"Aaron Eel (Ehrin)" wrote in message
...
On Aug 22, 9:26 am, dpb wrote:
Aaron Eel (Ehrin) wrote:
On Aug 22, 2:15 am, mm wrote:
On Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:14:56 -0700 (PDT), "Aaron Eel (Ehrin)"
wrote:
... 1-1/2hp submersible pump...and the well is about 90 feet deep. ...
Just this morning the problem started. The shower was running and it
just stopped. I waited about 2 minutes and I heard the pump kick on,
and the water returned (with comparable pressure). Then after a minute
it stopped again. ...
The readinf with the power on, points closed and pump off was 45psi.
The kick-on psi is 40. The hose was turned on and the holding tank was
emptied. 0psi. Nothing for a minute or so. Poits still hot but closed.
Then the pump motor kicks on until about 45psi is again realized.,
Then it shuits off. Points STILL closed. I guess it would repeat this
over and over but I didn;t want to mess up my new points.

This whole time the pump had power but did
not come on at all. Then it finally came on after another minute. It
ran the pressure up to about 45psi and suddenly stopped. It sort of
fizzled out instead of the normal kick it puts down when it stops. And
the points still remained closed!
I went ahead and installed a new pressure switch just to be sure. The
same thing happened. I checked to see if the lines were all hot and
they were. The pressure in the holding tank was at 38psi. Just where
it should be. The only thing left now is the control box (which was
installed new with the pump) or the pump itself. I have some water now
to get me by, but I only turn the power on at the breaker and only if
we really need it. And only for that time. Any ideas?
Is it overheating, or oversomethinging, and then resetting itself a
few minutes later?

Question: What is the cylindrical 'thing' in the control box (the
electrical box between the switch and the pump motor)? It looks like
some kind of capacitor or something. Could it be some sort of fuse
that has gone bad?

That's because it is "some kind of capacitor" -- specifically, the start
cap. Generally submersibles will have both a start and run external cap
so think that it's likely there is more than one.

Possible is weak cap; have you ever had issues of lack of water supply
in the well itself?
Has it been unusually dry this summer or have you
used more than normal amounts of water recently?


Not that I know of. It's been raining here for weeks now. We never had
a dry season here this year either. The local water table is way up
there.



A relatively new pump _shouldn't_ have developed a bearing or motor
problem, but certainly stranger things have happened. Is this a 240V
pump I presume? Is it 2- or 3-wire to the hole?


Yes. 220 thre wire (including ground)

Need to check motor
currents against nameplate while it is running to determine condition
there.

Sounds like the well service people are in your future.

How do I check the capacitor? I don't see how you can get a tester on
it. It's inside that little steel box and inaccessible unless I open
it (thereby disconnecting it). Logic would dictate that I check to
see if 200 volts is exiting that box but the lines disappear down into
the well. I could just buy a new capacitor but they’re 40 bucks.

You probably need to get the well folks out to look at it, before any real
damage happens to the thing. You say it has three wires (including ground),
and you have a pump control box with a cap. It can't be both. It's either
two wire plus ground, and the cap is part of the submersible, or it's three
wire, and you have a cap and other stuff in a well control box.