Google says sometimes 10+ amps is a common running amperage. But it also says 17 is considered high. Does anybody have experience with this that could share their knowledge with me?

by lighthousekeeper33

19 Comments

  1. kingofzdom

    Amps aren’t volts. Thats a perfectly normal number.

  2. MothmanIsALiar

    The pump should have a sticker on it from the manufacturer that tells you the specifications including amperage.

  3. wally4185

    Just had mine replaced yesterday & it was only pulling 8. Dunno where the line for “high” is, but i feel like that’s high. I’d start asking around for who has one of the machines to help you pull the pump if youre gonna DIY. In our case given the cold weather & the fact that the neighbor said the original owner told him it was 400′ deep (it was), we were perfectly fine with hiring someone

  4. bluecollarpaid

    Depending on pump size (standard for a house with nothing special) at 100’ should be right around a 1/2hp 240v. Amp draw should be 5 amps give or take 1-2. 17 is high from any “standard” well pump.

  5. zach120281

    17A at assumed 240V would be roughly a 3HP pump.

  6. Magnum676

    Any idea what size pump you have. I’m guessing it’s a three-quarter horse power or a one horsepower. If it is 220 V on start up it will pull more than running amps. Each leg running amps should be 10 to 13 It will pull more than that for a short period of time. If it is 110 V on startup, it will pull more. And running amps will be higher as well. I’m not sure where you are but normally in New York we run submersible pumps 220 V

  7. MajorWarthog6371

    I don’t see but a single 40 amp breaker? Is the pump 120v?

  8. Aggressive-Baker6179

    Look on the bottom of control box lid

  9. Numerous-Low4258

    If it has capacitors they might be bad

  10. dxdt_sinx

    Whats the fuse or breaker rated to? 

  11. Ptrick21186

    17A seems a bit high. Are you having a problem that is causing you to check Amp draw though? Or just checking out of curiosity? Only reason I ask is because like you’ve stated you don’t know the FLA of the motor. A well pump is a pain in the ass to pull and expensive for professionals to do. At 100ft I wouldn’t be surprised if a company charges you $1000 just to bring the truck out to pull it. I’d hate for you to spend that kind of money just to find out that “Oh look. Thats the correct amp draw for this particular motor”.

    Now if you’re tripping the breaker or getting low flow or something like that then at that amperage I’d say its worth it to pull it. But at that point you might as well just put a new one in then.

  12. ParticularText

    I believe you need to separate the legs to get an accurate reading

  13. LukeSkyWRx

    Look at the motor plate.

    For a 240V motor and some head pressure that’s not unreasonable.

    For a 120V motor that is pretty dang high and I would be concerned.

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