Secrets Inside Your Well Pump. How Does A Deep Well Pump Work? FarmCraft101 

The knowledge and work it took to invent and produce these mechanical gadgets amaze me.

It's probably a triac. When power is applied the bi-metallic strip is in contact so the triac energizes the start winding. As the motor spins up it generates heat which in turn causes the strip to bend and opens the switch. This bypasses the start winding and the motor continues to run on the main winding alone.

I run a well pump farm. We usually get them in as Aquarium or more often fountain pumps and then feed them until they are self priming and are ready to move to the deep well pump pool. Most often we'll sell them off at around 120 volts, but some we let go up to 240. Your pump appears to have suffered from pulmonary embolism, which is brought on by filling your pool several times in a row, or throwing a washing machine party. I suggest only feeding your new pump clean watts and avoid any future water parties or late night bucket filling adventures. Pumps work best between 6am and after sunset right before dusk unless you can sneak up on them during noon when they are napping. The part you were inquiring about is a simple proximity sensor. It's looking for other pumps in the general area. Most people think of the well pump as a solitary creature, but they have been known to pair up.

Nice to see the curiosity, tried to show the kid but really no interest in just learning how things work. To me that is the most fun also. Being on city water we can only experience the deep well pump teardown from guys like you that take the time to film. Thank you sincerely. Lawson di Ransom Canyon

My dad had a similar attitude to yours. Well, so far as finding parts and materials to save. Although he was a city boy, he was the first generation city hoy. My granddad grew up in the country and probably still had the understanding broken things weren’t junk, especially living in the country in the early 1900’s. But my dad wasn’t as interested in how things worked. That’s me...also with the salvage gene.

We've got very corrosive salty water on our farm, and we've had to change out a few of those submersible pumps over the years. The pump side was still perfectly fine, its mostly plastic impeller parts, we've learned to just buy a replacement motor and couple it to the existing pump ellement.

You did a good job with your video - it got to the facts without being boring.

Wow. I am so glad I found this. Building a new house and first time I've ever had a well. My curiosity has been through the roof and thanks to you I can sleep without wondering: "how does that skinny pump work down there?" Cheers!

Knowledge is Power. You should do a Saturday morning TV show. I'd watch it for sure!

Very well done and instructive video! I just change my old (220 Volts-3 phase and 3.5hp) deep well pump by a new one in Argentina. The old one it lasts about 10 years of use for the irrigation. I think its burned because some high voltage peak. Thanks to your video, I learned what's inside and how it works. Thanks!

Wow, that was great. Loved the mystery ejecting sequence. Everything I take apart, ever since I was 10 years old taught me to expect something under tension to come flying out. It was satisfying to see that rule still holds and I'm well over 60. Anyway, I'll be paying someone to pull my submersible, though I do damn well want to do it myself. "Damn well" ... ha ha get it?

3:50 That's a Thermal Overload switch. It cuts power to the motor if the Temperature gets to high preventing damage to the motor. Overheating in well pumps is usually caused by either a bad bearing (starting to seize up) or debris jamming the pump impeller.

I love that your first reaktion when a thing shoot out of the motor, was to look into where it just shot a thing out from :D

great video ! I always wondered what was inside one of these. I've gone through 4 pumps in 30 years living in the Sierra foothills. Enjoy

They tell you "Never mix electricity and water" as a kid, then you find out they've been stealing all the fun for themselves the whole time.

Oh dear. Mine has also been in since about 1972 on the old property i have. So i guess i can’t repair myself. Thank you. Saved me from wasting time.

Very interesting and I must say you have a special attitude of which I wish I had. Thanks for the show.

The rubber and plastic seals cause most of the failures with the pumps. Sand in the bottom of the well can scour the impeller rendering it useless. Even with the long-term wear issues we replaced windmills with submersibles and have not looked back. The maintenance on the submersible electric is nothing like the replacing of leathers and the annual maintenance on older windmills. Plus, the old Aeromotor windmills were worth a good deal of money, people wanted them for their aesthetics which offset the cost of the new elelctric pumps.

I’ve had stuff like this I’ve fixed but still didn’t use them again. Depending on the difficulty of getting to the part new just makes more sense. I took a pump apart that was drawing to much current and it was just a bearing. The problem is even if I fix it the o-rings would need to be replaced exactly or they would leak. The down times not worth the savings. It can be used somewhere less critical than my water supply. I do what you did, scavenge parts. Lots of stainless nuts and bolts and tid bits for future projects.

