electrical/ pressure switch question

[scesnick]

I have terrible well water , full of iron. but, I also have a creek that originates on my property so, I put a 220v submersible pump into the creek, then all the required filters on it and now i have wonderful water.

I obviously ran 220v wire ( 8/2 I believe it was) 500ft to my creek for the pump. I also have a very nice large pond that we use for hanging out and swimming in the summer. I would like to have electric down by the pond. So, I put a breaker box in halfway down my field to split off the 220v for the pump. I had an electrician wire it up so now I have a 220v breaker and a 120v breaker in the breaker box. I have yet to run the 120v wire to the pond.

But then I realized that the only time I will get power to my 120v outlet by the pond will be when the pressure switch is closed and calliing for water to my house.
how can I solve this problem without running ery expensive wire 500ft again? Maybe put the pressure switch after the filed breaker box somehow????/

 

[grsthegreat]

I have terrible well water , full of iron. but, I also have a creek that originates on my property so, I put a 220v submersible pump into the creek, then all the required filters on it and now i have wonderful water.

I obviously ran 220v wire ( 8/2 I believe it was) 500ft to my creek for the pump. I also have a very nice large pond that we use for hanging out and swimming in the summer. I would like to have electric down by the pond. So, I put a breaker box in halfway down my field to split off the 220v for the pump. I had an electrician wire it up so now I have a 220v breaker and a 120v breaker in the breaker box. I have yet to run the 120v wire to the pond.

But then I realized that the only time I will get power to my 120v outlet by the pond will be when the pressure switch is closed and calliing for water to my house.
how can I solve this problem without running ery expensive wire 500ft again? Maybe put the pressure switch after the filed breaker box somehow????/

If i understand the question correctly, your pressure switch is located in your house and if its like the kind i am use to, when its open (not asking for water pump operation) both sides of the 220 circuit are open and there is NO POWER going down to the pump.

Your saying the electrician cut both legs of the wire going down to the pump and added a 220 breaker??? how did he do this without a neutral wire ?? Most well pump feed wires for a lake pump would just have 2 hots and a ground wire only.

When the pressure switch shuts off you will have NO power, and i really don't know how to solve it. You cant simply move the pressure switch down to the panel as you would need the control wires from the pressure tank to go all the way down there also. So no matter what you will need to bury more wire.

The drawing shows only 1 wire being cut to fed the 220 breaker and this doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Yeah, you need to move your pressure tank and switch down by the creek. You may want to put the filters down there too, but they are more likely to get changed if you keep them at the house. It will mean building a small pump house to hold the tank and pressure switch, and some re-plumbing. You may decide to spring for the wire after all.

 

[nunyabinis]

You'll need to put the cutoff switch down near the pump that's in the creek. If you use a Cycle Stop Valve you will most likely not have to move your tank down there as well. However, if you do have to move the tank, you can use a VERY small water tank with a Cycle Stop Valve.


Cycle Stop Valve


I had some plumbing problems that I won't go into but I found out about the Cycle Stop Valve and solved them all. I've been using one for about a year and it's like a little miracle device. The website I linked to contains all the info you could ever want regarding what it is and how it works. I got mine off eBay for about $70.




.

 

[Western]

I'm thinking a small insulated "pump house" built near the creek, then move the pressure switch ,tank ect tra down there. Still cost you, but makes better sense to me. You may be able to use native rock and mortar for the structure to save $$ then add a roof and door. At least then your 220 will be "hot" on the whole run and you could also tap into it in the pump house for a light.

 

[scesnick]

Not sure how my electrician wired it really. i just drew the pic.

Moving the tank and/or anything that holds water above ground outside is not an option. it gets well below zero at my place. Looks like I am running more wire !

 

[scesnick]

I'm thinking a small insulated "pump house" built near the creek, then move the pressure switch ,tank ect tra down there. Still cost you, but makes better sense to me. You may be able to use native rock and mortar for the structure to save $$ then add a roof and door. At least then your 220 will be "hot" on the whole run and you could also tap into it in the pump house for a light.

