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elcb and borehole pump

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Hello

I have a problem with a newly installed domestic borehole pump. This is to replace the original pump which after 20 years has given up the ghost.

The pump appears to operate satisfactorily except that it trips the consumer unit elcb on starting and only on starting. Resetting the elcb allows the pump to run normally. The time taken to push the elcb switch back up is presumably sufficient for some transient effect to end.


The house wiring is exactly the same as for the original pump, which ran satisfactorily for 20 years.


The installer has carried out all the tests normally conducted on the pump and pump cable (continuity, insulation, running current, etc.) and claims that the pump is not faulty. Yet it trips the elcb on startup.


I will welcome any suggestions for a solution. The installer is a one man firm and is reluctant (to say the least) to change the pump.


Mike Lee
Parents
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hello everyone

    Thank you very much for your reponses, which have been very helpful, not least in stimulating my own thinking. I'm pretty confident about the integrity of the house wiring and it seems that everything is pointing to the RCD as the problem. Whilst I tried the pump on two separate RCDs they are both of the same type, the same manufacturer and the same age of more than 20 years. I've emailed the manufacturer asking if their more modern versions are likely to cope better with, for example, the soft start electronics mentioned by Nathaniel.

    If they don't respond or give a negative answer I will probably resort to hard wiring the pump as suggested by Andy Jewsbury. Fortunately the pump connection is only a couple of metres from the consumer unit and the wiring is in surface mounted plastic trunking.

    In response to Andy B's concerns about the wiring to the RCD, it is top fed.

    Thanks yet again for all your responses.


    Mike Lee
Reply
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hello everyone

    Thank you very much for your reponses, which have been very helpful, not least in stimulating my own thinking. I'm pretty confident about the integrity of the house wiring and it seems that everything is pointing to the RCD as the problem. Whilst I tried the pump on two separate RCDs they are both of the same type, the same manufacturer and the same age of more than 20 years. I've emailed the manufacturer asking if their more modern versions are likely to cope better with, for example, the soft start electronics mentioned by Nathaniel.

    If they don't respond or give a negative answer I will probably resort to hard wiring the pump as suggested by Andy Jewsbury. Fortunately the pump connection is only a couple of metres from the consumer unit and the wiring is in surface mounted plastic trunking.

    In response to Andy B's concerns about the wiring to the RCD, it is top fed.

    Thanks yet again for all your responses.


    Mike Lee
Children
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