At least you look on the bright side,its ain't much but least you got something from it.Also it was informative and interesting so thats good

Thanks for the video.. I faced problem in my submersible pump.(1hp) I checked resistance in motor found ok. Further checked found pump electric panel card fault. So replaced the card now works fine..

I would love to see a side-by-side tear-down of a new pump vs that old pump!

I hope my well will give me 43 years of service. Great video

Nice, I’ve been wondering how one of these works and seeing the insides is a plus!!

A mans favorite line, I can use it for something! LOL

Thank you for taking both the cost hit of the new submersible pump + the time to disassemble and explain the components of a submersible pump. This has value for many families. Well done.

About the temeperature thing... I think it's a Bi-Metal switch, connected to the Triac (Triacs are used to switch AC Power, MOSFET's can only switch DC). But i don't know why there are 3 Connection-Pins. Eventually this connections are Live, Neutral and the switched one, who is connectet to the Motor.

oh cool bro thanks for this video!!! i got 2 well pumps from the scrap yard for cheap and i wanted to take one apart to see whats inside. found your video and saved me all the work!!!

my pumps been down in the hole for 40 years so I know the clocks ticking thanks for the tear down looks like an easy fix unless I change to surface top pump

That switch is the mechanism that disconnects the start winding and energizes the running windings. The motor is supposed is filled with clean water with a bit of non hazardous anti-freeze so they don't freeze and burst open in a warehouse or building somewhere. The top "rubber part" is not a main seal and can be gone and still function. It is called a sand slinger. Helps to keep sand away from the top bearing. The swelling inside causing the rotor to be locked and not turn is most likely due to a power surge and swelled the windings. Seen it many times. I was hollering at the video saying the liquid end screws on. The liquid end was probably OK, though very few installers any more will just replace the motor only like we used to do 30 years ago. The liquid end will usually pump in excess of 100#'s in order to push water up the well and still create cut off pressure on the switch above ground. It takes 1500 degrees to turn the epoxy to sand and free the copper. Cost more to get a furnace to that temp than what it is worth unless you have a huge amount of motors.

Nice! I've always wondered how they worked, I'm dreading the when the time comes to replace mine.

The hose clamps are there to connect the pump assembly to a plastic hose. The hose also carries the weight of the pump and is subject to its starting torque. Many submersible pumps are hung on 1" galvanized pipe. If your pump has been in there for forty years, hanging on plastic pipe I would worry about the plastic. Ask the people who put you new pump in.

It is fun and educational open up a fail pump. Thank you!

that thing popping out of it made my day. probably the contact cant handle the current draw of the motor so the mosfat is used to turn the motor on and off with the signal of the contact switch

the pump could be seeing 100+ psi depending on the depth of your well system. that's why this design is required. the pressure required to push water that high is way more than a single impeller pump can provide. i just had another one fail today. we can't seem to get more than a few years out of these pumps for some reason.

my wild guess on the FET thing that popped out is that it's not temperature, but a motor start. Once the motor is up to speed, it'll disengage the start winding.

thank you, much better info than pump diagrams from the pump suppliers and makers.

Wow, yours lasted a long time! Great video, now I know what to expect when mine fails.

awesome, thanks for taking the time and showing the steps the pump is taking to get water where I needed it!!!!!

Interesting. Used to have troubles with one of these pumps. After just 7 months of use it was causing the terminal switch from my house to cut the power (don't know the correct terminology in English). Everytime it was plugged, instantly power was cut off. An electrician installed it without the terminal protection, directly to my house service connection and worked. Had to buy a new one, never knew why it did that

The motor is made by Franklin electric, your pump looks like a Goulds or Grundfos. That pump looks like its 10-15 years old, definitely not from the 70s lol

When was this pump design invented? Amazing technology! Great lesson, thank you.

Simply stated, a centrifugal pump works by throwing water against the sides of the space the impellor is in, and the only place for it to go is out the top. That space is usually called a bowl, and on some of them, it is bowl shaped. The motor and hence the impellor is spinning very fast, so it is being thrown very hard.

is it just me or does no part of that reflect 70's tech. not sure a mosfet would have been utilized in that era pump as well as the multi stage abs impeller pump. i've been wrong before but something just doesn't add up here.

