Breaker Tripping Intermittently

Users who are viewing this thread

sawmkw

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
I have a 285' well with a submersible pump and a captive air tank. The breaker in the panel is a 15A two pole. It has been tripping intermittently so I replaced it, in kind, with no change in behavior. This began a couple of months ago and only happens periodically. We can go a week or more with no trips and then have 2 or 3 in a day. There is no rhyme or reason, often times it trips at night when there is no water being used or called for. It does seem that it happens more often when it has been raining but that may be coincidence. The well was drilled in 2000.

I have built two houses and gut-rehabed one. I'm not a stranger to plumbing but have zero experience with wells and pumps. Right after we moved in I called the people who installed the well (from the phone number on the bladder tank sticker) and Daryl and his brother Daryl showed up tracking mud through the house and saying that they didn't remember what type of pump they installed. Needless to say I don't wish to call them on this.

Is there something that I can check on or do before calling someone else? I have no problem getting out my checkbook but am not sure who to call or what to ask about. I don't want to pay for a new pump if I don't need one.

TIA for your help.

Scott
 
R

Rancher

Guest
Disconnect the wire at the breaker, disconnect the wire at the well head. Use an ohm meter to meausure the resistance, between the ground and the hot wires, try to do this when it's raining.

What is your wire protected by, direct burial? Gophers?

Rancher
 

Krow

Plumber
Messages
903
Reaction score
3
Points
16
Location
Ontario, Canada
I'm not an expert on well pumps, but I think that the breakers tripping is an indication that the pump is starting to ware out. It probably will not be able to handle the head pressure much longer ( it can't be that much different than the sewage pump motors)
 
R

Rancher

Guest
It could be the well pump wearing out, but then it could be other things also, like the submersible well pump cable twisting and touching the well casing and causing the breaker to pop (I've had that happen before) so yes it could be the pump, but let's eliminate everything else first.

Rancher
 

Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!
Messages
5,458
Reaction score
213
Points
63
Location
Land of Cheese
With a tripping breaker the wiring is more likely than the motor, though either is possible.

An amp-meter hooked up at the top of the casing will tell you if the problem is in the well or between the panel and the casing.
 

sawmkw

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
The wire appears to be in conduit although I would need to dig down a bit to verify that the contuit continues underground. We did have a woodchuck tunneling around that area last summer. I believe he has moved on now but at the time my wife wouldn't allow a more permanent solution to the issue.

I could probably "scab" in a breaker at the well head as well. I would expect that that would assist in determining whether the wiring between the well head and the house is suspect. Thoughts?
 
R

Rancher

Guest
I could probably "scab" in a breaker at the well head as well. I would expect that that would assist in determining whether the wiring between the well head and the house is suspect.
Only if you by-passed the breaker at the breaker box, or it was significantly larger in size, and even then that may not work the way you want.


Rancher
 

sawmkw

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
Disconnect the wire at the breaker, disconnect the wire at the well head. Use an ohm meter to meausure the resistance, between the ground and the hot wires

Rancher

Wouldn't measuring resistance only detect a permanent fault situation whereas this seems to be happening only periodically?
 
R

Rancher

Guest
Which is why I told you to do it when it was raining. You can measure a high resistance fault on the Megohm scale, it will arc when it gets wet.

Another trouble shooting technique, which requires more equipment, but is used extensively by the power companies, is what they call a thumper.

I have done this and it does work.

Do you have an electric fence charger that "zaps" i.e. not continous, if so disconnect at the well head and the breaker panel, connect the fence charger, to the two wires at the well head. Use a stethoscope (I used the one sold at the auto parts store with a steel rod on the pickup cup), then you can turn on the fence charger, walk the approximate location of the buried cable, listen at the ground, or in the ground with the probe, you will hear the thump as the cables arc at the place there is insulation damage.

At this point I suspect woodchuck damage.

Rancher

******

Edit, the charger should be also hooked up b/t one hot at a time and the bare wire ground, because that would cause the breaker to also trip.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Raucina

New Member
Messages
515
Reaction score
1
Points
0
You musts test amp draw first, clamp on an ammeter and compare running amps with the spec's. Dont start shooting gophers yet.

Within specs or 20% above? [and considerably below breaker rating] Change the breaker.

Still trouble, start checking pump wires to ground for leakage, and test between pump wires to the pump motor mfgr's specs. for motor winding condition.

Save your shovel for last.
 

Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!
Messages
5,458
Reaction score
213
Points
63
Location
Land of Cheese
amperage

I like to use a graphing multimeter to observe the amp draw of a motor. In graphing mode I can expand the timebase out to a period of minutes, which allows one to cycle the motor, shake wires, etc. Often I will find the problem is a tiny bare spot in the wire insulation that is shorting to ground. It might only happen during periods of high moisture or vibration.

Low quality clamp on amp meters are pretty inexpensive these days..........
 

Speedbump

Active Member
Messages
4,511
Reaction score
12
Points
38
Location
Riverview, Fl.
We have wires go bad in our area all the time. Most are two feet deep as per code not in pipe (some are far less than two feet also). The insulation degrades over the years and the wires go to ground. When someone says it happens when it's raining, that's a dead giveaway.

bob...
 

sawmkw

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
Answer Discovered

When I took a good look at the well, I noticed that the pvc that ran down the outside of the casing was broken just below ground level, probably from settling. :eek: Someone in the last few years had wrapped black tape around the break but it was now pulled away from that too. :mad: It also appears that the wire runs in pvc couduit all the way from the well to the house. The wire type at the well head differed from what entered the house so there is obviously a splice somewhere in that pvc. Since it is awfully wet right now and rain is on the way, I wrapped the break in plastic and duct tape to keep the water out untill I can replace the conduit. That was yesterday and the breaker has not tripped since. Thanks for everyone's input.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks