well pump safety device

   / well pump safety device #1  

chuck172

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Aug 2, 2006
Messages
845
Location
N.E, Pa.
Tractor
Kioti DK40SEH, Ford 4500TLB, Ford 8n
Is there an inexpensive, reliable device that will prevent basement flooding by shutting off the well pump in case of a bad leak?
 
   / well pump safety device #2  
Water Cop. I have not used one but what I've read about it, seems like a fit for your situation.
 
   / well pump safety device #3  
I don't leave the property for long, without shutting off the pump. All I would get is what's in the tank. I have on occassion wired in a contactor, so when people's alarms are armed (away) the pump is shut off. The contactor is something that is on my "LIST" of things to do.

If you have a water sensor, the question always is, where best to put it.

I had customers where the faucet connection on the third floor broke, in a house that wasn't visited for months! That water would have been a while getting to a detector in the basement. It might have been better if the house had burned to the ground!
 
   / well pump safety device #4  
Water cop detects the flow, cuts it off. Where ever it is.
 
   / well pump safety device #5  
Every time we left for even a couple day I would just throw the breaker, of in my case now, turn the water valve off.

The lowest part in a country house is usually a sump pump pit. I have heard of sensor to trigger alarms if the water got toward the top of the hole.
 
   / well pump safety device #6  
The mechanical pressure switch on my well pump will open the circuit if the pump cannot keep up with full continuous flow from a broken pipe.
 
   / well pump safety device #7  
There are two styles of pressure switches.
The one you want has a lever on the side that prevents the pump to re start if the pressure is very low as would be the case of a burst pipe.
Say the switch is set for 40/60 but a pipe bursts and pressure dropped to say 20. The contacts would not close and the pump would not run.
The 'safety' type is a mere few dollars more than the conventional version.

To re start the pump you have to manually hold the lever to close the points until the pressure builds up to the threshold.
You see it on the pressure gauge as well as feel the the lever sort of go limp when pressure passes the threshold.

We are in cottage country and I only installed the safety style as owners are generally away lots of the time and more than a few times pipes have frozen causing major messes.

Withe the levered safety version the worst spillage you could get would be one cycle worth of water (like maybe 10 gallons or so depending on tank size)
 
   / well pump safety device #8  
There are two styles of pressure switches.
The one you want has a lever on the side that prevents the pump to re start if the pressure is very low as would be the case of a burst pipe.
Say the switch is set for 40/60 but a pipe bursts and pressure dropped to say 20. The contacts would not close and the pump would not run.
The 'safety' type is a mere few dollars more than the conventional version.

To re start the pump you have to manually hold the lever to close the points until the pressure builds up to the threshold.
You see it on the pressure gauge as well as feel the the lever sort of go limp when pressure passes the threshold.

We are in cottage country and I only installed the safety style as owners are generally away lots of the time and more than a few times pipes have frozen causing major messes.

Withe the levered safety version the worst spillage you could get would be one cycle worth of water (like maybe 10 gallons or so depending on tank size)

link?
 
 
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