Man, I thought I repurposed stuff...you are awesome!

Knowledge always has value. Be it good, bad, or indifferent. Its use will become apparent.

I just did an identical set up. Our system is 3phsse 415v motor. I have to replace the impeller pump end (not the motor) every 12 months as it gets clogged with muddy silt from our old borehole and the flow to our storage tank dwindles. I also cut one open but could not quite grasp the magic of how the plastic discs worked!

The pump having an integrated check valve, does there need to be another check valve at the expansion tank?

Thank you for the explanation...

Interesting autopsy!!! Thanks.

I just learn something new from ur disassembly

The temperature sensor with the mosfet; Not sure, but I think the temperature sensor switches off the mosfet. The motor windings are connected to the mosfet, so when the mosfet is turned off the motor is turned off to prevent it from burning the windings. I think this becouse you just have two wires to connect the pump as you explane. So there must be done something inside the pump with the temperature/mosfet sensor and the motor windings.

Thanks for the video...I just replaced my well pump in my 450 foot deep well. 15 psi for every 33 feet of well depth makes my pump output pressure about 200 PSI

The plug w/3 wires is for the start and run compasitor. U have a 2 wire pump. A3 wire pump has start and run located above ground. (I prefer this type, easy to service.

thanks for the video. I was wondering why the motor was so heavy.

Cool video... But I install well pump for a living and that pump isn't from 1970's. 1990's at best.

Interesting video, Ive always wondered about the inner workings of a pump like that.

I had a Deep well Put in in the late '90s and made the mistake of going cheap on the pump with a 'rebuilt' one @ 1/2 Price of New (rebuilt was $400). Total cost of the well was $1400. After SIX Months I started getting an Inline Filter i put in clogged with what looked like small particles of MUD and sent filter to the Locally owned company to examine. They said SILT that would eventually clear.. so I went with replacing the filters every Other DAY. Finally after over Two WEEKS and my Plumbing starting to clog too... I took another clogged filter to another drilling Company to inspect. They (Two Man Company) told me it was PLASTIC (ABS?) . That the Impeller was breaking down. They came out.. replaced the pump (@ $800) with a Stainless Steel Impeller and NEVER had a problem since . BOTH Companies were in business over FORTY Years but the First I used was Two 20-something BROTHERS.. (They took over from aging Grandfather... always arguing..very Unprofessional and NEVER Returned calls when I was asking for assistance. The second was The owner and his hired help ..very Professional and knowledgeable. Saving Money NOW... MAY cost you MORE Later. I got what I paid for with the first!

Nice Homart fan under the workbench!

I believe the temp switch uses a mosfet as a switch. Use very small signal to control a larger voltage.

The white thing is probably the motors "internal thermal protection" (built in overlaod protection) it will open if the motor draws too much current.

One of the biggest issues with failed submersible pumps is the installation of a piece of crap like the one you disassembled. The motor is a Franklin Electric product ( no issue with their motors ). The wet end however ( pump ) is a dumpster. Proper sizing and overall system design greatly improves longevity of the pump and motor. Power quality, frequency of starts, motor cooling, motor controls and water quality all factor into the performance and reliability of any system. As soon as I saw the composite discharge adapter I had my doubts. Hopefully a professional grade replacement was installed in its place.

The switch contacts would be normally closed when the motor is stopped. When the pressure switch at the tank closes, current flows through the small contacts to energize the start winding in the stator assembly. As the motor accelerates the small contacts open and remain so untill the motor decellerates to a stop. The start winding is what provides the initial torque in the proper direction.Without it the motor would just growl and cook its stator winding, or posibly even begin rotateing in the wrong direction. The video doesn't clearly show the wireing path from the watertight connector plug to the stator switch, but I am sure you do not have a mosfet transistor there. The simple and rugged AC motor would have no need for such. It is definately part of the power circuit, but my guess would be a fuse unit.

Many thanks for this video,super! Good music at the end !Regards,Ben.

mine went out in May, 165 ft down it lasted 15 years. Got a 1hp replacement and that thing cost me $850 for just the pump and $300 to pull the well and put the new one back down.

