Posted on 05/01/2021 6:36:52 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Nice! Hog panels?
There you have hit on the key. It is a good idea to find a brand and stick to it in order to manage battery consumption
I have several tools from the ego line but they don’t have a small stand alone cultivator
For me, not having to screw with two cycle gasoline engines is an immeasurable plus
Thought I’d throw this out there as we have quite a few rural folk on here who would be on well water, and quite a few “handy” types too.
So... I’m out of state last night, driving home to beat severe weather expected; wifey calls and says (shallow) well pump is dead. I try to diagnose remotely (wifey has some capacity to help if directed carefully, is familiar with the pressure switch, etc.) Long story short is that it does NOT appear the problem is the pressure switch contacts.
I arrive home ~ 1-1/2 hours later: pump is very warm & making slight “humming” type sound. Then as I am feeling the other side to see how hot it is, the pump makes a faint click and goes quiet. No smoke, burning smell, etc. The entire pump housing is hot but not skin damage in a second hot. I unplug it, thinking “starter capacitor”, and “the thermal overload cutout may have saved the motor”, leaving the pump disconnected overnight, as sometimes capacitors can “heal” temporarily. This mid-morning I open the bathtub “cold water” valve and plug the pump back in: The pressure switch clicks on, the pump hesitates a second (?), making that slight hum again, and then comes fully on and begins pumping just great. I fill the bathtub and every container in sight with very slightly brownish water. (Typical color after heavy rains, which we got.) I did not hear any mechanical issue such as a jammed impeller breaking free, tho’ I suppose I can’t rule out some sort of excess friction causing the motor to start weakly. However, such frictional issues are usually greater when a motor mechanism is cold.)
I’ve been inside a submersible sump pump but never inside a shallow well pump. Research online indicates such well pumps may have both a start cap and a run cap. I’m thinking access may be a little easier with a shallow well pump, since the whole thing doesn’t have to be sealed for submersion.
Note that this is a two pipe design & info. I found seems (iffy) to indicate this pump may have a little more lift height capacity than pumps designed for wells under 25’ deep. (I think this well may be right at 25 ft. deep.)
Am I on the right track, here, and has anyone on FR ever repaired a problem like this? I do know start capacitors are a VERY common cause of (often disastrous!!) sump pump failures. (I know all too well!) (Pun not intended!!)
P.S. I’m not finding much info. on “Water Ace” pumps online — it looks like it may be a discontinued brand of a company named “Pentair”.
I can’t help you as we are on city water system
That’s ok - I figure not 1 in 100 FReepers is gonna know a lot about well pump repairs. Thought I’d give it a shot.
Maybe someone knows of a good website or source of info., or even “kinda general info.” on well pumps. Maybe some sort of forum dedicated to small farms would be a place to look / ask? (We have a garden and some chickens, but this is not a farm. Just nicely — most of the time — rural.)
Lowes apparently sold tons of these “Water Ace” pumps, but all the info. seems to have disappeared into the void...
Thanks anyway!
Apple Blossom Time!
A stand of May Apples. Deer and cows use this trail through the woods. So do I. Watch your step!
This is the interesting bloom of the Hickory Tree. We found one in the woods being choked out by some scrap trees, so we cut those down to free it. We should have Hickory Nuts in about 50 years. *SNORT*
tubebender — Thanks for the links. They did lead me to the (quite thorough) installation manual. A repair manual may simply not exist.
All — I plowed on in anyway: Removing a cover on the compartment on the top of the pump revealed the start capacitor and a 115 / 230 volt switch. I was able to steal two capacitors from another project to get the right capacitance value and a slightly higher voltage rating. That starts and runs the pump. However, the old capacitor does so too: I’m guessing it “healed” well enough for light, temporary use. It shows no outward sign of damage — no leakage, bulges, etc., and the capacitance value is only about 5% low. Internal resistance is low too. If this is a capacitor problem, it is one that only shows up at high voltages and under duress — temperature sensitive, perhaps.
Of note is that since the pump has a 230 volt (AC) operation option, the original capacitor is rated at a healthy 350v AC. That should be quite the overkill on 115 volts AC, making for, I would have hoped, a quite long lived capacitor, for an electrolytic cap. (Maybe it has been - somewhere I was reading that to obtain a low failure rate of start capacitors, they should be swapped out every 3 years? Golly! Maybe that’s with typical Chinese production?)
The substitute cap pair won’t fit in the compartment that held the original cap. At present, I guess I’ll “rig” a little better mount and see if the pump works correctly for a few days. If it does, I’ll assume the old cap really does have a problem, and make up something more permanent.* If it goes out again, then the old cap is not the problem.
*I’ll also probably add an on hand 30 amp 480 volt mercury switch for the high current switching, triggered by the existing pressure switch. Plus I’ll add arc suppression to the pressure switch if any sparking remains. Can you say “overkill”? That should make the pump motor power switching last longer than I do! And the next owner of this place too.
Beautiful clear skies but very windy here on the shore of Humboldt Bay. We could use a inch or two of rain so I will have to water my Garlic & Shallots one more time...
Million Dollar Cookie Pie
ING 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar large egg 1 1/4 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp ea salt b/soda
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips Pastry for a single-crust pie 3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread 3/4 cup Dulce de Leche
COOKIE DOUGH LAYER elec/mixer/paddle/cream butter and sugars on med 2 min. Add egg and vanilla; mix a min.
Add whisked/combined flour, salt, b/soda; mix/combine. Stir in choc/chips; set aside.
ASSEMBLY line pie plate w/ pastry. Trim and flute edges. Scoop the hazelnut spread into center and spread out evenly;
spread Dulce de Leche over the top. Add the cookie dough and gently press in about halfway up (make cookies w/ extra dough).
Bake 350 deg 20-30 min (top is golden; center almost set. Remove to counter; sprinkle w/ sea salt flakes.
Cool about 30 minutes and then slice.
SERVE with scoop of ice cream and chocolate and caramel toppings.
You’re killing me, LOL! We’ve gone Low-Carb so I’ll have to save this one for a few months in as a ‘reward’ for Good Behavior.
OK, maybe a WEEK in for good behavior! ;)
I figured it was just a “nourishing snack” after a day of planting and weeding (/s).
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