Is there a plumber in the house?

[Tim Morton]

I know less about plumbing than i do about just about anything.

My water pump has tripped the CB twice in the past hour...i cannot imagine this is good. And i have no idea what to even look for. Nor do i think i can get a plumber out here this weekend.

[fred marcuson]

go for the 'easy' fix first !!
change the circut breaker and cross your fingers :)

[Mitchell Andrus]

go for the 'easy' fix first !!
change the circut breaker and cross your fingers :)

+1. I've had breakers go south.
.

[Tim Morton]

I will pick up a new breaker in the morning and see if that helps.

i was thinking that maybe flicking the breaker open and closed a few dozen times my fix it....thats the extent of my knowledge here. The pump is hold pressure and we have water in the house that is fine....until it trips.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Motors can cause a pretty healthy surge current.

I would agree...change the breaker first.

[Charlie Knauer]

Tim, do you know what type of pump you have?. If it is a submersible you may have a control box that has the manufactures name on it as well as the size in hp. Google the manufacture. They usually have excellent troubleshooting help right on the web. If you have a multimeter you should be able to figure this out.

Charlie

[Tim Morton]

Tim, do you know what type of pump you have?. If it is a submersible you may have a control box that has the manufactures name on it as well as the size in hp. Google the manufacture. They usually have excellent troubleshooting help right on the web. If you have a multimeter you should be able to figure this out.

Charlie

I have the manual..since its only 10 years old....amtrolwell-x-trol is the tank

and it has an aermotor 4" submersible pump...

off to google i go...

[Larry Frank]

I would check the pressure switch and make certain it is working properly and the points are not burnt. Of course, turn of the breaker before you start poking around in there. If they are burnt, you can clean them up with some fine emery cloth or very fine sand paper. If this fixes the problem, you can buy a new one in a day or so.
I have had the pressure switch go bad a number of times but have never had a breaker go bad. My breakers are all SquareD.

[Tim Morton]

I would check the pressure switch and make certain it is working properly and the points are not burnt. Of course, turn of the breaker before you start poking around in there. If they are burnt, you can clean them up with some fine emery cloth or very fine sand paper. If this fixes the problem, you can buy a new one in a day or so.
I have had the pressure switch go bad a number of times but have never had a breaker go bad. My breakers are all SquareD.

I'm guiessing similar to checking the switches on an oil burner? I have done that many many times....i will crack it open in the morning...after everyone has showered.:D

wouldn't you know it this is a weekend where both my daughters and one son in law will be here. But so far ( knock on wood) ot has not tripped in 4 hours....and i am running a dishwasher and washing machine.

[Tim Morton]

$1500 to replace the pump.....fml....I am sure that was too much, but when one needs water...what are you going to do?

Apparently the pump was reading 25 amps instead of the 8 it was supposed too.....so they replaced it. or they cleaned it and charged me for replacing it.

But i have water for now....

[Myk Rian]

Is there air in the tank?
I fill mine by draining it of water completely. I'll use an air compressor to add air and empty it a few times to make sure it's empty. Then I fill it to 28psi air, and turn the pump on.
It's possible the pump is trying to pressurize against a dead-head.

[Paul Atkins]

One time my pump was blowing the breaker and I found that the wire had rubbed off the insulation and was grounding to the casing 30 feet down. Another time the start capacitor had blown.

[Lee Schierer]

There are a number of things that go wrong with submersible pumps. I heat my house with mine and use the same pump for water. They last more than 10 years for me, but I use Goulds pumps. You can replace only the pump or motor portions. I had one solid state starter die so the pump never came up to speed and I only had to replace the motor. My pump probably pumps 7200 gallons per day during the winter months and cooling months.