Helping a neighbor with her pond fountain. It’s a 220v pump (oasi) pretty much a well pump…that is hooked up to a fountain for a large pond. There is a main panel with a normal 30 a breaker. From there a wire runs underground about 100 feet to a sub panel close to pond. the sub panel was original to original oasi pump. The panel has circuits for lighting and timer which is no longer in use or hooked up. so basically if you were to follow the power it goes into panel to a 30a gfci breaker then to the motor control box and out to pump fountain. the only other thing hooked up to the circuit is a lightning arrest or. Which ties into the two hots before breaker and the neutral bar.
so recently pump started tripping breaker. I systematically elimintated all draws off breaker to troubleshoot. Finally removed everything and breaker was still tripping. So basically removed 2 hots coming out of breaker and still would not reset. Tried a new gfci breaker thinking bad breaker and still tripping. So had electrician come and he determined the underground wire Between panel and sub panel was bad. So I dug a trench and electrician came and ran a new wire. When I was able to get back to try it out (wasn’t there when electrician came to do work) all he did was hook up the wire from main panel to the 30 a gfci. I hooked everything back up it was still tripping? When I looked at the wiring he had used UF wire (I think #10) with 3 wires black white and ground. He hooked up the black and white to hots on breaker but the ground he hooked up to the ground lug on the motor, starter box. Nothing,going to the neutral bar. Except the curly wire from the gfci. Is that right? It raised a few questions if he did it right. Then i wonder3d if the wire he used was wrong. Should it have been 10-3 with a ground wire as well as the 2 hots and a neutral? I dug trench about 18“ and told homeowner to make sure he used conduit. But he told her this was correct? But i thought the only way is to code is if it’s 20a or under and gfci protected and also only 110v at that depth. Otherwise,it,would have to be 24” deep, right? If one were to start from scratch from the main panel, just curious how this would be done correctly and to code, as well as safely. Did this electrician do it correctly? I’m not looking to prove anyone wrong. Just want it to be safe as it’s in a pond and worried about it being properly grounded. Thanks.
so recently pump started tripping breaker. I systematically elimintated all draws off breaker to troubleshoot. Finally removed everything and breaker was still tripping. So basically removed 2 hots coming out of breaker and still would not reset. Tried a new gfci breaker thinking bad breaker and still tripping. So had electrician come and he determined the underground wire Between panel and sub panel was bad. So I dug a trench and electrician came and ran a new wire. When I was able to get back to try it out (wasn’t there when electrician came to do work) all he did was hook up the wire from main panel to the 30 a gfci. I hooked everything back up it was still tripping? When I looked at the wiring he had used UF wire (I think #10) with 3 wires black white and ground. He hooked up the black and white to hots on breaker but the ground he hooked up to the ground lug on the motor, starter box. Nothing,going to the neutral bar. Except the curly wire from the gfci. Is that right? It raised a few questions if he did it right. Then i wonder3d if the wire he used was wrong. Should it have been 10-3 with a ground wire as well as the 2 hots and a neutral? I dug trench about 18“ and told homeowner to make sure he used conduit. But he told her this was correct? But i thought the only way is to code is if it’s 20a or under and gfci protected and also only 110v at that depth. Otherwise,it,would have to be 24” deep, right? If one were to start from scratch from the main panel, just curious how this would be done correctly and to code, as well as safely. Did this electrician do it correctly? I’m not looking to prove anyone wrong. Just want it to be safe as it’s in a pond and worried about it being properly grounded. Thanks.
