Monday, January 18, 2010

Can anyone tell me how to test and charge the capacitor in the control box for my submersible water pump?

I have a 220v, 3/4 hp submersible well i just installed a little while back. Also installed a control box of the right specifications for it. Both are used however. After the initial installation, I didnt have the pressure tank hooked up yet, so i just closed the main shut off valve and turned the power on to it for a couple seconds to see if it would come on. It did. So I shut it off until I got the pressure tank installed and everything hooked back up a couple weeks later. I then tried to turn it on and nothing happened. I put a voltmeter on the capacitor and it showed a reading, but that reading was less than the chart on the inside of the box stated that it required. I verified that I was getting power through the pressure switch and coming into the box. It actually read almost 260v instead of 220. I dont have a capacitor tester. Can someone please tell me how I can go about testing it and tell me how to charge it correctly before putting it back in the circuit? I'd appreciate itCan anyone tell me how to test and charge the capacitor in the control box for my submersible water pump?
The only way to properly test a capacitor is to have a meter that reads in micro farads.... but in a pinch you can use the ohm reading on your current meter and test the capacitor. The capacitor should have two fittings on the top, place one of the leads on each of the fittings. The reading on the meter should either go up or down. Remember which it does and then reverse the leads.... if the reading on the meter now does the opposite.... you most likely have a good capacitor. (Example Red lead on fitting A and black lead on fitting B the Ohm reading starts at 0 and begins going up .... now put the red lead on B and the black lead on A and the reading should start at a higher value and come down) If this does not happen you have a bad capacitor. If the cap is bad you will want to replace it with an identical type and size capacitor. If it has a metal case it is a run capacitor, if it has a fiber case it is a start capacitor, also the micro farad (uF) and the voltage should be the same or you may get some unexpected results. Good Luck Also, you do not have to recharge a capacitor... it will store the voltage it needs when you power it up..... Also be careful, these things store voltage.... take a screwdriver and short the fittings together before you try to test it!!!Can anyone tell me how to test and charge the capacitor in the control box for my submersible water pump?
Id be more concerned about a match of the control box to the pump than measuring a capacator. Those control panels for submerged pumps are made by the millions, for example, Franklin Electric in Indiana makes about a million a year.





If you have a used box, get rid of the old box when you install a new pump and put the exact box as specified for the submergable.





What you need is a voltage check across the center tap and the power side of the capacator when the circuit is in the start mode. That voltage is only on for about a 3 second period so it is very hard indeed to get a reading. Its that voltage and time setting as a combination that determine the proper starting of that pump. The time of course, is controlled by the electronic switch inside the circuit box. The combo of those two determines the starting of that pump before capacator is switched off and the pump then runs on reguar supplied 220V. All this is much to difficult to measure in an in home environment, its the task of a labarabory equipped to do so . So with that said. Install a new control box and and leave it at that.





On pump failures, it almost 100% due to two problems, on is that box and the electronic switch inside of it that makes and breaks the capacator leg of the power and the second, is the fact that Lightening strikes the pump piping or wiring.





In my area we have a lot of lightening strikes so around the permieter of the pump I have buried a copper ground wire at a radius of about 30 feet and 4 feet deep. This has stopped the problem of lightening strikes and the current pump in there is over 20 years old.
Sears sells a cheap multi meter that reads MFD look for one with a Uf scale. Again always have power off remove the wires connected to the capacitor short the two connections with a screwdriver then test.
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