[RE-wrenches] Retrofit variable speed drive to old well pump?

[Shasta Daiku]

Some two-wire pumps have integral start capacitors and others, Franklin and Gould comes to mind, do not. I’d be looking at start up current duration. If by chance the pump motor is without a capacitor and the current remains high for more than a second or two, it’s most likely structural as Allan has suggested. Unfortunately this thing will probable need pulling.
Michael

> On Dec 10, 2016, at 3:55 PM, Dan Fink <danbob88 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Allan - my understanding is that with a 2-wire pump, the start capacitor is integrated into the pump housing, underwater. I've never dealt with a 2-wire pump either....my experience has been with start capacitors in 3-wire pumps being located conveniently above ground in the pump control enclosure.
> 
> Dan Fink
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> 
> On Sat, Dec 10, 2016 at 3:02 PM, Allan Sindelar <allan at sindelarsolar.com <mailto:allan at sindelarsolar.com>> wrote:
> Dan,
> I have never had to work with a two-wire pump, so I'm on shaky ground here, but I refer back to what I learned years ago from Windy. The third wire in a three-wire pump carries the starting surge from the capacitor. A two-wire pump lacks this, and thus gets its entire surge-under-load from the AC source. This will be intrinsically difficult for an inverter, as compared to grid. So Shasta's surge question below is relevant. I'd determine both instantaneous surge and voltage drop; it may be that the combination - of battery voltage leading to reduced AC from the Magnum, voltage drop on the wires, and simply using the Magnum - will keep it always problematic. 
> 
> Years ago, when Dankoff Solar Products was in its prime as a distributor, Phil U did a load capacity test on various inverters of the time, including the Magnum MS4024. It had remarkably strong surge capacity, but did this by allowing a much greater voltage drop - down to around 80 VAC, if I recall, on a 120 VAC inverter. 
> 
> You may be dealing with a structural issue, for which upgrading the pump may be the best solution. 
> Allan
> 
> Allan Sindelar
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