It does not run. But would of been fantastic if it did! Would of explained everything
Why does electric use increase in winter
- Thread starter Doc C
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It does not run. But would of been fantastic if it did! Would of explained everything
It's bizarre. I know you've thought of it, but there was a thread similar to yours and it turned out to be a leaky well pump foot valve, or something like that.
I will call them tomorrow and see if there is an app or something I can use. I doubt it. They are VERY far behind the times but I'll give it a shot. I talked to them about a year after we bought the house and they pretty much told me to get lost in a polite way and their meters are never the problem. They were going to charge me to check it if there was not a problem. Maybe I will get someone with better customer service skills.
When I replaced my main panel there service guy for the electric company hung out at my house for a few hours while I was working on the panel. He was waiting for service calls and kind of helping me out. When he reinstalled the meter he did some basic tests on it and said it was fine but I watched him do the tests and I don't really know how it would of told him anything.
I can hear my well pump from the house. It vibrates the pipes a small amount. Kind of nice because I can keep an eye on how often it runs. I can't hear my cistern pump though. And it was replaced last year could be a faulty pump that runs intermittently when it's not supposed to.
I am pretty sure it's something on the house side and not the meter being bad and I'm just missing it.
I almost think it's a lot of little things that are intermittent.
No. Solar is all but useless here. We can only see the sun for about 6 months a year and those 6 months we only get direct sun about half the day because of the trees
I did find one problem this morning. It seems my thermo cube that controls my heater in my pump house is not working correctly. The pump house should stay between 35 and 45 degrees and it was well over 80 degrees in it this morning.
When we tested for amp draw it didn't show up so it must be working some times and shutting the heater kff but this could account for 700-800 kwh if it's only working part time.
My pump house is small and insulated so the control on the heater is probably controlling it and the thermo cube is keeping power to it all the time.
When we tested for amp draw it didn't show up so it must be working some times and shutting the heater kff but this could account for 700-800 kwh if it's only working part time.
My pump house is small and insulated so the control on the heater is probably controlling it and the thermo cube is keeping power to it all the time.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Didn't know you had a heater in the pump house, or maybe I missed it. That could be a big kwh user, depending on things like how big & exposed & insulated or not the pump house is. And how much it's heating when it's not supposed to be.
After I found it I calculated it out and figured if it was running 24/7 at 1500 watts it would be over 1000kwh a month. I tested the heater and it is shutting off on its own but the thermo cube was supposed to keep it turning off at 45 degrees and not the 80 degrees or so the heater was turning off at. I estimate it's running half the time. I put in a new thermo cube and that should help. I spaced it earlier when I was through everything in the house that takes electric.
And it's a tiny pump house with good insulation.
Now I just need to find the rest of the stuff that's taking too much electric
You’re using double what you estimate. The number on your meter increases a certain amount per day(=2000/30) and you expect half that. Should be pretty easy to check it every hour to watch it climb steadily or all at once.
This is not something small like too many lights on. Your leak is huge. Shut off the water system breakers for 4 hours and I bet you’ll see that the meter slows down to the rate you expect. (=(1000/30)*(4/24))
If it’s not the water system breakers then try another circuit until you find your pirate.
This is not something small like too many lights on. Your leak is huge. Shut off the water system breakers for 4 hours and I bet you’ll see that the meter slows down to the rate you expect. (=(1000/30)*(4/24))
If it’s not the water system breakers then try another circuit until you find your pirate.
Interesting you bring up the well pumps. My pressure guage was slowly falling. And I mean slowly! Like 2 psi every 10 minutes or so. Only problem is I can't find a leak. I don't think that's the electric problem but the pump is running more then it should.
maple1
Minister of Fire
That's not quite what I'd call slow. Not fast but not slow. Not sure what your cut ins and outs are but that could be around 20 extra cycles per day? A contributor.
The submersible pump foot valve is a likely culprit as I think someone else mentioned.
Because of my setup even if I had no foot valve it would only bleed 20' or water back to the well. But also if it was the foot valve I would lose my prime.
It's 20' shallow well with a one way check valve just after the above ground well pump because of the way the cistern pump is in line. Without the check valve the cistern pump would cause the jet pump to spin backwards.
So when it's losing pressure it's actually losing pressure between the cistern pump and the house which has no foot valve in in that line.
I figure 2 psi every 10 minutes is 200 minutes for 20 psi. It would take a 20 psi swing to turn the pump on. So with zero water in the house being used the pump would come on about every 3 hours and 20 minutes. The cistern pump runs about 20 seconds when it comes on.
I don't know how to calculate the electricity usage of a 1/2 horsepower pump since I can't remember what brand it is. I am kit sure if it uses alot of power or not? I'm pretty sure it's a 110 volt pump though.
I do need to find the water leak for sure though but I don't think it's a huge power draw.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Check your algebra, Doc. 2psi/10min = 20psi/100min, assuming linear behavior. Double all your subsequent numbers.
What the heck! That's what I get for doing math before I get out of bed! Thanks
And math is my strong suit now you know why I type the way I do!
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You can use 746 watt/HP to estimate. The actual power use would be somewhat higher.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
The FLA of a single phase induction motor is actually close to 7 amps per hp (1600 watts), due to slip and efficiency. However, actual current draw is load dependent, and the load is varying. Furthermore, the pump is selected to never actually hit its full load capacity, so don’t assume your 1/2 hp motor is operating at 1/2 hp load.
So, roll all of that together, and it’d be tough to nail down it’s actual draw. Ironically, your 746 watt number might not be too far off (roughly half it’s FLA) at median pressure.
Best would be to note it’s draw around median PSI (50 psi on a 40-60 system), and use that number.
Personally I rely on a clamp-on amp meter but I thought 746 would give Doc something to start with.
I just went through replacing the sub. pump on our 500 ft. well so I'm well acquainted now with pump curves and efficiencies. I looked into going with a variable speed pump but decided against it. We did all the (hard) work ourselves and I did spend a fair amount of time sizing and spec'ing out the pump and motor based on actual needs rather than rules of thumb. We ended up going with a dual pressure system something like Doc's where low pressure sub. pump water feeds the ground source hp at about 20 PSI and a booster pump services everything else at about 80 PSI.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Out house is tall so to get a decent shower on the upper floor you need that kind of pressure.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Ours is a two story, showers on top floor.
They sure don't blast you but they do the job. Not as much goes down the drain either during those 20-30 minute sessions the kids seem to like.
They sure don't blast you but they do the job. Not as much goes down the drain either during those 20-30 minute sessions the kids seem to like.
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