Got a call: No water

[Majordisorder]

Got a call from somebody I built a garage for. Have done some other renovations for these people as well and they decided to see if I could help. Do you think it might be the pressure switch?

 

[BigWil]

Not a chance. lol

 

[KRB52]

Isn't there a label on it that says not to use near water? That switch needs serious therapy after it's melt down.

 

[nehog]

As in a problem using a pressure switch designed to be in a sheltered environment and not outdoors? Naw, no problem.

 

[Majordisorder]

There are alot of these well pits in this area. I replaced the pressure switch and the Franklin box and they were back in water. The owner was willing to take a chance that the submersible pump was ok and looks like it was, at least for now. It had been working trouble free since 1981 (Goulds) I was surprised it was so fried and the breaker didn't trip sooner. (20 amp Sq. D, #12 wire, 220 volt)

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I would check out the breaker If it's that old and didn't kick it might be stuck up inside.

 

[tshetter]

Just yesterday we woke up to no water. There was some debris or possibly an ant between the contacts on our pressure switch. With all the rain in the past few days an insect might have been searching for a dry spot at just the wrong place/time.

Replaced a few switches but never had one burn up anywhere near that bad. Yea, I would check the breaker and maybe replace it. Cheaper than replacing a fried well pump.

 

[nehog]

... never had one burn up anywhere near that bad. Yea, I would check the breaker and maybe replace it. ...

Breaker may be OK, the amount of heat to do that damage can be created with a few hundred watts of power. That's one of the fallacies of breakers: they will usually protect against a dead short but not protect against a problem that can cause a fire but is not an overload.

 

[MFolks]

These ants seem to hunt out and infest electrical and electronic items, and have developed a resistance to the fire ant toxin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant

 

[PugetDude]

Just wire-brush the contacts, it will be good as new.