just reset themselves over a short time and it seems water just magically comes back on. But then it goes off again, and this cycle repeats itself until all the smoke has been let out of the motor. Once the smoke it out, you can't put it back in, and the motor is toast.

Gonna need a new motor and a new tank. And if yo don't want cycling to destroy the next pump and tank, get a Cycle Stop Valve. And since you are having to replace the tank anyway, you can get a PK1A kit that has the CSV, new pressure tank, pressure switch, and everything you need to replace the old tank for less than a so called properly sized tank, which would just cause the pump to be cycled to death all over again.

 

[cichyb]

Typical well pump problem. Pump cycles on and off "normally", which isn't good. Cycling causes the bladder in the tank to break. Tank gets water logged and causes the pump to cycle rapidly, which is even worse. Automatic overload in the motor starts tripping occasionally. These auto overloads will just reset themselves over a short time and it seems water just magically comes back on. But then it goes off again, and this cycle repeats itself until all the smoke has been let out of the motor. Once the smoke it out, you can't put it back in, and the motor is toast.

Gonna need a new motor and a new tank. And if yo don't want cycling to destroy the next pump and tank, get a Cycle Stop Valve. And since you are having to replace the tank anyway, you can get a PK1A kit that has the CSV, new pressure tank, pressure switch, and everything you need to replace the old tank for less than a so called properly sized tank, which would just cause the pump to be cycled to death all over again.

Question can I convert it over to 3 wire with ground and a control box if the pump meets the depth. Or go back to a 2 wire?

 

[Valveman]

Question can I convert it over to 3 wire with ground and a control box if the pump meets the depth. Or go back to a 2 wire?

To go three wire with a control you would need four wires going down the well. You can also add a fourth wire if you want. Other than that there is no problem switching to three wire with control box. The control box adds a little more starting torque, but doesn't make the pump survive cycling any better.