Generator power for water well.

[BobRip]

I have a grunfus sq flex down 450ft and it runs on a 120v 2500 w inverter.

The difference is in the pump it is expensive but do you want to pay for fuel for a life time or a one time for a better pump.

This pump will actually run on dc or ac it doesn't have a surge on start up.
has dry well protection all built in to pump.

Most well drillers and plumbers put the most economical pump in but don't look at the start current because of 98% are grid fed


link Grundfos USA
tom

I like that. I had to go from a 4KW generator to the 8KW to run the well, and it still is a tough start.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I live at the end of a power supply line so my power is sometimes off and usually last to be placed back on the grid...

I have a 5500 watt generator...

It is rated @ 4500 watts continuous...

The generator will start and run my pump enough to get me enough water to get by...

I only run the pump for several minutes and then shut it down...

The pump is a 3/4 horse...

I pull from a spring box and have a small tank in the spring house...

Works well for me for the few inconvenient times that I use it...

If I needed it more than intermittently then I would need to get a larger unit...

That 5500 watt surge generator is just enought to start the 3/4 horse pump...

 

[whistlepig]

I like that. I had to go from a 4KW generator to the 8KW to run the well, and it still is a tough start.

This is what I understand. Well pumps are the biggest start draw and most critical of the equipment that a generator has to handle. The well pump is where you start your plan. After I had my pump wired and bought my generator I tested it out for a couple of hours with the well pump along with my pellet stove. My 6500 watt handled this easily. It's a Honda auto throttle. It purred for about 4 minutes and went back to idle.
A good generator set up is priceless. You may never need to use it but the peace of mind is worth every penny.

 

[jayste]

A few years ago we loaned some friends our 5000w generator after their breaker box went on the blink. We fixed it up to temporarily run their well pump as well as run the power to their barn. They just didn't run both at the same time. Fortunately, the house was fed by a seperate line/breaker box. It ran the 220v pump (hp unknown to me) without a hitch. Gave them power long enough for the electrical parts supply house to open up on the following Monday after a holiday weekend to get the parts they needed. (Chain stores didn't carry the brand they needed).

Jay

 

[dwenham]

I'm confused by some of the prodigious generator requirements experienced by some of you folks. We have a 1 1/2 hp pump 198 feet down and had no difficulty running it with a 3500 watt genset. Did this for several months waiting for PUD and contractors to get power to us. I'm thinking some of you are close to failure on your pumps if their startup load is so severe.

 

[BobRip]

dweham, I have had two pumps give basically the same problem. My theory is that your well is 198 feet and mine is 320 feet. This means my pump must accelerate more water and hence a bigger flywheel affect. Also the wire is over 100 feet longer. I don't know how far your well is from the power source, by mine is about 150 feet from my panel. These are just additional factors. It could be the pump that I have is more critical. Maybe that's why Dryfus has the better pump with a soft start. Oh, what size wire do you have to your pump? That can also make a big difference.

 

[jinjimbob]

I use a 6750 Watt (8000 Peak) generator to run our well, never have any problems, around 1000W when running and 2000W when starting.

I have no idea how deep the well is, but the circuit is a 20Amp to the well house and it says 1/2 HP on a junction box going to the well.

Any idea how deep that would be? I never have any flow problems, live pretty close to a creek and the ground is usually damp all year.