[oley55]

without spending great sums of money I need something to help me monitor the operation of my home well pump. Specifically I just need to be able to see if/when the pump is running.

My well/pump is about 125' from the house and enclosed in a small pump house. I have had occasion when the pressure switch has failed and the pump ran for days and basically toasted the pump and melted all of the pvc pipe connections.

My thought was/is to tie into one leg of the 240V on the pump side of the pressure switch's contacts with some kind of a light (possibly a simple voltage tester). That way when I look out toward the pump house I could see the tester light and know when the pump is running, or rapidly kicking on and off.

Will drawing a little off on one leg cause problems for the pump motor? Is this whole idea ill advised?

 

[joed]

If you have a neutral present that will work.
If no neutral present then get a 240 volt light and tie into both hots.

 

[oley55]

low amp in-line fuse

I purchased a 120VAC LED panel indicator light and wonder if I should put some type of a very low AMP in-line fuse.

unable to find amperage info on the site, they are available in 24VDC or 120VAC.

Tried to paste a link to the indicator light, but the site keeps rejecting it saying I need to have at least one post before being able to post a link. You would think a reply to my first post would qualify. At any rate here is a typed link which will likely require pasting and adding www:

.ledandon.com/panel_mount_indics/LD-2837-1xx.htmlator

 

[oley55]

info on side of the light housing:
TAYEE
AD17-22 AC 110V
A007908

 

[rjniles]

info on side of the light housing:
TAYEE
AD17-22 AC 110V
A007908

You bought a 120 volt version and if the pump is 240 you need that voltage indicator.

My concern is that you bought a Chinese unit with out a UL listing.

 

[oley55]

all I need to know is when the pump is running. I plan to jump off one leg on the load side of the switch and the other to the neutral wire. when the switch closes I will get 110V off that one leg. still wondering if I should put a low amp in-line fuse in there. Just don't know how many amps this light uses. I had it wired into an outlet on my work bench all night and it failed to generate any noticeable heat.

 

[rjniles]

Do you have a neutral. It is rare if you have a 240 pump.
Apparently you don't care about the UL listing.

 

[oley55]

yes n no I guess. No I do not have four wires; red, black, white, and green. I have just black, white and bare copper/ground. The bare copper/ground serves as the neutral. And I presume the steel well casing serves as the ground.

Got to admit I have always been a bit confused over the whole neutral/ground thing since they both terminate in the same place in the breaker box.

At any rate, I went ahead and put a in-line 1A AGC glass fuse and it seems to be working fine on the workbench. If I need to bump up to 2A or higher it will be easy.

Also a bit confused over the UL thing. I thought UL was Underwriters Laboratories, who for a fee test and certify components meet their safety standards. Since I am not producing this for sale or production, why do I care about UL?

 

[mm11]

yes n no I guess. No I do not have four wires; red, black, white, and green. I have just black, white and bare copper/ground. The bare copper/ground serves as the neutral. And I presume the steel well casing serves as the ground.

Got to admit I have always been a bit confused over the whole neutral/ground thing since they both terminate in the same place in the breaker box.

At any rate, I went ahead and put a in-line 1A AGC glass fuse and it seems to be working fine on the workbench. If I need to bump up to 2A or higher it will be easy.

Also a bit confused over the UL thing. I thought UL was Underwriters Laboratories, who for a fee test and certify components meet their safety standards. Since I am not producing this for sale or production, why do I care about UL?

The bare wire is the equipment grounding conductor (ground). The motor is 240V, and needs no neutral.

UL is a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). There are others, but it's the best known. The listing from a NRTL shows that the product meets safety standards and is suitable for the application, and most of the time is tested to make sure it functions safely.

Who knows if that light will work, or burn up?

Think about all those 'hoverboards' that were catching fire. Made overseas and not listed...

 

[oley55]

Who knows if that light will work, or burn up?

Think about all those 'hoverboards' that were catching fire. Made overseas and not listed...

if a 1 AMP fuse allows that LED status light to catch fire and melt my doghouse sized pump house located 125+ feet from any other building or structure, I probably have some other much more serious issues to worry about.

And I'll bet those hoverboard fires are all related to crap batteries and chargers which did have have appropriate fused circuits. And they surely draw a whole lot more current than an LED status light.

Just saying............... apples n oranges.

 

[rjniles]

if a 1 AMP fuse allows that LED status light to catch fire and melt my doghouse sized pump house located 125+ feet from any other building or structure, I probably have some other much more serious issues to worry about.

And I'll bet those hoverboard fires are all related to crap batteries and chargers which did have have appropriate fused circuits. And they surely draw a whole lot more current than an LED status light.

Just saying............... apples n oranges.

Why did you bother to come here for advise? You seem to know it all😱

 

[oley55]

Why did you bother to come here for advise? You seem to know it all😱

Unreasonable expectations I guess. Something like: Been there, done that, but here are the potential problems.......! Or a, "Oh no, don't do that because............."

Or someone with an electronics background to recommend the appropriate fuse for an LED status light. Like perhaps 50mA or 100mA, rather than the 1A I've chosen.

I do not consider trying to mitigate the absence of the coveted UL symbol with appropriate/prudent circuit protection as being a know it all.

Regardless, I did appreciate your responses. Albeit, taken by me as a bit flippant, "Apparently you don't care about the UL listing."

 

[Bob Sanders]

If you don't have (legally) 120v then use a 240v light or a transformer down to what ever voltage you need to power your indicator light.

I would use a fuse 3 or 4 more amps than what is required to run your indicator circuit. Make sure the wiring gauge you use is legal for that fuse rating. You can look that up o the net.

 

[joed]

A transformer for that small load should not be very expensive.
Using the ground for neutral is wrong.

 

[dmxtothemax]

Since you only have 240v available,
Get another one of your led panel light,
Same as the other one,
Wire the two in series across the 240v,
Feed to the pump motor.

How are you going to see panel lights,
From over 100 feet away ?

Better of using an 240v outdoor spotlight.
You will see that at 100 feet.

 

[oley55]

Since you only have 240v available,
Get another one of your led panel light,
Same as the other one,
Wire the two in series across the 240v,
Feed to the pump motor.

How are you going to see panel lights,
From over 100 feet away ?

Better of using an 240v outdoor spotlight.
You will see that at 100 feet.

actually I bought two lights, blue n red, not being sure which would be more visible in day light. wired a single light doing the redneck 110 using the ground as a neutral. These lights are almost 9/16" so it is visible, but I do remain anxious over my bootlegged 110V.

I'll try rewiring them in series tomorrow. thanks.............

 

[Bob Sanders]

actually I bought two lights, blue n red, not being sure which would be more visible in day light. wired a single light doing the redneck 110 using the ground as a neutral. These lights are almost 9/16" so it is visible, but I do remain anxious over my bootlegged 110V.

I'll try rewiring them in series tomorrow. thanks.............

Is the electrical feed for the pump coming from your house?
You can always use a current switch. Mount your indicator in your house so you don't have to worry about not seeing it in the day. The current switch will sense when the pump is on and and activate your indicator.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Current-Sensor-Module-AC-Detection-Module-50A-Switch-Output-/351629415441?hash=item51debf1411:g:M2IAAOSw5dNWlze7