What's going on with this well pump wiring?

[pvfjr]

So the story goes like this...

We've had this house for less than two years, and there were some "creative" solutions put in use by the previous owner. We have a dedicated pump house that is also useful for a lot of storage--it's nice for keeping a lot of **** out of the shop. It's probably 8'X20'.

The previous owner ran a 50' extension cord from the shop, with a welcome mat over the asphalt walkway, then probably 30' of the cord is buried with 4-6" river rock. This brings 110V into the pump house, and allowed him to plug in a fluorescent light. It's not legit, but I've just been using flashlights anyway. Unfortunately, in order to close on the house, the PO had to install a UV water treatment. The installers just hooked it up to his buried extension cord.

Anyway, last week the well went out; it turned out to just be the drop pipe had rusted away. I pulled the pump out and got that all fixed up (replaced rotted out galvanized with sch 120 PVC). Being in there working around this mess has just made it bother me more.

Now the way I figure it, there's already 220V run to the pump house in a legitimate way to run the pump, so why not just start there? So I get to looking things over, and one thing doesn't make sense to me. There seem to be TWO underground lines popping up in the pumphouse here, and I don't know why. There may be decades of retrofitting going on here.

So, in the pics, you'll see a big, flat, gray cable coming up out of the slab. That goes to an old gray fuse box, where I discovered that they actually ran a 3-conductor cable and just clipped the neutral wire (score, I can get 110V out of here ). From the fuse box, the output goes to the pressure switch, then to the pump controller. The thing I don't get, is why is there a metal romex line coming out of the slab and going into the pump controller?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Open the pump controller and take some pics.

 

[ard]

And that passed either your inspection or the inspection you paid for when you bought the place?!?

Agree more pics. Any other pumps in the system? No holding tank or jet pump?

 

[Norcal]

What size is the UF cable to that fusible switch? It appears to to be 3 conductor & may be 10 AWG, it will say __/3 W/ground on the jacket. What does the data plate say on the pump controller. The information will tell what can be done, and if 120 volts is available & if it can be done in a code compliant manner, BTW 110, & 220 are foreign voltages, long obsolete in the USA.

 

[Falcon67]

Loks like 120v feed UF cable, looks just like the run thars abandoned under the back yard.

 

[pvfjr]

Open the pump controller and take some pics.

I actually decided to look inside there right after I posted. It turns out, the metal romex going into the ground is wired in parallel with the pressure switch output that comes into the controller.

So basically, someone tapped into the pressure switch output and ran it into the ground.

Now the breaker box in the house has some old labeling for a "chlorinator". I think the breaker has been repurposed for something else at this point. There's what looks like a low amperage 220V outlet in our pantry where the pipes come out of the wall. The PO did mention that there used to be a tank there, but some plumber told them they didn't need it, so they installed a two stage filter setup instead.

There isn't any other abandoned wiring at the outlet, just the 220V outlet. I'm wondering now whether it turns itself on and off when the pump cycles. But then, what would the breaker in the box be for?

 

[pvfjr]

What size is the UF cable to that fusible switch? It appears to to be 3 conductor & may be 10 AWG, it will say __/3 W/ground on the jacket. What does the data plate say on the pump controller. The information will tell what can be done, and if 120 volts is available & if it can be done in a code compliant manner, BTW 110, & 220 are foreign voltages, long obsolete in the USA.

I'll check on the gauge. So is there a historical significance to the 110V vs 120V thing? My service comes in at 114V, so I figured it was all semantics.

I'm not super worried about code; obviously that went out the window decades ago. I'll know the limitations of the 120V circuit that I put out here, and may even install the lowest amperage breaker I can get in a separate box. If all I want to do is power a couple LED bulbs and a UV bulb (which I may eliminate), it should work fine. It should be a lot better than that buried extension cord, or the people who use a ground wire in place of a neutral because "grounds and neutrals all go to the same place."

 

[pvfjr]

And that passed either your inspection or the inspection you paid for when you bought the place?!?

Agree more pics. Any other pumps in the system? No holding tank or jet pump?

Yeah, it passed inspection. I guess the biggest issue he should have had was that the boxes aren't mounted. Also, the pump controller is missing its screw, so anyone can bump it and knock the pump out of commission.

There is a holding tank, right near the pressure switch and all this plumbing. There is only one pump, the submersible that's 54 feet down.

Edit: Actually, you can see the tank in the pics. He wrapped it up in that flannel blanket.

 

[walrus]

Yeah, it passed inspection. I guess the biggest issue he should have had was that the boxes aren't mounted. .

That flex shouldn't be going into the concrete

 

[oldironfarmer]

If you are going to hook into the 240v feed, install two breakers and split your 120v loads between both 240v legs. Any load on the second breaker cuts the flow through the neutral.

 

[pvfjr]

That flex shouldn't be going into the concrete

Very true. I suppose if I determine it's unnecessary, I can just get rid of it. It should have been noted in the report, however.