That switch you were holding that popped out the inside looks like a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) they area high current/voltage switch. possibly hooked up to a temp switch and would turn off the motor if overheat.

ours lasted from 1992 to 2018 it was a good one replaced it not long ago and yes they do cost about 400 took 3 people to do the job of pulling it all out

Excelente conocimiento, pensé en que la repararías, pero no me voy con mal sabor de boca, tengo algo mas en mi cabeza gracias men

What was the part number on the TO-220 mosfet looking thing? Could have just been a BT### series triac from the way it is wired. The bimetallic strip heats up, disconnects, and that disconnect only happens at a few miliamps, leaving the heavy duty beefy switching to the silicon. That way your heat sensor contacts will not wear out ever. Edit: I was almost right, it was only for the start winding.

The thing you took out is not a temperature sensor if you put a pump you must put a thermic protector that cuts off the power if the pump is getting more amps than it should and it heats up

Very important video dear

Any chance you remember the rpm on that pump? Those backwards curved impellers require very high rpm to move their intended liquid or vapour.

those motors are designed to pull water into them from the bottom to help with cooling- the windings are in resin so the water will not cause a short- if the holes at the bottom of the motor become plugged pressure will build up inside, causing the ejection of the parts- the motor died from bad bearings-

Hello there folks. Anyone know how we can find our well which is hidden under ice and snow at our new home in the North of Sweden? The pump has died and we know roughly where the well is, tried an iron rod to probe the snow to try and hear/feel a change but this area has so many rock that we keep on digging only to find a huge rock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hello .. can l put the pump motor above the well depth 50 meters to drow water?

Thank you for sharing

What year was on the label ? It seems newer than 1972.

They make motor replacements , I've never seen the stack of impellers go bad unless it sucked up a ton of sand .. the more impellers you have, the more head feet you get.. the deeper the well the more head feet that are needed to meet your gallons per minute requirements . I've replaced hundreds of them..

The sensor in there looks lie ka hall effect sensor, it probably senses the rotation of the motor/pump and cuts power if the motor doesn't spin up, and may or may not also incorporate a temperature sensor.

OMG, 1972? Incredible! Look like from 2000's

Has been in the well from 1972, so 46 years. Yeah... In general you might be able to fix it, but how long it will last?

I am not a centrifugal pump guru by no means. But all the pumps I have ever worked on always turned with the vanes pulling fluid into the center of the pump, not pushing it out. To me, you explained the pump backwards..... I will do some research on this just to satisfy my curious mind.

I was think thermal overload protection to prevent the motor burning up. Simar to those on most electric motors

The pressure tank is the key to-pump motor longevity. Also look for a pump end with a brass or stainless discharge. Plastic ones usually crack after a few years of service

had one of those at the farm i worked at, 85 feet down, pulled it to change the pump cause the check valve failed. put in the new pump and added a check valve to the old one. two years later swapped out the newer pump cause the motor burned out.

Being an AC induction motor that TO220 package you believe to be a MOSFET could be a triac instead. A triac is a type of transistor, but for AC instead of DC.

Great video / disection. Thanks

Thanks for the tutorial!!! I do have a question,if the pump is incased in a stainless steel cover,why is it rusted?

Amazing video ❤️❤️❤️❤️

How much was the replacement with labor...did u have to replace the pipe? Thanks!

That is late 80 to early 90 pump I used to put them in so even twenty years is great. I'm surprised they warranty a twenty year old pump never heard of that. An besides the well has a lot of iron in it you see that red on side of pump that's iron in well stainless doesn't rust that's from well.

I might have silly sense of humor but that shooting pimple made me in tears. I'm a serious grown man btw.

Nice video good explanation.

Cool ,never seen any one open that kink of motor before!

Would it be possible to generate electricity simply by flipping the deep well pump upside down

Only $400.00? You got a good deal!

If that thing was from 1972 ... holy hell, it lasted quite a while for something that is pretty much maintenance free. (Deep down a well hole lol)

Looks like a P channel FET cuts power to windings when thermocouple makes contact between source and gate.

I believe that switch is a thermal overload designed to shut off the motor when it overheats

Great video. This comment (question) might seem silly, but I have been wondering---- if I have a submersible pump 50 ft from my house and 110 feet deep, is it possible to plumb a hand pump (valved off of course) into my main water line in my house for use if electricity is off. After your interesting tear down of a submersible pump do you feel it is possible to hand pump water up through the submersible pump, or is there something in the pump that would prevent this?