I recently closed escrow on an old house in the Calif. desert (vintage 1960). It has a water well. I have experience with plumbing (was a pipefitter), and electrical, with some electronics.
Here is what I know about the well.
It's probably around 300 feet deep.
There are two old pumps laying outside of the pump shed so I assume we are now on at least the 3rd. pump.
To start the pump, I flip a 50 amp, 240V single phase circuit breaker. Above the breaker is a motor control box. It has two lables on it. One says Franklin Bluffton Indiana, model 282 302 1 201
HP - 3
RPM 3450
Amps 16.5
Volts 230
SF 1.15
HZ 60 Code F
Date ? hard to read but looks like 173 - guessing 1973.
The lable is rivited onto the control box on one side and taped on the other. I'm thinking it may not be the original.
There is another label above the franklin. This one says:
Submersible Pump, Berkley Pump company.
I can't make out the complete model number but it starts with 4BM2 and maybe an L
3 HP
The rest of the label info is blank.
The pump seems to work great, and puts out a LOT of water.
The well is located 150 feet from the storage tank. I know this because I just dug a trench and replaced the pipe from the well to the storage tank. I'm 55 years old and out of shape, that was a LOT of work. I employed a ditchwitch, but the soil is fine sand. The sand filled the trench almost as fast as I could dig it.
There is NO automation on this system, and it doesn't look like there ever was. While running the new pipe, I put in a new 1" conduit so that I could run wire and automate the fill.
That is why I am writing.
My plan is to put a float in the tank, and using low voltage, control a relay with a time delay. I've already built the time delay circuit using a 12V power supply. I already have a new float that I picked up at Lowes on a close out for a dollar. Unfortunately, it only has one contact that is closed when the float is UP. I can just add another relay to my circuit and still use the float.
My question is about a relay or contactor for the pump. My plan is to put a contactor with a low voltage coil between the existing circuit breaker and the motor control. Since both information lables rate the pump at 3HP, I feel pretty confident that we are at least close. My question is, if I were to use a 240V contactor with a 20 Amp rating that uses a 24V coil, would that be the right choice?
I need to do this on a tight budget, so I am looking for a new "old stock" relay on Ebay and have found a few.
Ideally, I would find a relay with a 12V coil and contacts rated for 20A at 240V, but I haven't seen one of those yet. Do you think that 12 to 15V would pull in a 24V coil?
Any ideas or suggestions are welcome and will be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the LONG post, but I wanted to give you all the info.
Thanks in advance.
Paul
Here is what I know about the well.
It's probably around 300 feet deep.
There are two old pumps laying outside of the pump shed so I assume we are now on at least the 3rd. pump.
To start the pump, I flip a 50 amp, 240V single phase circuit breaker. Above the breaker is a motor control box. It has two lables on it. One says Franklin Bluffton Indiana, model 282 302 1 201
HP - 3
RPM 3450
Amps 16.5
Volts 230
SF 1.15
HZ 60 Code F
Date ? hard to read but looks like 173 - guessing 1973.
The lable is rivited onto the control box on one side and taped on the other. I'm thinking it may not be the original.
There is another label above the franklin. This one says:
Submersible Pump, Berkley Pump company.
I can't make out the complete model number but it starts with 4BM2 and maybe an L
3 HP
The rest of the label info is blank.
The pump seems to work great, and puts out a LOT of water.
The well is located 150 feet from the storage tank. I know this because I just dug a trench and replaced the pipe from the well to the storage tank. I'm 55 years old and out of shape, that was a LOT of work. I employed a ditchwitch, but the soil is fine sand. The sand filled the trench almost as fast as I could dig it.
There is NO automation on this system, and it doesn't look like there ever was. While running the new pipe, I put in a new 1" conduit so that I could run wire and automate the fill.
That is why I am writing.
My plan is to put a float in the tank, and using low voltage, control a relay with a time delay. I've already built the time delay circuit using a 12V power supply. I already have a new float that I picked up at Lowes on a close out for a dollar. Unfortunately, it only has one contact that is closed when the float is UP. I can just add another relay to my circuit and still use the float.
My question is about a relay or contactor for the pump. My plan is to put a contactor with a low voltage coil between the existing circuit breaker and the motor control. Since both information lables rate the pump at 3HP, I feel pretty confident that we are at least close. My question is, if I were to use a 240V contactor with a 20 Amp rating that uses a 24V coil, would that be the right choice?
I need to do this on a tight budget, so I am looking for a new "old stock" relay on Ebay and have found a few.
Ideally, I would find a relay with a 12V coil and contacts rated for 20A at 240V, but I haven't seen one of those yet. Do you think that 12 to 15V would pull in a 24V coil?
Any ideas or suggestions are welcome and will be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the LONG post, but I wanted to give you all the info.
Thanks in advance.
Paul
