Supply Well Pumps Grounding
Supply Well Pumps Grounding
(OP)
What do you suggest to design for grounding of Supply Well Pumps that are located outside of current safety fence of a station?
1) Use Isolated Transformer?
2) Design a ground math (Seems to take care of potential rise for the small area around the supply Well Pumps)
3) Extend the available ground grid math to cover the Supply Well Pumps area? (Needs more study)
What are other options and what do you think of the above options?
1) Use Isolated Transformer?
2) Design a ground math (Seems to take care of potential rise for the small area around the supply Well Pumps)
3) Extend the available ground grid math to cover the Supply Well Pumps area? (Needs more study)
What are other options and what do you think of the above options?






RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
I would think , in addition to the equipment grounding conductor run with the supply conductors, a ground ring (bare copper conductor buried 24 inches below grade) around the base of the pump(s) and connected to two or more ground rods should suffice.
Ground mat may be considered if the terrain is rocky..
I do not understand how a isolation transformer helps grounding.
What is and how far is the existing ground mat you mentioned? That seems to be a good choice.
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
You will not really be able to isolate the well casings and pumps from the substation mat using plastic pipe and an isolation transformer. There are recorded instances of electricity flowing through the inside of drian pipes that have mostly air inside.
As jghrist suggested, run a ground mat or ring around each well to reduce step potential.
Mike Cole, mc5w@earthlink.net
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
A drought can also be a very bad time period for lightning damage from clear weather lightning. During the summer of 1987 an Akron, Ohio area roofing supply dealer sent out one of their conveyor trucks to a house in Hartville, Ohio to put roofing supplies up on the roof. The truck operators parked the truck a somewhat safe distance from an Ohio Edison 40Y69 KV transmission line and put the conveyor of the truck up on the roof. While they were sending supplies up the conveyor clear weather lightning jumped off of the 69 KV line, went down the mast for the conveyor, and incinerated all 4 rear tires. Nobody was hurt but the burning tires made for a very bad mess.
How you get clear weather lightning is that if the winds at 2 adjacent altitudes are moving in 2 different directions you get a horizontal Van de Graff generator.
Mike Cole, mc5w@earthlink.net
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
RE: Supply Well Pumps Grounding
I one time had to barehand 24 volts AC in rain while troubleshooting some commercial air conditioners. Barehanding 24 volts in the rain has a bit of a sting to it.