One of our jobs this week was from a customer in Noranda whose tripping centrifugal pump motor needed repair.
We sent Dave our specialist bore electrician who tested the single phase Lowara pump motor. It tested OK.
Noranda Lowara centrifugal pump motor
On further investtigation he found the 50mF capacitor was faulty so replaced it with a new 45mF capacitor. He replaced the 9V battery for new in the controller.
Why is it important to replace the 9V battery in the reticulation controller?
Retic controllers have batteries to preserve the memory that has been programmed in the event of a mains power fail.
The battery is normally only 9 volts and does not have the power to operate solenoid valves or pump start relays. Solenoid valves and most other irrigation devices operate on 24 volts. Most retic controllers are 240 volt mains powered with a transformer that steps down to 24 volt to operate the individual irrigation devices. It may seem like a minor inconvenience if you have a flat 9 volt battery in your controller as at first glance one would think it is not a big issue if you lose mains power and the controller has to be reprogrammed.
BUT it can have nasty consequences if the controller operates a bore.
If mains power is lost to quite a few brands of reticulation controllers and there is no back up battery then when mains power is restored the controller resets all programming to factory default which is often 10 minutes per station per day. This may then turn the bore on to stations that don’t exist and the pump runs with nowhere for the water to go. This can damage the pump or pipe work of the bore.
Old Style Well in Noranda is repaired
Dave reprogrammed the controller for the customer for their watering days of Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The Noranda customer’s old style well is repaired and they have water.
If you live in Noranda or the surrounding areas of Morley or Dianella and your old bore needs repair call us on 9246 0111 or learn more here
One of our recent bore repair jobs was a centrifugal pump motor tripping the circuit breaker in the backyard of this property in Yangebup. You can see the rusted and partially collapsed tin lid of the bore well in this picture.
Dave, our specialist bore and pump electrician attended the job and found there was a 3 liner well with bore pump located on wooden boards 2 liners down.
3 liner bore well Yangebup
Pump failed mechanically
The 3 phase pump and motor had failed mechanically and was just humming. The pump had not fused and was fine electrically but need replacement.
We returned and supplied and installed a 2.2 kW 3 phase centrifugal pump and fittings.
Our customer now has bore water again.
Mobile bore repairs
If you are in Yangebup or the surrounding areas of South Lake, Bibra Lake or Spearwood and your old bore well needs repair call us on 9246 0111 or book your repairs here
Patrick from Armadale rang us on 9246 0111 when his submersible pump motor was not working.
We sent our specialist bore electrician, Dave.
Bore control in roof space
The Franklin Electric 1.5 kW single phase bore pump start box was in the roof space with 24 volt relay behind meter box panel. This is a very unusual place to find the bore controls as the start box contains the capacitor and overload circuits. Also unorthodox place to position the 24 volt relay that accepts the start signal from the retic controller.
Pump running but no water
The pump motor was running but only drawing 7.7amps which is more consistent with a 1.1kW not a 1.5kW submersible pump motor.
Top of submersible bore under lawn
Dave exposed the bore head which was located in the front lawn. The top of the bore was just under the lawn with the typical green lid. There was no barrel union (threaded coupling) so he drilled a small hole in the top of the PVC pipe connected to the retic system and found there was no water in it as would be normal. This could signify a check valve failed in the pump or a blown poly line that brings the bore water to the surface.
Return to pull out submersible pump
Our next step will be to winch up the pump motor to investigate further and then repair this Armadale water bore. Our submersible pump winch team is booked to return.
If you are in the Armadale area or any Perth suburb and your water bore needs repair call us on 9246 0111 or book your bore repair here
Often we get called to bore pump problems where customers have been told by someone, even by electricians, that the problem “must be the pump” and it needs replacing.
There can be a vast number of reasons why your water bore is not working. If you call on 9246 0111 we will talk you through the problem over the phone. We will then send the correct person to diagnose/fix your water bore.
If we think it is an electrical problem we will send one of our specialist bore electricians.
Our specialist electrician fixing water bore
It can be hard for the inexperienced to diagnose bore pump faults particularly with submersible pumps. Often though we find on closer examination it is a control equipment or wiring issue. Our specialist bore electrician tracks down faults and repairs bores, retic and pumps on a daily basis. We have the correct diagnostic equipment and years of experience so we will save you time and money.
Our drilling team had a win recently we would love to tell you about.
They drilled a successful 32 metre modern submersible water bore through limestone and sand in the outer Perth suburb of Baldivis.
Drilling rig onsite Baldivis
We wanted to thank the customer April for posting this comment on the Virgin Bores Facebook page (Virgin Bores and Reticulation)
“Great mob of blokes…Thanks so much we were impressed from the get go phone call and drilling mob. You should be proud of your team. Will highly recommend”
If you live in the Baldivis area or the surrounding suburbs of Waikiki, Warnbro or Rockingham and have been thinking about a water bore call the team at Virgin Bores on 9246 0111 or learn more HERE
We also have nearly 20 years experience in repairing water bores and reticulation in the Baldivis area and surrounds ( more information HERE ) or call on 9246 0111
The Virgin Bores water bore teams are up for a challenge with many years of experience drilling water bores in Perth.
Sometimes when a front garden is walled in there are very limited places to drill a bore. Legendary work by George and the team on this Marangaroo job.
The small green lid of the bore box will be completely hidden when the paving is put back. Nice clean up George! Especially after drilling 51 metres deep in such challenging circumstances.
We have also repaired many water bores in the Marangaroo area and the surrounding suburbs of Madeley, Kingsley and Darch.
If you have been thinking about saving money with a water bore in Marangaroo call us on 9246 0111 or go to our website HERE
It was really special to work on this 120 year old well in South Fremantle. The client told us the age and said he was told it was originally hand dug through limestone to 60 feet.
The bottom the well is waist deep in water. The next step is we will lower a duly shrouded submersible pump and flexible poly pipe in to the water filled cavity at bottom. A stainless draw wire secured at the surface will then be used if it is ever need to be pulled up for servicing.
We did not go down the well and with the new submersible pump down the well it won’t be necessary for anyone to go down it in the future. That ladder can enjoy its retirement.
We have been repairing old wells (not normally this old) and water bores in Perth for nearly 20 years so our experience will mean we can fix your well or bore. Book a bore repair online HERE or give us a call on 9246 0111.
A resident of South Perth was concerned as their reticulation was not working and they contacted us on 9246 0111.
They reported that they could hear the typical “çlunk” sound as the contactor engaged when they started the bore pump from their retic controller.
Our electrician found that the one horsepower Sumoto submersible motor was not fused. The motor windings appeared to be intact but there was a complete dead short to earth.
His recommendation was that we replace the submersible motor, wet-end and electrical cable down the bore hole for new. He disabled and taped up motor tails in the borehead junction box and all the other electrics tested OK.
See the bore start box to the left of the retic controller
So another member of the team returned and replaced the .75KW submersible motor, 15 metres of electrical and stainless and barrell union. All tested OK and another South Perth water bore was back up and running for the hot summer months ahead.
When there is a problem with a water bore it takes experience and skill to diagnose the problem and repair efficiently, quickly and economically for the Perth householder.
We have been repairing Perth water bores for 20 years and have been faced with most problems when repairing a water bore, Call us on 9246 0111 or book a bore service here
Our mobile service teams do prompt repairs to ALL TYPES of Water Bores & Reticulation Sprinkler Systems Perth metro-wide. Free phone advice. Our experience saves you time and money. Bore repair HOTLINE 1300 734 300 North of River: Troy 0408454130 South of River: Brett 0411511611
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