Well help

[Steppenwolfe]

Hey, guys... We just had a new well pump installed a year ago at our cabin. Everything was great. The bladder on the pressure tank went out two weeks ago, and we had the plumber put in the next size up, and new pressure switch, 60 / 40. In the process of hooking these up to the 220 line, he crossed the lines, tripped the main breaker on our 100 amp panel, and now our pump shuts off after a few minutes and then will come back on for a few and then back off. Could he somehow of messed up the well pump, or is it something else? He is away on vacation till after Memorial Day, and I'm curious if we are going to need a new pump, or something... Thanks

 

[marchanna]

It sounds like the limits aren’t set properly on the pressure switch. Take a look at the pressure gage and see how much the pressure is dropping between on/off cycles.

 

[RNeumann]

Who knows what he did but based on the track record I’d hire someone else to come out and fix the work. Wiring a dead short on 240v actually takes some work to do....it’s no little mistake (typically their isn’t a neutral). I’d guess (pure speculation) he also somehow only gave the pump 120v for a period which would cause overheating of the wiring and pump motor.
Sad this guy is running around and charging like he’s a professional- yikes!

 

[George2615]

My pressure tank rusted out after 30 years. I bought a new tank, piping, and pressure switch and installed them. When I first turned it on the pressure switch would cycle the pump on /off/on/off/on/off. After reading the paperwork I found I had to pressurize the bladder. Once I aired up the tank and turned it back on everything works fine as it should. Just wondering if your plumber pressurized the new bladder in the tank.

 

[marchanna]

My pressure tank rusted out after 30 years. I bought a new tank, piping, and pressure switch and installed them. When I first turned it on the pressure switch would cycle the pump on /off/on/off/on/off. After reading the paperwork I found I had to pressurize the bladder. Once I aired up the tank and turned it back on everything works fine as it should. Just wondering if your plumber pressurized the new bladder in the tank.

Bingo! I had that problem once too.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

Most new ones come pre-charged. I think they are somewhere between 8 to 12 psi empty. I had to replace mine last year because the bladder got a hole in it.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Who knows what he did but based on the track record I’d hire someone else to come out and fix the work. Wiring a dead short on 240v actually takes some work to do....it’s no little mistake (typically their isn’t a neutral). I’d guess (pure speculation) he also somehow only gave the pump 120v for a period which would cause overheating of the wiring and pump motor.
Sad this guy is running around and charging like he’s a professional- yikes!

Can the pump even run with only 120 going to it? This is what I was wondering. Is it possible something happened at the pump and knocked out a leg of 120?

 

[George2615]

Can the pump even run with only 120 going to it? This is what I was wondering. Is it possible something happened at the pump and knocked out a leg of 120?

Are you sure the pump is a 220V?
My well pump is 120V. Both the hot (black wire) and neutral (white wire) are wired to the pressure switch. Both break connection to the pump when not running. The only wire connected all the time is the green ground wire. A 220V pump won't run on 120V.

 

[RNeumann]

Can the pump even run with only 120 going to it? This is what I was wondering. Is it possible something happened at the pump and knocked out a leg of 120?

That’s what scares me- it would “try” to run. But with half the volts it would need twice the amps= lots of heat which is bad. Something significant happened that the (prob 20-30a) breaker for the well didn’t trip but the 100 main breaker did.

But based on all the other replies let’s hope I’m wrong! No damage and a simple pressure switch adjustment. YouTube probably has a bunch of info on adjusting it. It’s fairly straight forward....just make sure power is off while you are adjusting it.

 

[prichard]

It would be quite difficult to accidentally get 120v to the pump. I suspect he wired the switch wrong which made a dead short on the 240v. If that was the case there's no reason to be concerned that the 100a breaker tripped and the 30a did not. Breaker rating has nothing to do with response to short circuit.