I know some of you (Jerry) have wells and I'm trying to get an education and some insight with the problems I have with the well and generator I have up at Kennedy Meadows, CA. I have a 5th wheel there and a Kubota generator along with a huge water storage tank and the well. Here's the summary of what I'm got going on and my question about what to do next. The generator was installed in October of 1992. I'm not sure about the well pump.


(1) 4-14-2023. The well head water pump won't turn on.

(2) 5-21-2023. Philip Berry, well guy, came up and got the well pump working on his generator. All he did was replace a fuse. It wasn't a new fuse since he didn't have one. He texted me a video of it pumping water. ($500)

(3) 6-29-2023. I went up and turned the generator on and then the well head pump and started filling the big water storage tank. I walked back down to the trailer with it all working.

(4) 6-29-2023. I walked back from the 5th wheel to the generator to turn off the well head pump and the generator, but nothing was on. I kept trying to start the generator and it did start but shut off within 7 seconds.

(5) 8-26-2023. I met Jim John's at the generator and he worked on it, changing the oil, filters and petcock. ($350) He couldn't get it to stay running. He suspects the voltage regulator is bad. He has offered to get a new one to put it.

(6) 9-19-2023. I could go for the new voltage regulator but now am wondering if it will just get blown/fried. If there's a problem with the well head pump that should be handled first.






^8-24-2023. Generator shed and water storage tank.



^4-14-2023. Kubota diesel generator.




^4-14-2023. Well head.


^5-21-2023.




^8-26-2023.



Handprints of my kids' and their friends' in the generator shed slab.

 

Is the generator turning off too? How deep is the well? What kind of pump is on it? what size is the casing? Is there a sandpoint? I see you have a cistern. Does the water table vary where you are? With that pad you probably need to talk to a local well company. They can spot the problem quickly. A local well company can tell what the problem is more accurately and he may have access to all the county records on the permit. Something is causing the pump to turn off and it looks like you have power.

 

The generator turning off IS the problem. I can't get it to stay on so I don't know if the well head pump works now or not.

I don't know how deep the well is. It was in place when we bought the property in 1992. I guess I'll have to call my ex and see what he remembers.

Casing? No clue.

I had the local well guy out. He was the one who got the well pump running in May. All he did is change a fuse. He's the one who took the photo of the water running out.

I sent the well man an email asking him what he thinks.

 

Patty you need to find someone who is going to diagnose why the fuse blew. There is always a cause just replacing generally doesn’t work in the long term.

 

That's what I'm thinking. Even if the guy put in a bad used fuse, that shouldn't have messed with the generator once it was running and the well pump was running. Right?

 

Does the 30+ year old generator run when the pump is turned off (disconnected)?
How many amps does the well pump pull? Have enough draws in the camper to simulate this (run all the ACs, water heater, microwave, and maybe a space heater.
Will the generator run with ONLY the pump on line?
If it generator runs in the absence of the pump the problem in in the pump -- how many amps is it pulling.
If not the problem is in the old generator. Good fuel? Oil changed? All filters clean? Air cleaner not blocked.

I would expect all the above was done but don't know.

If the "fuse" was too small it could easily blow. Spare fuse recommended.

-- Chuck

 

I would want the pump motor megged out to see if the windings are failing. I would also check the amp draw on the pump compared to the nameplate info. With a fuse failing it sounds to me that the pump is dying and may need to be replaced or rebuilt. Hopefully your pump man put the correct fuse back in. I would not be concerned with it being an old fuse as much as it being the correct (amps, time delay or not) fuse.

If the pump shorted out it may have taken the generator voltage regulator with it. It definitely sounds as if the pump started the problems.

 

there are two three reasons for the fuse to blow. Fuses will blow when the current (amperage) flowing through them exceeds the rating.
1.) there is a short (intermittent) in the motor. if the motor stops on the short, it will pop the fuse. if this is the case, repair or replace the motor.
3.) The motor bearings could also be binding which is increasing the load and causing the fuse to blow, but same solution.
2.) the voltage to the motor dropped. The motor still wants to do the same work Work = V*I so if V gets smaller, I gets bigger. pop goes the fuse.
It sounds like you already addressed the voltage regulator.

I might start with country records on the well. it might have depth and other useful info.
Other wishful thinking fixes. ( with the system off) Check the connections for oxidation. after 30 years in, you could have some gnarly-ness which is increasing the voltage drop.
Does the cistern have automatic shut-offs to prevent overfilling?

There is also the problem of having the 'well guy' or the 'pump guy' or the 'generator guy' looking at things is they have blinders on and aren't looking at solving your problem just working on the issue in front of them.

with all of that said, I might be suspicious of the generator.
it is a diesel. I don't know how hard the works i.e. load vs max rating, there is a thing called wet stacking. https://www.wpowerproducts.com/blog/...-wet-stacking/
but I suspect you would have noticed a black sooty discharge. How did the generator guy test the generator? what did he use for a load?

 

Any luck Patty?

 

Rob, I had to put this on the back burner. My life is consumed with ElliptiGO riding for this month's Team Challenge. I'm not normally competitive but... I did get a reply from the well guy after I sent him the same six statements...


"I do not believe that it is the well pump it sounds like you have a serious problem with your generator in my opinion I can come up with my generator and try it again If you want to ease your mind of the well."

"I think that the that in April when you tried to run the well it was probably still frozen which in turn blow the fuse that I changed I will be up I. Kennedy meadows at some point this coming weekend or the next one"

I keep wondering about my (3) statement:
(3) 6-29-2023. I went up and turned the generator on and then the well head pump and started filling the big water storage tank. I walked back down to the trailer with it all working.

I'm focused on ^this. It was all working. Normally, I leave the generator and the well pump running for an hour, and when I walk back to the generator shed from the trailer, the water storage tank is full and I turn the pump off and the generator off.

Why would the voltage regulator suddenly go haywire after the generator had been running fine? That doesn't seem likely to me.

More likely to me is that the well pump has some problem that then caused the voltage regulator to go bad. That's why I can't get the generator to run now.

If I did have the generator guy come up and run the well head pump with his own generator, would that prove anything? It would prove that the well head pump works on HIS generator. If the well head pump has a quick intermittent short or amperage spike, would his generator notice it?

I watched a youtube about that showed how to test the amps on the well pump to prove it has a problem. I think that would be helpful.


This is what got me thinking that. It's at about 1:45 in when he tests the amps.