Hi all,
I came back from a brief vacation to find that my outside irrigation well pump was not running. The weather is finally getting warmer here and I wanted to water some trees I just planted. When I turned the outside hose bib on, I had about enough pressure to fill a watering can and the stream started to dwindle. I shut the switch for the controller off every time I'm away for more than a day or two, which I did, and that was the first thing I checked, and my wife had already turned it back on.
I immediately went inside to the controller/pressure tank area and shut off the well. The controller box was buzzing and there was a slight odor of cheap electrical mixer in the air. I shut the breaker off and checked the pressure switch, which I found to be calling for the pump to run. I then opened the controller box and found the source of the odor. The capacitor had pooped out, but the PO had a spare, which I put in. I switched the breaker back on, flipped the switch, and I immediately had pressure building in the tank.
My next task was to try to find a replacement capacitor, just to have in case this happens again. What I found was that the cap mfd size seems to be fairly standard (105-126 mfd), but this cap has an overload wired into it that has 3 wires that attach to the controller pins. Every cap that I can find has 2 pins, which is normal, but I can't find replacement overloads or caps with the overload built in like what I have. I have no idea how I'd hook a standard 2 post cap into the controller without the overload wired in, or whether I should even try to.
I purchased a replacement 1hp controller that takes standard 2 post caps, which is pretty much the only viable option for replacement. I'm positive that it would work correctly, but all of the new replacements don't have any overload protection in the controller and am slightly concerned about that.
I can't replace the overload, unless somebody can decipher what a Klixon TA22 works out to in the real world for thermal protection. One codes out to 8/1973 (original) and the other 8/1978. The cap I replaced has a date code of August 1978. The "new" one is from 1979 or 1980. Several of the pins on the cover have been "replaced" by the PO by soldering brass extensions onto the broken pins. New caps in this mfd range are a dime-a-dozen, but nobody makes the replacement overloads, at least not the same as what I have that I can punch in and cross reference. The testing schematic says it should ohm out at 1/2 ohm, when using a 1973 ohmmeter, if that helps, which it probably doesn't.
Also, The circuit breaker for the pump is currently a 15 amp breaker. Not sure if that is what it should have or not, as the electricians who installed my panel were not the brightest, to say the least, but it's got 12g wire so it could be upped to 20. It's never tripped in 3 years. I've heard that lower amperage is best if it's not tripping the breaker.
I'm thinking that my well pump may potentially be the original pump. The PO kept meticulous records of everything that was done (paid for someone else to do), and there's no record of the pump having ever been replaced since 1973. The state and county have no record of the depth or conditions, because of the age, so my only guess is to plug 1hp into the depth chart and add about 10'. My pressure tank is over 30 years old, which is probably the newest part of the whole system. I'm not relying on this for drinking water or flushing toilets, or any other domestic use, but I don't want to be without outside water, which I use for watering my garden and lawn, washing cars, etc.
If anyone can decipher how I'd replace the overload with something more modern, or if it would even be worth it to replace it, it would be greatly appreciated. NOS Franklin caps with overloads are going for $100, and those are just as old or older than the cap I just replaced. I picked up a new controller, which is the exact same Franklin controller box minus the overload for $60. If I could mount an inline overload to that somehow, I would be ahead of the game, but I have no idea how to size or find an overload for a 1hp well pump.
I've been researching this for several days and haven't found anything promising yet. Thermal overloads aren't difficult to find and aren't terribly expensive, but the sizes and configurations and variations are crazy. There are overloads with buttons to reset them and ones without. What's hardest to find is an overload with 3 terminals on it like what I currently have.
What are these things rated at? Like, without getting too technical, how does a person size up an overload? I know there are temperature and current ratings, and can get some vague info from Franklin Electric about the approximate full load and lockup amperage (11 and 43, for a 1hp 4" 3 wire), but how would I translate that to an overload? Also, how would I wire that in? Do I need a 3 terminal overload?
There has to be a way of putting a thermal overload onto the new setup, even if it's just one of the legs of the drop. There are additional pins on the relay, and hooking it up inline wouldn't be much trouble.
I found a diagram and, although this doesn't 100% represent the controller I have, it shows an inline overload from the relay to the black on the drop.
I'm hoping someone here has an inkling as to how much overload protection this pump should have or how to decipher what the stamping on the Klixon overload or TA22 equates to. The interwebs have been very little help.
I apologize for the tons of questions, and for not having been on here for about 13 years... I have pictures attached of the old controller, cap, overloads, and the new controller.
Thanks in advance.
