zannej
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I have a very strange setup that I will try to describe as best as I can as well as provide some pictures.
It starts with a belt driven 2-pulley wheel air compressor pump connected to metal pipe that converts to PVC. Part of the pipe goes into the ground and the other goes up and elbows over the top of the cistern's lid and down through the lid. It somehow forces water up the pipe and pours it down in to the cistern.
The electrical for the pump is routed through a D-box switch that is activated by a float on a vertical rod. When the float moves up, the rod is supposed to push the lever of the switch to open the circuit and turn the pump off. When it is low, it pulls the switch down, closing the circuit, and turning the pump on.
The original setup was mounted to a PVC pipe on top of the cistern's lid and someone had welded an extension on to the lever to make it reach the hole for the rod. They don't sell them with levers that long and my well repair guy doesn't weld. The only replacement available for the old switch (which burned out) had a much shorter lever and is surface mount (rather than pipe mount). So the repair guy caulked a block of wood to the top of the lid and screwed the switch down to it. Unfortunately, it was ever so slightly off of the correct angle for the rod to come up straight through the hole. I unscrewed the switch (with power to the shed off) and rotated it slightly to line it up better, but it seems the block might be slipping over time and will not move back. So the rod is out of alignment. This causes the rod to tip to the side instead of go straight up and down so it gets stuck and does not push the lever up to turn the pump off.
The other night I went out and the cistern was overflowing badly (I heard the pump running and knew it should not still be on). This system has been a problem for long before the switch was changed out. The rod needs to be greased with vaseline & the lever sometimes jammed.
I know I need to change the whole setup for the pressure tank, but that is for another day. Right now I want to figure out a better solution where I won't get a lever jamming.
I'm debating whether to try a cable float and try to figure out how to connect it to the pump (either a contactor or relay?) or a fancier system that uses sensors. Both would have to be attached to some sort of rod or pipe going down in to the cistern. This D-box switch thing just isn't working well. I believe the cable going to the pump is wither 8awg or 10awg because the thinner cables kept getting fried.
This is the pump (the motor has been changed out to one with identical specs but different color)
This is the old motor part showing it is 1HP, 12.2/6.0-6.1A, 115/208-230V (but the new motor has identical specs).
This is the pipe going to the top of the cistern from the pump
This is the old D-box switch
This is the style of the current switch (I don't have pics of it on the wooden block)
The last overflow the water almost came up to the wires of the pump (which I have raised up and wrapped with electrical tape and wire nuts, but soaking in water would be bad).
What sort of float / sensor system would you recommend getting? (I'd like something easy to set up)
If I go with a cable float, how would I connect it to the pump? I think relays don't pull enough amps/power.
I've seen floats that say they are good for up to 250 to 270v and 13A but only 1/2HP. And I still think I would need some sort of bridge/contactor but don't know quite how to set it up. I am open to product suggestions.
Someone on another forum said this one might work, but it only goes to 220V. I believe I would have to cut it's plug off and hardwire it via a junction box and then maybe re-use the plug to attach to the pump so the pump can plug directly in to it and I can set it to either drain or fill mode.
Editing to say I might just add a new 20amp gfci outlet to the shed (using wires that currently run to the switch) and keep the plug intact. Then I can find some sort of plug to attach to the pump's wires to plug it in to the orange box.
It starts with a belt driven 2-pulley wheel air compressor pump connected to metal pipe that converts to PVC. Part of the pipe goes into the ground and the other goes up and elbows over the top of the cistern's lid and down through the lid. It somehow forces water up the pipe and pours it down in to the cistern.
The electrical for the pump is routed through a D-box switch that is activated by a float on a vertical rod. When the float moves up, the rod is supposed to push the lever of the switch to open the circuit and turn the pump off. When it is low, it pulls the switch down, closing the circuit, and turning the pump on.
The original setup was mounted to a PVC pipe on top of the cistern's lid and someone had welded an extension on to the lever to make it reach the hole for the rod. They don't sell them with levers that long and my well repair guy doesn't weld. The only replacement available for the old switch (which burned out) had a much shorter lever and is surface mount (rather than pipe mount). So the repair guy caulked a block of wood to the top of the lid and screwed the switch down to it. Unfortunately, it was ever so slightly off of the correct angle for the rod to come up straight through the hole. I unscrewed the switch (with power to the shed off) and rotated it slightly to line it up better, but it seems the block might be slipping over time and will not move back. So the rod is out of alignment. This causes the rod to tip to the side instead of go straight up and down so it gets stuck and does not push the lever up to turn the pump off.
The other night I went out and the cistern was overflowing badly (I heard the pump running and knew it should not still be on). This system has been a problem for long before the switch was changed out. The rod needs to be greased with vaseline & the lever sometimes jammed.
I know I need to change the whole setup for the pressure tank, but that is for another day. Right now I want to figure out a better solution where I won't get a lever jamming.
I'm debating whether to try a cable float and try to figure out how to connect it to the pump (either a contactor or relay?) or a fancier system that uses sensors. Both would have to be attached to some sort of rod or pipe going down in to the cistern. This D-box switch thing just isn't working well. I believe the cable going to the pump is wither 8awg or 10awg because the thinner cables kept getting fried.
This is the pump (the motor has been changed out to one with identical specs but different color)
This is the old motor part showing it is 1HP, 12.2/6.0-6.1A, 115/208-230V (but the new motor has identical specs).
This is the pipe going to the top of the cistern from the pump
This is the old D-box switch
This is the style of the current switch (I don't have pics of it on the wooden block)
The last overflow the water almost came up to the wires of the pump (which I have raised up and wrapped with electrical tape and wire nuts, but soaking in water would be bad).
What sort of float / sensor system would you recommend getting? (I'd like something easy to set up)
If I go with a cable float, how would I connect it to the pump? I think relays don't pull enough amps/power.
I've seen floats that say they are good for up to 250 to 270v and 13A but only 1/2HP. And I still think I would need some sort of bridge/contactor but don't know quite how to set it up. I am open to product suggestions.
Someone on another forum said this one might work, but it only goes to 220V. I believe I would have to cut it's plug off and hardwire it via a junction box and then maybe re-use the plug to attach to the pump so the pump can plug directly in to it and I can set it to either drain or fill mode.
Editing to say I might just add a new 20amp gfci outlet to the shed (using wires that currently run to the switch) and keep the plug intact. Then I can find some sort of plug to attach to the pump's wires to plug it in to the orange box.