Hello Cary, I'm back again with the ongoing saga. So, I went to see the well pump company a couple of days after my last post and they are going to swap out the 1.5 HP 10 GPM pump with a 1 HP, 10 GPM and they will set the new 1 HP pump back at 300', where the original 0.75 HP pump that needed replacement was set. They are installing this tomorrow, 07/22/19.
I'd like to pick your brain about a few other things with this situation. Since the original episode back on 07/03/19 where the new 1.5 HP pump had shut down after watering some plants for 20 minutes......then came back on again after 20-25 minutes, we have used water sparingly and not run a garden hose for more than 5-10 minutes, and we have not had any pump problems. Then, the afternoon of 07/19/19 I was dialing in a dosing pump for a H2O2 injection system. I had the water running at about 3 GPM for 20-25 minutes, and I lost water pressure. This time, it was the breaker in the panel that tripped, as opposed to the thermal overload protection on the pump. In earlier posts that you responded to, where I explained the current wiring, I mistakenly told you it was 14/2 wire running 120' from my panel to the 8/2 wire at the top of the well casing, then 8/2 down the hole 500' to the pump. It is actually 12/2 wire running from the panel to the top of the casing. So, the breaker that tripped is only a 20 amp dual pole breaker. The breaker would not reset. Over 4 hours, I tried several times to reset it and the panel would hum for 10 seconds then the breaker would trip. I called the pump contractor and he said let it sit longer and try it again. The manual calls for a 35 amp breaker. NEC says 20 amps max for 12 gauge wire, but I was just trying to get through the weekend before the new pump was installed on Monday, and from what I read online, I could go to a 30 amp breaker in some situations, and so I figured I try it to see if I could get the breaker to stay reset and see if the pump would run. I tried it once, and the 30 amp breaker tripped. I did not try it again until this morning. I reset the breaker and it stayed reset and the pump did not run....dead. I turned the breaker off and re-installed the 20 amp dual pole breaker that should be on that wire size. Hold that thought......
The specs on the new 1 HP pump say it needs a 25 amp breaker, which I cannot use with my 12/2 wire and be in compliance with the code. In a previous post, I mentioned that I have no way to get larger wire in to my panel without jack-hammering up concrete in my carport. But my meter base is a remote meter base pedestal and I can trench directly from it to my well, and have a sub panel run from the meter base pedestal to supply the well with power. I had my electrician out today to go over installing the sub-panel and proper size wire to supply the new 1 HP well pump. The present setup has wire from the pressure switch running directly to the well and down to the well pump. Since the new power supply will come from the sub-panel, we will use the current 12/2 wire running from the house panel to the well, as the control wire to activate a pump start relay that will be on the new sub-panel pedestal being installed by the well. Here are my questions:
1. In the Grundfos manual, there is a note that says "Single-phase motors (thermally protected): Use with approved motor control that matches motor input in full load amperes." WTF! The well pump installer installing the 1.50 HP pump turned that 20 amp dual pole breaker on and off half a dozen times during the installation, clearly seeing that it is not a 35 amp breaker. And he connected that 12/2 wire to the 8/2 wire he ran down the hole and saw without question that there was no motor control anywhere! There is no starting capacitor to give the motor the 62 amp jolt that the motor needs at start! Does it also need a run capacitor? I think the motor is fried after 2 weeks of being started without a start capacitor and then in addition, with inadequate voltage being delivered by the undersized wire. Am I likely right about that?
2. On Friday, when the breaker blew and the pump was down on the main house, I needed to get water into the house for the weekend. We have a separate garage with an apartment over it 120' away from the main house, and that garage has its own well and well pump. I connected a string of garden hoses from a hose bib on the outside of that building and ran that length of hose down to the main house, in through a window, and made an adapter to connect the male end of the garden hose to the drain cock on the pressure tank of the main house. I opened the drain cock on the pressure tank and the hose from the garage filled the pressure tank of the main house. This provides adequate water and the pressure tank is pumping up to 50-55 psi. So, we can function this way. Here is my question: The electrician is not going to be able to do the work on the sub-panel for 3-4 weeks. Am I correct, that if I start using the new 1 HP well pump that will be installed tomorrow, without a motor control, then I'm going to fry that pump too? Is there any work-around to not screw up the new pump, or do I need to use my garden hose water supply for the next 3-4 weeks?
3. I don't trust the pump installers that they know what they are doing. I want to make absolutely sure I get the correct motor control for the Grundfos pump, and I have been completely unsuccessful in getting any information from Grundfos. I can't speak to a person.....only a recording, and I certainly can't speak to an application engineer. Who can give me accurate information about which pump start relay I should buy and which motor control panel I should buy?
4. With this new pump.....1 HP, 10 GPM, pump set at 300', well depth 800', static water level 30', well produces 10 GPM, water inflow at ~650' & 700', 44 gallon pressure tank, 40/60 pressure switch, can I now use a CSV?
Thanks!