Lightning strike, well pump box failed

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Many years ago I put a 120v light on outside of the well house. I wired it to relay secondary side so pump on, light on.
Running pressure at 50 works ok for us and with normal use: shower, clothes washer, etc. the light (pump) runs 15 seconds & cuts off.
It's really come in handy over the years if it stays on longer there's a leak or valve left on.

 

[Valveman]

Many years ago I put a 120v light on outside of the well house. I wired it to relay secondary side so pump on, light on.
Running pressure at 50 works ok for us and with normal use: shower, clothes washer, etc. the light (pump) runs 15 seconds & cuts off.
It's really come in handy over the years if it stays on longer there's a leak or valve left on.View attachment 3285460

The light is a good idea. But the pump running for only 15 seconds is not a good thing. Pumps are made to run continuously 24/7/365. Short runs and multiple cycles on/off will greatly shorten pump life. Minimum run time should be 60 seconds, 120 seconds is better, and running continuously when water is being used is best.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

My well is only 85 ft down in an aquafer. Water is great and we've been here 45 years.
The ballast tank is 20 gallons I believe and it has a 40-60 pressure switch. It's always been you can get about 40 gallons...then it slows then no more water. Wait a few minutes and cycle again.
One spring is across pasture about 600 ft and down about 80 ft same as well. I've always thought there's some connection? All these years it's never stopped flowing, it's just you couldn't run 3 things at once like washer, shower, irrigation at same time. Water quality is so good it works out OK.
Neighbors around their well is down 200-300 ft and quality isn't all that good.

 

[Valveman]

A 20 gallon pressure tank only holds 5 gallons of water. Sounds like your pump is short cycling and running dry occasionally. Don't know why some pumps can survive when others wouldn't last a week like that. For the "good water" it is worth staying with the shallow well. But it sounds like you need a little cistern and booster pump to have good flow and pressure and stop the well pump from cycling and running dry.

 

[WinterDeere]

Pumps are made to run continuously 24/7/365... and running continuously when water is being used is best.

I know you know a lot more about this stuff than me, and I'll admit, I'm no expert in well pumps. But I do know motors in general, and specifically cap start induction motors, which is what a well pump really is. Most are rated with a maximum duty cycle well below 100%.

A quick Google search seems to indicate most well pumps maximize their lifetime when operated near 10% duty cycle, which might be arranged as 6 minutes out of each 60 minute period.

 

[Valveman]

I googled "how to maximize lifetime of a well pump". I think that is what they call falling down a rabbit hole. Lol! Never knew there was so much fake news about how to make pumps last longer. But here is a quote from a pump manufacture.

"What Determines a Well Pumps Life Expectancy"​

"The first thing you want to try to do is reduce the amount of times that your well pump cycles, cycling meaning turning on then off again."


Air cooled induction motors are completely different from submersibles. Submersibles have a Kingsbury type bearing that is completely frictionless as long as they are running. Only on pump start is there any wear on a submersible. So, the fewer starts the better, which means running 24/7/365 is best.

Non-submersible motors have ball bearings with limited hours of life. But it is only the sealed ball bearings that limit life as the rest of the motor is made for continuous duty. Greaseable bearings can last almost as long as the Kingsbury type, which is best for continuous duty.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I can adjust pressure switch so it will have more pressure and run longer. I'm on my second pump in 45 years. This one is a Goulds replaced about 10 years ago. 3/4 h.p.

 

[steve tym]

Almost every component of the system has a limited number of on/off cycles. Long run times are great for well pumps. BUT, they have to be moving water. The motor manufacturer wants 1/4 of a foot per second of water flow past the motor to keep it cool.

 

[etpm]

I know you know a lot more about this stuff than me, and I'll admit, I'm no expert in well pumps. But I do know motors in general, and specifically cap start induction motors, which is what a well pump really is. Most are rated with a maximum duty cycle well below 100%.

A quick Google search seems to indicate most well pumps maximize their lifetime when operated near 10% duty cycle, which might be arranged as 6 minutes out of each 60 minute period.

It seems odd to me that a typical cap start induction motor would have a duty cycle well below 100%. In my machine shop I had several cap start motors that would run all day and never overheat. The only thing that failed in cap start motors would be the bearings and the mechanical start switch. In fact, the start switches would fail well before the bearings, and these failures happened on motors that were frequently started. But drill presses that were on all day never overheated. I would say that's pretty much 100% duty cycle, being on all day. I also had several motors that were not cap start but were instead the typical single phase motor that used a start winding only, without the cap, and these also were kept running all day without overheating. These motors would only get hot if they were stopped and started many times. I still have these motors, some are as old as the 1940s. Come to think of it, the only motors that tended to run hot were some cheap Asian made motors. But even they never got too hot, just hotter than old American made motors.
Eric

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Sometimes you have a happy accident.
This talk about wells and I thought maybe I ought to check mine out. Well house cover is very heavy & hinged at the back so I propped it up thinking if the stick breaks so will I.
The pressure gauge read 28 psi so took top off of the 30-50 switch and adjusted it up a bit. Then using 5/16" nut driver went to close relay contacts and did some welding.
Rats! But we had to go very close to Home Depot anyway so I got a 40-60 switch and a gauge you can put on a faucet to test pressure.
After well & water heater breakers off I drained water down at garage, the lowest point. There's a 3/8"(?) X 4" pipe that goes to pressure switch and years ago used stainless steel. When I removed it, switch side completely stopped up except for a pin hole!
So cleaned it out (wire round brush in drill press)...good as new.
All back with Teflon tape, breakers on and everything works better than ever. Test gauge shows 51 psi at garage sink. I checked ballast tank pressure, it was a little high.
Now running lots of water pressure builds FAST. Light on (pump on) now like 4 to 5 seconds when using water. I'm guessing 3/4hp in a shallow well (?).
We'll see how it goes, for now better than ever it seems, pressure & volume.