Good suggestion but would probably be cheaper to just run more wire to the pond.

 

[Western]

Good suggestion but would probably be cheaper to just run more wire to the pond.

If you have rock, it would probably be close $$ wise since it would have to be big, the wire idea would be faster and easier. You have what 200-250' run to the box now?

The rock "pump house" would be way "cooler" though.

 

[Willl]

Couldn't you move 'just' the pressure switch to the halfway breaker box area ?

 

[grsthegreat]

Couldn't you move 'just' the pressure switch to the halfway breaker box area ?

then there would be no wiring to control the pressure switch from the pressure tank. this idea wouldnt help

 

[Willl]

Install the pressure switch in the water line to the house. Check valve just before switch.

 

[Willl]

Like so.

 

[grsthegreat]

Like so.

ok, i see what yor talking about... i guess that would work as long as you can locate the switch underground as he said it freezes there so the water line would be underground. The system we use here is a electronic pressure switch and has actual wires running to the tank. I can see how a mechanical pressure switch could work in this instance.

However i still dont see how he got 120volt power at the meter with only a 220 volt line and no neutral wire.

 

[scesnick]

ok, i see what yor talking about... i guess that would work as long as you can locate the switch underground as he said it freezes there so the water line would be underground. The system we use here is a electronic pressure switch and has actual wires running to the tank. I can see how a mechanical pressure switch could work in this instance.

However i still dont see how he got 120volt power at the meter with only a 220 volt line and no neutral wire.

I'm sure there is a neutral wire, I didn't draw the electrical wire all that accurate. It was more just to give everyone a visual of wats going on.
I ran 8/2 wire ( with a neutral) so it is actually 3 wire from the pressure switch to the breaker box in the field.

 

[scesnick]

Install the pressure switch in the water line to the house. Check valve just before switch.

Hmmmm, that would most likely work but i would have to dig down to the water line ( pipe) and fab up some kind of box to keep the pressure switch in. If I ran a stand pipe up to the surface it would freeze pretty quick.

but, SInce i already fried my pump. I was thinking of a 110v jetpump of some sort inside a heated little shed down by the creekbed. Has anyone used a jet pump outdoors in a cold region?

 

[grsthegreat]

8 2 romex does not have a neutral. it will only have 2 hots and a ground wire

 

[scesnick]

8 2 romex does not have a neutral. it will only have 2 hots and a ground wire

I am not an electrician. That is why I hired one... the 8/2 wire ( with a ground) is ran to a breaker box in my field that has two breakers in it. One for my pump and one for the outlet by the pond. How he, ( the electrician) wired this box I have no idea. If I did, I wouldn't have needed him to come do this.......

 

[Kays Supply]

It proably won't meet code, but I don't think any of this project will, how about wiring the leg you want hot ahead of the switch and switch the other side of the 220? That way your leg will stay hot but the pump won't come on until the switch makes at the house.

 

[scesnick]

It proably won't meet code, but I don't think any of this project will, how about wiring the leg you want hot ahead of the switch and switch the other side of the 220? That way your leg will stay hot but the pump won't come on until the switch makes at the house.

Code?? what's that ! just kidding. I live way, way out on the sticks. Code is not an issue.

That sounds like the ticket right here. I just wish I knew what it meant and how to do it !!

as far as moving the pressure switch down after the breaker in the filed. I think I recently read somewhere that the pressure switch has to be as close as possible to the pressure tank or you will most likely get alot of short cycling... not sure how correct that is however...

 

[Damifino]

The pressure switch should stay as close to tank as possible, the switch if relocated to box would be subject to to much pressure fluctuation as when the pump was charging system and when it shuts off afterwards.

I can,t believe an electrician wired it this way after you explaining what you wanted to accomplish. As kayssupply stated, it's not code but wire ahead of switch to your desired location or figure out how many H2O outlets you need open to keep pump running.

Since you have not run any wire to your desired location, just means a bit of digging from uninterrupted power source.