Maybe my Google-Fu is weak but I’m only seeing ones for heat pumps and air conditioners. You think you could source a soft starter for me?
I think I found one, I’ll check reviews on it.
I’m starting to think this old well was for a jet pump system, it isn’t “capped” it does have the sump cover but it still has a pipe in there possibly with the old foot valve.
Took a look and it’s full to the brim. Must be from the rain?
Took a peek down the current well and the water level looks to be maybe 25 or 30 feet away.
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Well I just checked, the guy that was selling parts for and repairing power jack inverters (genetry solar) just suspended his operation, so may not be a good idea to buy them.
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Going forward with at least backing up the house.
Ordered a double throw 100 amp manual transfer switch made by Eaton, UL listed bla bla bla.
I’ll be pleasantly surprised if the 100 amp Service Disconnect fuse also feeds to the pumphouse sub panel.
Hard to trace back breakers without a floorplan or outlets to hook my tester into.
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If it is in code, the subpanel should feed off one of the breaker in the box, so plug a radio in and play it loud, then flip breakers until you don’t hear it.
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There’s no outlets to connect to for that
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The next easiest way is to short it to blow the breaker. otherwise you have to run to the shed or have another person to help.
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Cody, Sean,
It’s not fun, but I have had to do the “Blow the Breaker” trick, especially at work. There are many generations of wiring “remodelling improvements” there. The breaker finder test results can be confusing and indeterminate. Be sure to use a clamp-on ammeter with your test rig, and include a hefty fuse (or a trusted breaker), because I have found always hot circuits with no fuse, other than the main! 
Edit:
People keep mentioning code (as in National Electrical and Building codes, standards) I’m talking about stuff that was wired cheap and dirty when and where no inspector has ever looked, or quaint antique residue (very old). 
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It is a very good point, and even wires going into the same box, may not be the same circuit either. gotta double check everything. Whatever you do, make sure the electric current doesn’t short itself across your heart. Ie use one hand and make sure you aren’t grounded.
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From what I can tell we have redundant fuses that get incrementally bigger as it goes to the main panel. Like for instance the well pumphouse has a 20 amp 120v breaker for the whole pumphouse but it has its own individual fuses for the pump and it’s outlets to power a lightbulb during the winter.
The sub panel before that sub panel has a 60 amp yadda yadda until it goes to the 100 amp Service Disconnect.
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I guess useless if you don’t have an outlet but this is what we used when I was building/remodeling to locate unlabeled circuits. I think HF has a cheaper version.
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Yeah I have one of those, that’s how I’ve been tracing what I can.
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The pump is required to be on its own circuit. The 60a subpanel, may have been the main panel at one point since that is the ‘old, old’ standard size main panel and they moved the service line, but left the pumphouse on the old panel rather then run new wires to it from the new panel. Leaving the old 60a box in place, also means they could power the old circuits, while installing new ones. There should be a big breaker in the main box feeding that subpanel if it is a subpanel. There is a chance it isn’t and it is fed directly from mains.
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I have the inexpensive version from Harbor Freight, which works pretty well. It helps to get a screw in adapter for lamp sockets so you can trace lighting circuits that lack an outlet. You didn’t hear it from me 
, but you can use test clips for something like the well pump. Not for the faint of heart, or shakey of hand, since it can quickly descend to Sean’s short-and-blow-the-breaker method, and a vaporized test clip.
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Well it arrived, hopefully it will act as my magic totem to keep power outages away. I got a Westinghouse ecoGen10000, 10kw starting 7600 watt running inverter generator. Dad did not have a generator during the outage so I am selling the Predator 9000/7250 synchronous to him.
Since this Westinghouse is just going to be for powering the home I have unbonded the neutral. They make it super easy and even show you in the manual how to do so. I like when they actually SHOW you and tell you it’s required for house backup. Need to find Mom’s label-maker and note that it is now a Floating Neutral.
