What exactly is the well pump for?

[nupestp]

I'm checking for my dad....he's not exactly the mechanical type, but here goes.........He has a duracel model dp-42, and the other day the sump pump stopped working, so he had a tech come in, who found that for some reason the well pump had blown a breaker. After he reset the breaker, everything was fine, but he said that the sump pump should be on its own circuit. Plumbing is not my thing at all, so what I'm wondering is what exactly does this well pump do in relation to the sump pump?
Anyone?
greatly appreciated......!

 

[hj]

pump

Not sure because you haven't told us anything. The only thing it may do is overload the breaker if both try to start at the same time. BOTH should be on dedicated circuits, but the well pump definitely should be.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Leejosepho]

... what exactly does this well pump do in relation to the sump pump?

As to hydraulics, the well pump brings water in from the well and the sump pump pushes water out of the sump. The well pump essentially has an unlimited supply of water from the well and it works to maintain a minimum pressure in the supply system -- the sump pump works to keep the sump level low so more water can drain into the sump whenever necessary. Sumps are used to discharge a variety of fluids ranging from storm water to sewage.

My own well pump and sump pump are small enough to be able to share a 15-amp circuit without their combined draw tripping the breaker, but it is best to have separate circuits. I also have a small dehumidifier working in that same area, and the breaker definitely cannot handle all three at one time.

If everything was fine in your dad's overall system until recently, it could be that the breaker has been running warm when the two pumps are on at the same time, and it has now become too weak to handle the combined load. If that is the case, I believe running separate circuits would be best.