Well pump update: the installer was an idiot, according to the repairman who's out here now.
A 1 hp pump doesn't like to move water 365 vertical feet.* Especially if it's connected with 12 AWG wire. So the new guy has a new (stronger) pump, and he's hooking it up with 10-2. Can't wait to see how *this* goes wrong.
* Metric conversions: 1 hp ~= 745 W; 365 ft. ~= 111 m; you're on your own for wire gauge
A 1 hp pump doesn't like to move water 365 vertical feet.* Especially if it's connected with 12 AWG wire. So the new guy has a new (stronger) pump, and he's hooking it up with 10-2. Can't wait to see how *this* goes wrong.
* Metric conversions: 1 hp ~= 745 W; 365 ft. ~= 111 m; you're on your own for wire gauge
@mikey
I assume a 230V pump?
That's what ours is; on a 20 amp breaker, so must be 12ga wire. Nominal 4600 watts at the box. Dunno how much voltage drop by the time it gets down the well, but we've never had a problem in the 4 yrs we've been here.
@sda I'm just going by what the repairman said. It's 230V, but no idea on the amps. (I don't know a lot about this house. One of the perils of living with family.)
@sda Neither do I, but I'll ask my stepdad when he gets home. Wiring is a few levels below where I usually work, so I honestly don't know all the specifics.
@sda The breaker was already 50 amps, which doesn't sound right at all.
@mikey
A 50 amp breaker feeding a 10ga or 12 ga circuit is definitely not right at all; most people would go so far as to say dangerous.
Almost always, it's a 30 amp breaker for 10 ga, and a 20 amp breaker for 12 ga.
50 amp is generally seen feeding an electric stove/oven combo.
