Extending life of well pump relay...??

[sno]

It seems to me that the real problem is your inability to bury the line
leading from the pressure tank to your house deep enough to prevent it
from freezing.

I'm wondering if you might be able to run that water line through a
larger black plastic pipe through which you feed just enough warm air to
prevent the water in the inner pipe from freezing...

If that's possible, then you not only solve the frozen pipe problem, but
you also solve the problem with the relay and you probably extend the
life of the pump at the same time...

Hmmmmm....interesting thought...could blow the hot air off a lite bulb
with a computer fan from the pump house, if snubber doesn't works then
maybe can rig something up like that..should have the components for
snubber next week...got my fingers crossed, as that is the least
expensive/easiest to do..not worried about pump as has lasted well over
10 yrs., will see...thanks for the thought.....have fun.....sno

 

[sno]

Another option is "inside the pipe heat tape". If it freezes up, turn on
the heat, when it thaws enough for water to flow, turn off the heat
until it freezes again. Probably use a lot less power than running the
pump all the time, too. If you have a septic system, also much better
for that than running water all winter. Works better if you insulate the
waterline.

Of course, if you insulate the waterline with sheet polystyrene (XPS,
waterproof, ground contact, usually pink, blue or green rather than
white) far enough sideways, it's just as effective as burying the pipe
deeper, and uses no power. A pipe with a 4 foot wide sheet of insulation
centered over it (right on top of the pipe) that is then buried 1 foot
deep is effectively the same as burying the pipe 3 feet deep.

Another great thought....!! Is great having a bunch of geniuses working
on a problem <grin>...thanks again everyone....sno

 

[Bruce in alaska]

I'm wondering if you might be able to run that water line through a
larger black plastic pipe through which you feed just enough warm air to
prevent the water in the inner pipe from freezing...

What we use up here in the Frozen North of Alaska is similar to this
Morris... We have our Galv or Copper waterpipe with a wrap of HeatTape,
then wrap that whole deal with Pipe Insulation. then we put that inside
a 2" PVC Pipe that was split in half and we use Stainless Hose Clamps
to hold the PVC around the system and bury it about 4 feet down. When
the Temps go below 0F, with no snow cover, or -20F with snow cover, you
just turn on the Heat Tape, that is usually about 1.5 Watts/Ft, whenever
the Genset is running. Works good, clear down to -75F...

 

[sno]

As others have mentioned, the relays used (I ASSuming you are talking about
the "start" relay) usually last a LONG time as they only operate and release
ONCE per start cycle.

What can greatly reduce the life is "false starting" by which I mean that
the pump starts, the relay opens but there isn't quite enough torque
available to bring the pump up to full speed. It slows down and the
"starting circuit" is once again activated.

You can check this simply by watching the relay when it starts.

It could well be there is "something" wrong with the capacitor.

The 'next time' you might get an entirely new 'control' box and ensure that
all accessible connections are tight.

It doesn't look like is chattering....I think we finally decided it was
running water all winter long to keep pipes from freezing....thank you
for your thoughts...

have fun.....sno


--
Correct Scientific Terminology:
Hypothesis - a guess as to why or how something occurs
Theory - a hypothesis that has been checked by enough experiments
to be generally assumed to be true.
Law - a hypothesis that has been checked by enough experiments
in enough different ways that it is assumed to be truer then a theory.
Note: nothing is proven in science, things are assumed to be true.

 

[David Lesher]

Finally, someone who is thinking of fixes that are 21st Century
Technology... I mean really, all this 20th Century Technology is fine,
but antiquated... A good SSR, with 120, or 240 Vac Control isn't all
that hard to come by... ANY good electrical supply House will have them
Off the Shelf... I mean Really... who uses contactors these days....

There were a dozen types at the hamfest I went to today. $3-$20, depending
on size.