This unit is pretty neat, has some kind of rudimentary oil filter screen in the second oil fill hole, I don’t think the 420cc Honda clones are pressurized oil so maybe it just catches debris? It’s reusable and cleanable. I put the provided 10w30 oil for breaking it in. Ran it 2.5 hours unloaded yesterday.
Manual even has a proper oil weight chart. 5w30 Full Synthetic is approved for -20F to 120F. Could run the good Valvoline in it.
I’m waiting on my Eaton 100 amp double throw manual transfer switch to arrive, and my 50 amp plug and wire to also arrive. I confirmed the double throw switch has a common bus bar for Neutral so it was necessary to float the neutral in the Genny.
Edit: Added a label saying “FLOATING NEUTRAL”
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Hey Al you will get no grief off me that’s for sure i have many units over the years ( all LF ) and they are very robust , i have blown a few up as well but that’s down to living up in the hills it gets very damp and the dew gets onto the circuit board and pop goes the think , but if you spray the boards first with the proper stuff like a conformal coating , then they are bullet proof . few years ago i had a one on one with Jack himself , he helped me build a new board into a old inverter that was no longer in production and no spares around , i like there new stuff and for the price compared to the well known makes you buy will keep you smiling . .
Dave
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I never heard of conformal coatings before Dave. I had to look it up.
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Step 2 on some of my power backup.
I ordered(on credit from Affirm) a Renogy 2000 watt inverter that has a built-in automatic transfer switch and two Redodo 12v 100ah lifepo4 batteries to run in Parallel. My hope is I can run two of my fridges, I checked the max wattage that they claim and assuming it’s twice that I think the 2000 watt inverter will cover it. If it only covers one I’ll still consider it a win.
If they’d had that specific inverter I would have bought it as a 24v, I wish it was a 24v. I know a 2000 watt inverter with a 12v system is REALLY pushing it but I’m hoping having two 100ah batteries together will reduce stress on the cells and bring them back below a 1C draw. When the fridges are at temp and running they barely pull any watts and I don’t plan to run anything else on that inverter.
I was very close to buying two Victron Phoenix 12s since they’re Low Frequency and running each fridge individually on one battery each, and if the Renogy isn’t enough I may still do that and save the Renogy for a less stressful job or return it.
Idea is during the day during outages I’ll run the generator, and at night cut it off to save gasoline. The ATS built into the inverter will kick on and automatically go into battery mode and keep 2 out of my 3 reefers running. Mom’s big glass door fridge I’m writing off as not worth the effort because it cycles so often due to losing it’s cold so quickly. We can put all the perishables into the other Kenmore residential fridge and just use the glass door during the day for drink cooling. My hope is since the generator will have kept the fridges cold and the compressor will be pumped up, the inverter won’t immediately scream and die at a high load. I got a separate 20 amp lifepo4 charger that will tend to the batteries when the generator is on as well.
I only have a single 100 watt solar panel so it won’t do much good, also it’ll be too far inside the house to connect it to the battery bank and I want to have my wires as short as possible.
I’m not concerned about another hurricane but if this temperature trend continues for this winter I suspect there will be downed power lines from ice/icy roads. It rarely snows here but it does ice over quickly.
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My two 12v 100ah batteries arrived, realized I don’t have big enough wire to parallel these. I have some taken from the old Club Car but I don’t think they’re a big enough gauge. Was an old 36v Club Car DS.
I got a Li Time 20 amp charger for the batteries, so with the two put together it would take roughly 10 hours from dead to full charge. Not sure if I can leave this charger hooked up to float it. I don’t see anything in the instructions that say so. The idea for this setup is purely as a backup when the generator is shut off for the night so I’ll just make sure to disconnect the leads from the charger before going to bed and reconnecting in the morning.
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Renogy inverter arrived today, was dead on arrival in fact. Looks like it was used and I don’t remember buying a used condition one. Box had someone else’s address crossed out in sharpie. Getting my money back.
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