My electric bill was still crazy this month, and I’ve been burning the whole time! Any ideas?

[jdemaris]

Wish I had National Grid as an option. Those are 1990's prices for some of us. Deregulation and all that, ya know....

Chris

I have National Grid - formerly Niagara Mohawk and presently owned by a company in Spain. Since they became National Grid they have been awful and service has taken a big nose-dive.
Twenty miles from me, people have NYSEG which is now owned by a British company.

Currenty, their rate is 18 cents per KWH when all fees and delivery charges are factored in - here in central New York in Otsego County and also in the southern Adirondacks in Hamilton County.

I'm on solar-electric, so the rates are not a real big deal except for their old electric poles that are unmaintained and fallling apart running all over my properties. They've got two highline right-of-ways running through my land and even over my house and barns (4800 volts). During the last power outage I had one of their line "planners" up here. He looked at some of the old lines and poles and just shook his head. He told me that this new company finds it cheaper to "fix when finally broken" rather then spend big dollars on preventative maintenance.

 

[drizler]

Here is another reason for that bigass electric bill. How about your well pump if you have one. If something jams the foot valve or it goes south for some reason the pump can run more or less continuously. I had that happen once myself. About the only thing you will notice is that the water pressure is "funny" but its not all that pronounced really. If your pressure doesn't kick off and stay there and the pressure doesn't build as rapidly as it should or bobs around that could be your problem. It's quiet and subtle until you get your next electric bill.......................................... A leak in the line or running outside faucet can have much the same effect too. A good sign of that is a lot of condensation on the expansion tank showing it has been running a lot.

 

[jdemaris]

Here is another reason for that bigass electric bill. How about your well pump if you have one. If something jams the foot valve or it goes south for some reason the pump can run more or less continuously. I had that happen once myself. About the only thing you will notice is that the water pressure

I can't figure how that's going to happen. Foot valve or check- valve is there to prevent drainback, that's all. I've had to repair or replace many a foot valve or check valve. Unitized submerisble pumps have it built into them. When it goes bad, the entire run of pipe drains empty, so every time the pump turns on, it has to re-fill the pipe before sending water to the house. Yes, that can waste some electricity, but it does not make the pump run continuously.

Only situations I've ever seen that can make the pump run continously is - pump runs dry or line breaks, the pressure-switch contacts get stuck closed, or the water-line freezes between the pump and switch so the switch does not get the proper pressure-signal.

 

[KarlP]

Unitized submerisble pumps have it built into them. When it goes bad, the entire run of pipe drains empty, so every time the pump turns on, it has to re-fill the pipe before sending water to the house. Yes, that can waste some electricity, but it does not make the pump run continuously.

I think he's talking about an above ground pump where the check valve is on the suction side, not the pressure side.

 

[jdemaris]

I think he's talking about an above ground pump where the check valve is on the suction side, not the pressure side.

Doesn't really make a difference. Most all the pumps use some sort of foot valve, check valve, etc. on the suction side. Submersible pumps have it built in at the bottom. Jet and piston pumps use one in the line somewhere, and if it's at the bottom of the line in the well or spring the check-valve is called a foot-valve. With any of them, if the valve stops working - i.e. leaks, gets stuck open, etc. the system will still pump water and shut-off - but it will spend more time doing it at first start. A submerisble pump, if it sits 200 feet down, will have 200 feet of pipe to fill will water every time it starts. If a deep-well jet, same problem. If a shallow jet pump or piston pump in the house, it can lose it's prime and have to prime itself at every start up. If it can't prime itself, you're not going to get water and you're going to notice. I susect since it's in the house, you're going to hear it also.

So, I still don't get it. How does a leaking foot-valve result in water working OK, but pump running all the time? I can't come up with any situation where that can happen.