We had a thunderstorm followed by power outage last night, this morning I went to use the water and it slowly went dead.I began by inspecting the pressure tank and pressure control switch, then found the outside water pump breaker was tripped, upon resetting the water was back on!But wait, after about 1-2 minutes of use there was a small quot;POPand smoke from the control switch and the breaker tripped again. It seems now that every time the water pump kicks in I've got a 50/50 shot of the circuit breaker blowing. I'm not sure what to do now, I don't want to keep resetting my pump breaker, we really didn't get that much rain so I don't know what would be causing this issue?Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!
So, you say you have a 50/50 chance of the water pump's breaker popping out when you use it now. I would assume you mean when you've used it enough to make the pump come back on. Actually, I think I'd start by replacing the pressure switch, regardless of which system you have, submersible or above ground, the pressure switch will be where it can be serviced. I really can't think of any reason why a pressure switch would cause a breaker to trip, but at least that way you'd know you've done all you can do. If your system is a submersible you'll have to have a water company come out with a boom truck to pull that pump up out of the ground.
Water Pump Trips Circuit Breaker
lighting probably got your pump, call a water well service company an yes thell charge you, but sounds like your going to replace the pump
Sounds like an electrical short in the control switch (where, you indicated, it was smoking) that is tripping the circuit breaker. It could be something as simple as an insect nest inside the switch housing causing a short, or a broken terminal connector. De-energize the circuit and repair the short or replace the switch.
If it works on one circuit but not another, why don't you just leave it where it works ? You didn't say what size the breaker is, or if there's something else on the same circuit. Maybe the pump plus one other item on that circuit are together enough to trip the breaker. Is it possible to give it it's own dedicated breaker at a bigger current, say 15 or 20 amps ? There's nothing wrong with being generous with your breaker size, it's not uncommon for breakers to trip if there's a constant current which is near, but under the rated current. It will still trip the breaker if there's a short.