I came back from a brief vacation to find that my outside irrigation well pump was not running. The weather is finally getting warmer here and I wanted to water some trees I just planted. When I turned the outside hose bib on, I had about enough pressure to fill a watering can and the stream started to dwindle. I shut the switch for the controller off every time I'm away for more than a day or two, which I did, and that was the first thing I checked, and my wife had already turned it back on.
I immediately went inside to the controller/pressure tank area and shut off the well. The controller box was buzzing and there was a slight odor of cheap electrical mixer in the air. I shut the breaker off and checked the pressure switch, which I found to be calling for the pump to run. I then opened the controller box and found the source of the odor. The capacitor had pooped out, but the PO had a spare, which I put in. I switched the breaker back on, flipped the switch, and I immediately had pressure building in the tank.
My next task was to try to find a replacement capacitor, just to have in case this happens again. What I found was that the cap mfd size seems to be fairly standard (105-126 mfd), but this cap has an overload wired into it that has 3 wires that attach to the controller pins. Every cap that I can find has 2 pins, which is normal, but I can't find replacement overloads or caps with the overload built in like what I have. I have no idea how I'd hook a standard 2 post cap into the controller without the overload wired in, or whether I should even try to.
I purchased a replacement 1hp controller that takes standard 2 post caps, which is pretty much the only viable option for replacement. I'm positive that it would work correctly, but all of the new replacements don't have any overload protection in the controller and am slightly concerned about that.
I can't replace the overload, unless somebody can decipher what a Klixon TA22 works out to in the real world for thermal protection. One codes out to 8/1973 (original) and the other 8/1978. The cap I replaced has a date code of August 1978. The "new" one is from 1979 or 1980. Several of the pins on the cover have been "replaced" by the PO by soldering brass extensions onto the broken pins. New caps in this mfd range are a dime-a-dozen, but nobody makes the replacement overloads, at least not the same as what I have that I can punch in and cross reference. The testing schematic says it should ohm out at 1/2 ohm, when using a 1973 ohmmeter, if that helps, which it probably doesn't.
Also, The circuit breaker for the pump is currently a 15 amp breaker. Not sure if that is what it should have or not, as the electricians who installed my panel were not the brightest, to say the least, but it's got 12g wire so it could be upped to 20. It's never tripped in 3 years. I've heard that lower amperage is best if it's not tripping the breaker.
I'm thinking that my well pump may potentially be the original pump. The PO kept meticulous records of everything that was done (paid for someone else to do), and there's no record of the pump having ever been replaced since 1973. The state and county have no record of the depth or conditions, because of the age, so my only guess is to plug 1hp into the depth chart and add about 10'. My pressure tank is over 30 years old, which is probably the newest part of the whole system. I'm not relying on this for drinking water or flushing toilets, or any other domestic use, but I don't want to be without outside water, which I use for watering my garden and lawn, washing cars, etc.
If anyone can decipher how I'd replace the overload with something more modern, or if it would even be worth it to replace it, it would be greatly appreciated. NOS Franklin caps with overloads are going for $100, and those are just as old or older than the cap I just replaced. I picked up a new controller, which is the exact same Franklin controller box minus the overload for $60. If I could mount an inline overload to that somehow, I would be ahead of the game, but I have no idea how to size or find an overload for a 1hp well pump.
I've been researching this for several days and haven't found anything promising yet. Thermal overloads aren't difficult to find and aren't terribly expensive, but the sizes and configurations and variations are crazy. There are overloads with buttons to reset them and ones without. What's hardest to find is an overload with 3 terminals on it like what I currently have.
What are these things rated at? Like, without getting too technical, how does a person size up an overload? I know there are temperature and current ratings, and can get some vague info from Franklin Electric about the approximate full load and lockup amperage (11 and 43, for a 1hp 4" 3 wire), but how would I translate that to an overload? Also, how would I wire that in? Do I need a 3 terminal overload?
There has to be a way of putting a thermal overload onto the new setup, even if it's just one of the legs of the drop. There are additional pins on the relay, and hooking it up inline wouldn't be much trouble.
I found a diagram and, although this doesn't 100% represent the controller I have, it shows an inline overload from the relay to the black on the drop.
I'm hoping someone here has an inkling as to how much overload protection this pump should have or how to decipher what the stamping on the Klixon overload or TA22 equates to. The interwebs have been very little help.
I apologize for the tons of questions, and for not having been on here for about 13 years... I have pictures attached of the old controller, cap, overloads, and the new controller.
Thanks in advance.
