Time for this week's "Country living questions with Phylo"....

[phylodog]

Sorry for the delay, had a busy day today.

Here is a pic of the breaker

The power comes out of the panel, to the pressure switch, out of the pressure switch and appears to run out of the house to the well (pump I assume, the well is 5' on the other side of the wall)

When I check the power coming out of the breaker box, when I go black wire to ground I get 120v.

When I go white to ground I get nothing

The thicker black and red wires in the pic run to the well pump and I have not checked them with the switch closed. I hope this provides some useful troubleshooting info.

 

[ghitch75]

Sorry for the delay, had a busy day today.

Here is a pic of the breaker

The power comes out of the panel, to the pressure switch, out of the pressure switch and appears to run out of the house to the well (pump I assume, the well is 5' on the other side of the wall)

When I check the power coming out of the breaker box, when I go black wire to ground I get 120v.

When I go white to ground I get nothing

The thicker black and red wires in the pic run to the well pump and I have not checked them with the switch closed. I hope this provides some useful troubleshooting info.

from what you are showing on you meter you only have one leg coming from the breaker......your breaker is bad.....push it over to off as far as it well go and then back on as far as it will go to see if it will stay on till you can get the breaker changed...

 

[actaeon277]

I think you're mixing up measuring 120 vs measuring 220.

I'm not sure based on your pic, but I think the 2 black wires go to your pump. Yes/no?

The red/white go to your panel.
The red wire is HOT
The white wire is ALSO HOT.

Each should be 120 to ground.
and red to white should measure 220.


The red and white are being switched on and off, and that switched power goes out to the black/black wires, which go to your pump.


You'll have to look to see if I'm right.
You should have a pair going to the pump.
And a pair going to the panel.


The 2 going to the panel are BOTH HOT.
You probably have a 3rd, green. Green will be ground.

 

[actaeon277]

from what you are showing on you meter you only have one leg coming from the breaker......your breaker is bad.....push it over to off as far as it well go and then back on as far as it will go to see if it will stay on till you can get the breaker changed...

I don't think so.
I think his 2 black wires are 2 the pump.
If the switch is "off" then there will be 0 volts to ground.

 

[phylodog]

The breaker hasn't shut off on me yet and I've shut it off and back on several times. If I were to kill the main breaker to the house, is replacing the breaker something I can do myself? I've been hemorrhaging money for the past month and don't really want to pay someone $200 to do something that takes two minutes and I could have done myself.

 

[phylodog]

The wires coming from the breaker box are black, white and green. The wires out to the pump are black, red and green.

 

[actaeon277]

Okay. I could be wrong.

But, I think he's measuring the black wire (output) instead of the black wire (input).


He needs to find what wire goes where.
Then measure both wires from the panel. To each other. And each to ground.

 

[phylodog]

Is there any way to determine whether the submersible pump is 110 or 220 without pulling it out of the well?

 

[actaeon277]

give me a minute to type and look at your pic

 

[DocIndy]

The White and black wire on the far right come from the breaker. Both are the same gauge. The black on the left and red go from the switch out to the pump. Only way to tell for certain is pull the panel cover and see what colors are landed on the breaker. I’m with ghitch... I think you might have a bad breaker and only have one hot leg when both should be.

 

[actaeon277]

If you had a 120 pump, you'd only have 2 wires going to the contacts. A hot in, and a hot out.

 

[phylodog]

Just went down and checked the wires coming from the breaker box again:

Black to white I get 122v
Black to ground I get 122v
White to ground I get nothing

 

[phylodog]

If you had a 120 pump, you'd only have 2 wires going to the contacts. A hot in, and a hot out.

I have a black, white & green coming in to the switch from the breaker box
I have a black, red & green going out to the pump from the switch

 

[actaeon277]

Okay, I just looked at the pic better with your info, and what docindy said.

I agree, it looks like a breaker.
You can double check, by measuring at the breaker. Each leg should be 120 to ground. And leg to leg should be 220.

You just wired it different than I expect.
It will still work, just different.
But it never hurts to triple check.


Yes, to change a breaker, turn off the main breaker.
THEN CHECK WITH A METER AGAIN.
Always double check.

You can get the breaker at a hardware store.
I haven't done one in years, so someone back me up on this.. or not.

Does he need the same type?
I think so.

Might be best to kill the main, and take the breaker in.
Or, take a picture of the breakers.

 

[actaeon277]

Make sure BOTH breakers are IN.

Sometimes, one can trip, and not drag the other over.

Tap the breaker with your finger in the OFF direction.
If the breaker is IN, it won't move.
If the breaker is OFF, it will be "squishy" or move slightly towards off.

 

[ghitch75]

I don't think so.
I think his 2 black wires are 2 the pump.
If the switch is "off" then there will be 0 volts to ground.

no you should have 110v to ground on the white and the black = 220v on both....

 

[actaeon277]

I think you don't have to kill the main breaker.

But I do.

 

[actaeon277]

no you should have 110v to ground on the white and the black = 220v on both....

I saw and corrected in a later post.

 

[ghitch75]

I don't think so.
I think his 2 black wires are 2 the pump.
If the switch is "off" then there will be 0 volts to ground.

red and black go to the pump.....black and white from the breaker......

 

[ghitch75]

I saw and corrected in a later post.

oh i see that now...