Well is in...but I have some pump wiring and generator questions.

[Jimbrown]

Well I don't see any control box in those pictures. He is running the pump directly off of the generator. Unless the pump has built in run dry and or some other form of self protection it is not shutting down but most likely simply pumping the well dry. He does not really know what the well makes only what the well guy told him and if he left it pumping dirty water he probably did not really test it. The OP did not provide the water level. A key item. What brand of pump is this? My pump is a Grunflo It will run on any thing AC/DC 12 to 300 volts has built in rundry. Running on a generator it will pump the well dry in about 10 minutes. I normally run it on 60 v DC and it will pump all day long and not pump dry. I am thinking that pump only has 20 or so ft water head and simply pumping dry every 10 minutes. He shuts it off it refills and then pumps for 10 minutes. I also think the pump is not shutting down but running dry when it stops pumping NOT GOOD. He needs someone that knows what they are doing to help on this.

 

[LittleBill21]

I did not see the brand of pressure tank, but most have a precharged air tank at 35PSI. If you are getting leak down, call your pump installer.

pressure tanks are set 2 psi on average below the low cut off, so that number changes depending what pressure your running, the tanks have it written on them

 

[Carl_NH]

pressure tanks are set 2 psi on average below the low cut off, so that number changes depending what pressure your running, the tanks have it written on them

Yes - understood 40-60 switch has tank @ 38 PSI but 35 or something in 30 PSI precharge range will work. Can't see the tank type or if there is any air port on the tank.

To Jimbrown point - the well should at least the capacity to fill up the tank and shut off - and the well co said 12-13 GPM and they arrive at that by pumping during the drilling operation. He has 1 HP 2 Wire pump likely a 7 or 10 GPM pump. But we don't know static water level, or many details, but any decent well driller should provide these specs as part of the well documentation process.

 

[Rmally]

Hey folks,

Here's what I know about the pump installation. It's a 1 hp pump 12 gpm it looks like the brand is Myers, 0-100 pressure switch, FL7 pressure tank, check valve, and 40-60 pressure gauge.....That is what is written on the paper work. It also states pump is at 260 feet.

I checked the air in the pressure tank this morning and it was at almost 65 psi......Everything I have been reading has stated 28-30 psi so I let some air out to about 28 psi. I started the pump and it ran for over 20 mins without stopping, it pumped hard the entire time. I would have let it continue but had to leave. Could this have been the problem all along? too much air in the tank?

I admit I need some expertise on this subject and will reach out Monday to the pump guys and the well drillers for advice. In the meantime you think its safe to keep pumping water? I'd really like to get clear water flowing. It's not nearly as brown as yesterday but still brown.....yesterday if it splashed on you it was like muddy water, today its just like water and doesn't leave the dirty residue....but I wouldn't want to drink it right now.

Thanks so much for all the input and advice, I'm going to leave the electrical stuff to the experts, I have no experience with it and it would be worth a service call to me to have someone who does this all time take a look at it.

Hopefully, all the air in the tank was the problem....thoughts?

PS...I just watched the video that Carl had linked on page 2 (Thanks Carl) and it states leave 2 lbs under so should mine be at 38lbs? In looking at my receipt it says 40-60 pressure gauge. Does that make sense?

 

[gary49]

Gauge is 0-100 psi. Pressure switch is 40-60, which means it cuts on at 40 psi ( and is on at anything below that) off at 60 psi. It clicks quite audibly when it cuts on or off, but you likely can't hear that with the generator running. It may have been cycling on and off rapidly due to the high tank pressure, which would have prevented the tank from admitting any water, which is pretty hard on the pump and which could have caused it to trip its internal overload protection, which might explain the symptom you had. You should have heard the generator loading up and unloading, i.e. surging if the switch was cutting in and out. It shouldn't be doing that now. I've installed or replaced a lot of pressure tanks over the last 40 plus years and I've never seen one precharged to 65 psi, but there's a first time for everything. Also still could have been crud in the water binding up the pump, also very hard on the pump, good to hear it's clearing some. The driller is supposed to spend some time cleaning the well with compressed air while he has the drill string in the hole, hope he did that. Also hope you don't have a "dirty" well, that's a pain, but there are remedies. For now, I'd keep on pumping it and see if it clears up. Your precharge should be 38 psi if you have a 40-60 switch, but 28 psi won't be a big deal for now, you can pump it up to 38 when you have power on site, you need an air compressor to do it, you'll be worn out if you try using a hand pump. Guess you could run a compressor off the generator, but it really isn't a high priority.

 

[RalphVa]

A while back, before we put in our whole house 12.5 kw Isuzu diesel generator, we had a 4.4 kw gas generator. It would start the well pump if we cut every thing else off. Then it would run it with a whole slew of stuff on it. Got lots of data from this operation, enough to convince me that the 12.5 kw generator would power the whole house, even the electric water heater and clothes drier on it. It just starts and runs automatically. Had to go out and start the 4.4 kw unit, keep it fueled up at least once/day if running continuously, etc. The Isuzu and our remote gate on our driveway are about our 2 best investments.

Ralph

 

[JPRambo]

When the water is running (from a garden hose) are you seeing water run a few inches or two to three feet from hose. The well guys hooked wires to my pump wrong and I only got a few inches out of hose using my 5500-8500 watt generator. Had them check it. Now I get 2-3 feet.

 

[Rmally]

Gary, I think you nailed it....thats exactly what it was doing. The generator would cycle on and off after about 6-8 mins. After reducing the pressure it has ran flawlessly. I ran it almost 2 hours today with no issues, the water is getting clearer but still brownish. I also noticed that now when I turn off the generator water still flows from the hose for almost 20-30 seconds then stops, it never did that yesterday. I believe that part is solved, so thank you every one for all the help.

When running, the water comes out very forcefully, shoots a good 2-3 feet.

Here's a picture, love that brown color haha.

 

[LittleBill21]

when setting the pressure, there should be no water in the pressure tank. you need to open the valve and bleed off all pressure and make sure the generator is off during this, once no water is moving, if your running a 40-60 switch, you should be set to 38 on the pressure tank.

if it was set to 65 with the tank empty, that was causing a decent restriction on the system on the pump, and prolly thermally tripping it. if your pressure guage was in the 100's that will pretty much confirm it, hope you didn't take too much life out of the pump

 

[Rmally]

when setting the pressure, there should be no water in the pressure tank. you need to open the valve and bleed off all pressure and make sure the generator is off during this, once no water is moving, if your running a 40-60 switch, you should be set to 38 on the pressure tank.

if it was set to 65 with the tank empty, that was causing a decent restriction on the system on the pump, and prolly thermally tripping it. if your pressure guage was in the 100's that will pretty much confirm it, hope you didn't take too much life out of the pump

Thank you, I was able to get it to almost 32 with the ole bike pump but wow was that a pain....hopefully it didn't cause any damage earlier (fingers crossed).