Well, this morning was a nice "scare" as to the submerged well water pump for the house quit working. Since I live in the world where fire ants are a real thing, I thought there may have been a chance the little critters got inside the switch because they love the mild heat the switch puts off as I have found their dead little carcasses crushed between the contacts a few years ago, keeping them open where the pump would not get power when it's supposed to.
The switch is a Square D 40/60 with low pressure cutout and the reset lever. 1/4" inlet. Entire arrangement with the surge tank is enclosed with a miniature building which kind of mimics the house. I built it in a manner that I could disassemble it in sections should the need ever arise to replace the pump. About 4 feet high, and about 5 ft x 7 ft with an access door to the switches/valves. Hmmm. Pressure gage shows a little less than 20 psi. I first tested the power to the switch. Using a test light, I got voltage to both terminals from the house. No problems here it seems. Powered off, ran a fingernail file through the contacts, then powered it up again. Now to click on the switch manually, and nothing. When the pump kicks on, you normally can hear a slight hum of the pump kicking on and watch the pressure gage react. Nothing. I checked the voltage from the switch to the pumps, and I was getting voltage to the motor from the switch. WTF??? But the pump still isn't working. Sigh. I'll go back and check actual voltages again with my fluke. It was just faster to check with the test light as a go/no-go check.
So I start to disassemble the "house" and got it where the sides were gone and just needed to lift off the roof and unbolt the walls. In the meantime, the wife went to the store to pick up some jugs of drinking water and a few gallons of distilled for flushing toilets and washing up. Figured I'd take it apart before calling the well guys. Last thing I needed was for them to arrive and the pump not be accessible. It was all screws, so it wasn't hard. The 2x4 walls are bolted together in the corners and onto the lower base so all that could come off with a ratchet. When she got back, the wife suggested I just try fiddling with the switch again for S&Gs. I did, and the pump kicked ON!!! WTF? Cycled normally 40-60 psi. Switch is about 10 years old. So I bought a new one off Amazon and it'll be here Tuesday. I'm going to replace it anyway just because it's cheap insurance.
While I have to go through the trouble to bleed down the system to change the switch, I'm going to check the surge tank air pressure and adjust as necessary. I don't have a clue as to what brand/kind of submerged pump it is or capacity or any of that. It was installed about 15 years ago. I don't want to replace it until I absolutely have to. I don't even know the exact size of the surge tank. I think it's around a 40 gallon tank, but not sure.
Anyone with well pump experience/know how have any suggestions as to what might be the issue or anything else I need to check on?
The switch is a Square D 40/60 with low pressure cutout and the reset lever. 1/4" inlet. Entire arrangement with the surge tank is enclosed with a miniature building which kind of mimics the house. I built it in a manner that I could disassemble it in sections should the need ever arise to replace the pump. About 4 feet high, and about 5 ft x 7 ft with an access door to the switches/valves. Hmmm. Pressure gage shows a little less than 20 psi. I first tested the power to the switch. Using a test light, I got voltage to both terminals from the house. No problems here it seems. Powered off, ran a fingernail file through the contacts, then powered it up again. Now to click on the switch manually, and nothing. When the pump kicks on, you normally can hear a slight hum of the pump kicking on and watch the pressure gage react. Nothing. I checked the voltage from the switch to the pumps, and I was getting voltage to the motor from the switch. WTF??? But the pump still isn't working. Sigh. I'll go back and check actual voltages again with my fluke. It was just faster to check with the test light as a go/no-go check.
So I start to disassemble the "house" and got it where the sides were gone and just needed to lift off the roof and unbolt the walls. In the meantime, the wife went to the store to pick up some jugs of drinking water and a few gallons of distilled for flushing toilets and washing up. Figured I'd take it apart before calling the well guys. Last thing I needed was for them to arrive and the pump not be accessible. It was all screws, so it wasn't hard. The 2x4 walls are bolted together in the corners and onto the lower base so all that could come off with a ratchet. When she got back, the wife suggested I just try fiddling with the switch again for S&Gs. I did, and the pump kicked ON!!! WTF? Cycled normally 40-60 psi. Switch is about 10 years old. So I bought a new one off Amazon and it'll be here Tuesday. I'm going to replace it anyway just because it's cheap insurance.
While I have to go through the trouble to bleed down the system to change the switch, I'm going to check the surge tank air pressure and adjust as necessary. I don't have a clue as to what brand/kind of submerged pump it is or capacity or any of that. It was installed about 15 years ago. I don't want to replace it until I absolutely have to. I don't even know the exact size of the surge tank. I think it's around a 40 gallon tank, but not sure.
Anyone with well pump experience/know how have any suggestions as to what might be the issue or anything else I need to check on?