SUBMERSIBLE PUMP WON'T START

[RS]

When we had this same thing happen it was a broken wire about 2 feet above the pump. I hadn't taped the wires to the water line well enough. An easy fix once we pulled the pump, but troubleshoot everything you can before pulling the pump.

 

[mconnell61]

But has it been determined he is getting 220?

Yes, I tested the voltage starting at the breaker, then over to the manual on/off switch, then from there to the gang box

You can still get that with one bad breaker. Must be 230V between the wires, not just 115V on each to ground.

I did both tests. The 2 legs separately which showed 115v on each, then tested them together by putting a probe on each screw of the 2-pole breaker and it showed 230v (approximately).

 

[mconnell61]

When we had this same thing happen it was a broken wire about 2 feet above the pump. I hadn't taped the wires to the water line well enough. An easy fix once we pulled the pump, but troubleshoot everything you can before pulling the pump.

Yes, I will troubleshoot as much as I can before pulling the pump. Thank you for your input.

 

[mconnell61]

I pulled the pump and discovered that my pump was covered in rust. The intake vents were almost completely blocked with thick oxidation. It is my assessment that the impeller also was rusted and probably stopped turning. This caused the motor to overheat and burn out.

I am quite surprised at the amount of rust because it is a stainless steel pump which is is not supposed to rust very quickly. This pump (Schraiber, 2hp, 10.2 amp) is only 5 years old!

 

[mconnell61]

This pump was made in China and probably isn't made with real stainless steel metal. It shouldn't have rusted that badly in such a short time.

I am now looking for the same size pump but better quality to replace it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RS]

When we had this very same thing happen it was a wire broken about 2 feet above the pump. Like others have said, larger breaker and heavier wire won't solve a thing. And, what are you calling a gang box, you have a pressure control switch and possibly a capacitor/ relay box? And, have you checked for voltage at the top of the well, where the wires that go down to the pump are connected? If you have voltage there then you need to pull the pump.

 

[Valveman]

Sorry for your problem. That is very typical for a pump with cast iron ends bells. The motor adapter and the discharge on the pump are about the only differences in any brand of pumps these days. They all claim to be Stainless Steel and the main shell housings are. But the motor adapter and pump discharge end bell can be made of iron, SS, brass, or plastic. Like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so is a pump. Make the entire pump out of SS and using one iron bolt will be the failure point. Can't use good old brass anymore because of the silly lead scare, and low lead brass sucks. SS is expensive, hard to machine, and is prone to thread galling. For a cheap pump that leaves iron or plastic. Never seen an iron end bell pump that didn't clog the intake and starve the pump for water in a short life span. Nothing wrong with plastic end bells as long as you don't overtighten and split them on install.

The brand name pumps use SS and charge a premium. But the impellers and diffusers of the pumps are all pretty much the same these days. Not much difference in the brand name and cheap pumps anymore. Also, no sense in paying a thousand bucks for a pump when the internals of a $200.00 pump are the same. Just make sure you have plastic end bells and motor adapter and find one you can afford that fits the application. Then of course, keeping it from cycling on and off is the way to make any price range pump last longer.

 

[Valveman]

When we had this very same thing happen it was a wire broken about 2 feet above the pump. Like others have said, larger breaker and heavier wire won't solve a thing. And, what are you calling a gang box, you have a pressure control switch and possibly a capacitor/ relay box? And, have you checked for voltage at the top of the well, where the wires that go down to the pump are connected? If you have voltage there then you need to pull the pump.

A wire break a couple feet above the pump is usually caused by the pump cycling on and off too much. Cycling on and off is the cause of most pump failures.

 

[mconnell61]

Sorry for your problem. That is very typical for a pump with cast iron ends bells. The motor adapter and the discharge on the pump are about the only differences in any brand of pumps these days. They all claim to be Stainless Steel and the main shell housings are. But the motor adapter and pump discharge end bell can be made of iron, SS, brass, or plastic. Like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so is a pump. Make the entire pump out of SS and using one iron bolt will be the failure point. Can't use good old brass anymore because of the silly lead scare, and low lead brass sucks. SS is expensive, hard to machine, and is prone to thread galling. For a cheap pump that leaves iron or plastic. Never seen an iron end bell pump that didn't clog the intake and starve the pump for water in a short life span. Nothing wrong with plastic end bells as long as you don't overtighten and split them on install.

The brand name pumps use SS and charge a premium. But the impellers and diffusers of the pumps are all pretty much the same these days. Not much difference in the brand name and cheap pumps anymore. Also, no sense in paying a thousand bucks for a pump when the internals of a $200.00 pump are the same. Just make sure you have plastic end bells and motor adapter and find one you can afford that fits the application. Then of course, keeping it from cycling on and off is the way to make any price range pump last longer.

I was wondering if the expensive brand name pumps were any better than the cheap unbranded pumps. Everything is either made in China or assembled here with Chinese parts.

Thanks again Valveman for your input and advice.