DIYbanter - View Single Post - How can I start a 220V well pump in a blackout if I don't have a 220V generator?

wrote:

In article ,
Duane Bozarth wrote:
I'm still curious as to why a residential well pump is on a 40A circuit?

Maybe because his well is very deep? Our well is 750 feet deep, and
has a 3HP pump (14.5A when running) on a 240V 30A circuit. I have
heard of people in the area with 1000 foot deep wells using 5HP pumps;
those would require either 40A or 50A circuits.

Or maybe because he needs lots of water? For example, in our area the
county requires a well to yield 3 GPM before they will permit
construction of a house. If the house has a lot of landscaping that
wants to be irrigated, a small holding tank, and a really good well,
then a 5HP well pump is the cheapest way to get enough water quickly.
A big set of yard sprinklers can run through 30 or 50 GPM in a hurry,
and some wells will give you that much water, but you need a serious
pump to move that water around.
....

Maybe, certainly. I just asked because OP didn't say and it means a lot
to know what he actually has.

I'm certainly familiar w/ large capacity wells---the house well is 200'
(we're fortunate to be on top of the Ogalalla aquifer) and pumps 20 gpm
or so w/ which we irrigate a good sized lawn and garden area and water
up to 1500 head or so of cattle. The serious irrigation wells pump a
minimum of 600 gpm and are typically set closer to 300 ft and run a
whole 1/4-section (160 A) center pivot. They are mostly gas although
there are a lot that are diesel and some that are electric. Just
noticed the local REA co-op is setting a new pole in the feedlot's field
on the other side of the road--I presume that means they're getting
ready to put a new pump in on that quarter.