Fresh Water Pump

tsawyer · Post by **tsawyer** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:48 pm

I flipped on my fresh water breaker the other day and it immediately tripped. The pump didn't kick on at all, just tripped the beaker.

So it seems that the Jabbsco Par Max 3 pump has got a problem. Well I had a brand new Par Max 4 sitting around and i put that in.

Now it powers up and stops normally. Every 10 seconds or so it kicks on for a second.

If I run the water it will kick on for a few seconds then trip the breaker.

I don't see any leaks and I never leave the pump on when I'm not using it, so I don't think this would have killed the old pump.

The Par Max 3 is a 40 psi pump and the Par Max 4 is 50 psi.

Is that too much for the system? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Tom.

todd brinkerhoff · Post by **todd brinkerhoff** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:56 pm

What's the new pump draw and breaker capacity? The pump might be too much for that breaker.

tsawyer · Post by **tsawyer** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 5:03 pm

I checked that. There should be breaker to spare as long as there isn't anything else on the circuit. I'm not aware of anything else on there.

I followed the wires from the pump back towards the panel but they end up in a tube with a bunch of wires. I didn't see anyobvious problems along the way.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:06 pm

The brealer could be weak from triping with the shorted pump . What amp is the breaker rated at ?

tsawyer · Post by **tsawyer** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:36 pm

The breaker is a 20 and the pump calls for a max of 12.

I'm working on finding another of these airpax breakers.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:57 pm

I agree with above. Also check your connections. Try moving the wire from that breaker to another breaker, perhaps a 15 amp if available but turn everything else on that circuit off. If the other breaker doesn't trip, you have your answer if it also trips, you need to dig further. Keep in mind that OEMs always run minimal size wires to thier loads. This causes issues over the years after equipment upgrades with higher loads; run into this all the time.

jefflaw35 · Post by **jefflaw35** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:10 pm

bad ground

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:33 pm

Big D wrote:I agree with above. Also check your connections. Try moving the wire from that breaker to another breaker, perhaps a 15 amp if available but turn everything else on that circuit off. If the other breaker doesn't trip, you have your answer if it also trips, you need to dig further. Keep in mind that OEMs always run minimal size wires to their loads. This causes issues over the years after equipment upgrades with higher loads; run into this all the time.

after you do what D suggested, I'd look at your wire over the years corrosion can kill the wires. Might be time to start replacing them .

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:41 am

jefflaw35 wrote:bad ground

+1

breaker, connection or ground

RWS

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:47 am

alexander38 wrote:
Big D wrote: Keep in mind that OEMs always run minimal size wires to their loads. This causes issues over the years after equipment upgrades with higher loads; run into this all the time.
after you do what D suggested, I'd look at your wire over the years corrosion can kill the wires. Might be time to start replacing them .

BEFORE replacing wire, check the connectors. OEMs often use cheap connectors that rust, connected to copper wire that is not tinned (90% of the time). So, the 1st thing to look at are the connectors ...

If the look bad, replace with the proper size Ancor crimp adhesive lined heat shrink connectors. Expensive = yes ... last forever = yes. Cut the old connectors off, skin back 1/4" of wire. If the copper is black, cut off 1/2" (if you have enough length) and try again. If its still black, clean it up by scraping off the black until you have shiny copper, then crimp on the Ancor connector and crimp with the proper size crimper and heat shrink the glue/tubing on the connector over everything. These will last!

Clean the terminals where they are connecting as well. These are often (usually) corroded as well.

Once you get started, ts hard to stop ... good winter job.

tsawyer · Post by **tsawyer** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:51 pm

To close this issue out, it was the pump. The new pump was too big and was causing issues. I replaced it with the same Parmax 3 I took out and all is in working order.

Thanks for the input.

Rich Schwochow · Post by **Rich Schwochow** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:53 pm

I too had my share of Jabsco pump problems. First of all, for any breaker trip problems check with an OHM meter the amount of amps a piece of equipment is using. Sometimes they draw more than they should due to many different factors. I read that you replaced the pump but I'm almost sure, and this was my problem also, that the pressure switch is to blame. The one thing good about Jabsco, is you can order from them direct if you have a business or company.

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