On 13 Aug 2018 22:34:49 GMT, dpb wrote:

Ah! That's significant new factoid...

Thanks for asking. I guess it's common to have only one pump, but I
definitely have a separate pump underground for the well, and the tanks are
unpressurized. They're open to the air at top (so to speak in that they
have a manhole cover and a vent at top.

OK, what you've not shown picture of is the connections to the well pump
other than just the box but not where the signal comes from.

It's night now, but here's a picture taken during the day a while ago:
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=7831116pressure09.jpg

Let me know what you want a photo of, as I do realize a photo is better
than me trying to explain it.

We run just off pressure in the storage tank; the pressure switch is
40-60 with no additional booster. Sounds like you're running an
essentially unpressurized tank and relying on the booster pump for
distribution pressure entirely.

It's good to know your pressure is 40 to 60 psi, where mine seems to be, in
the photo, at around 75 psi (give or take a few). What I'm trying to figure
out is where the pressure switch is located, where people told me the tube
goes to it which puts it UNDER the relays in this photo.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9787347pressure01.jpg

I guess the right side of that motor *holds* the pressure, which seems
strange to me that a motor would hold pressure at all - since I would
expect the bladder to hold the pressure instead.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5816454pressure03.jpg

But there is no sensor wires that I can see at the bladder.
It's odd to me that the pump holds the pressure for such a long time.

I'd suspect that's highly unlikely to have caused the previous
noise...the question will be when it fail next time to look at position
of contacts; did they fail to close? If they function and you've got
power, then it's the thermal switch that's cut out.

I agree with you that the noise can only be one thing.
But the symptoms don't indicate a bad motor either.
It wasn't in the least hot when it made that noise for example.

So what I need to do is *test* that pressure switch.
But how?

Not really conventional frame number; the "jet pump motor" describes the
mounting flange arrangement which is what you have to match to the pump.

I'm confused. Are you saying all 1HP 3450 RPM single-phase 120VAC "jet pump
motors" have the same mounting hole arrangement?

I'm used to frame numbers like "56F" for example, but this doesn't seem to
have a frame number.

Never seen water level as input; what would help would be to see what
the inputs to that relay come from...it's not possible to tell which
pipe goes/comes to/from in that mess of stuff hooked to the tank...are
you sure somewhere along there there isn't another pressure tap going to
the well pump pressure switch? I don't know what "level" they'd be
measuring or where that sensor would be...that and an overall plumbing
diagram is what we're missing.

This is the wiring diagram to the first of the two relays outside on the
shed wall - but this relay is for the full tank switch:
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=2443640pressure10.jpg

This relay is working properly as it is pulled *in* which it should be,
because there is a switch INSIDE the water tank, that indicates that there
is enough water for the pressure pump to run.

As far as I can tell, there is no external wiring for the pressure switch
other than it goes from the fusebox to the pressure switch directly which
you can see in the black electrical conduit in this picture.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9113867pressure02.jpg

That's common pressure at the outlet...was pump running or off at the time?

The pump was most definitely OFF when all these pictures were taken.
The pressure never seems to vary, but I admit I don't look at it all that
much.

75 psi is pretty high for domestic water altho if you've got long runs
and small diameter feeds there may be sufficient pressure drop before it
gets to the house..

The house is a few hundred feet away and the runs to the other side are,
oh, I don't know, 500 or more feet away. I'm not worried, right now, about
the pressure being high as it has *always* been high (I can use a garden
hose as a weapon almost).

Right now, too much pressure isn't my problem.

I need to figure out how to troubleshoot that pressure switch.
And, I need to buy some bearings for that motor.
And line up a spare motor (in case I break the long bolts).