Three houses, one well pump....

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ultramegabob

ultramegabob

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Indiana
I just got back from a service call where three houses are sharing a well, anyone else ever ran across a situation like that? the way it is set up, the controlls to turn well are in house "A", the well is on the propery of house "B". "B" and "C" both have 240v 20amp circuits to pressure tanks in their basements which go to house "A" where everything is tied to the switchleg to the well witha normally open and normally closed contactor that feeds to another contactor that is fed from house "A" (I believe this is a way to select who is supplying power when there is demand for water at each house) anytime there is a problem with the system, home owner "A" needs to be available to let them in to work on the system, they are wanting me to move the controlls outside so everyone can access it if they are not home..... has anyone else seen a set up like this, is there any legal way of setting this up? I suggested drilling two more wells and seperating everything, but I dont think they want to go that route:rolleyes:
 
the well should be on its own meter with a single pressure tank in a well house.If house B timed it just right when house A was using water house B could piggy back and get his free.
 
I don't think 225 comes into play. It seems that these three circuits are branch circuits, and that no feeders are involved.

However, I think 210.25 prohibits this installation, and putting the controls outside would not resolve this violation.
 
I think you can make it work, with the contactors outside, going with 225.30(C) or something, "such as control of outside lighting from different locations.

My biggest worry would be to bond or not to bond. Do it all in PVC, nm 3R enclosures, or bond the three systems which invariably will have some potential difference.

Remember 225.37 if it happens.
 
They should just set up a well house with pressure tank inside, a water manifold inside the pump house, and water lines from the manifold that then feeds to each house. Let one house feed the power to the well house, or meter it and share the cost. Much cleaner set up - and safer for HO trying to troubleshoot!
Thats how I have mine set up - 3 houses on 1 well, and 4 houses on 1 well.
 
ultramegabob said:
I just got back from a service call where three houses are sharing a well, anyone else ever ran across a situation like that?
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pretty common around these parts. i have a neighbor who shares a well with two other houses. The meter is on her property, and the other two HO's have to send her a check every month.

I share 3 wells with 5 houses on two different electric utility systems, and my parents well is interconnected with their neighbors well. The purpose of these configurations is to have a backup water system in case one fails. And all these interconnected houses are family members, btw.
 
thanks everyone for the responses so far, keep the suggestions coming... I kinda like the idea of a separate meter and equipment house, I dont really care for the idea of tying the electrical together from three different houses. how do the customers go about setting up an account for the electrical service? do they pick one persons name, or set up a joint account between them?
 
I have done something similar to this for a well that feeds two houses.
I have a "pump house" that has its on electric service. It runs a submersible pump in the bottom of the well. The water runs from the submersible into a 1200 gallon holding tank which is in the pump house. Then I have a pump in the "pump house" which runs to a pressure tank and then into a manifold which splits to the two houses. Then in both houses there is another pump and smaller pressure tank. I can give you more details if you need them.
 
I too have come across this. Even if you meter out the electrical usage of the well, so you know how much power it's using, it still doesn't tell who is really using the most water. If they can agree to split it evenly - problem solved. Look into getting a sub-meter set-up, just to check usage of the well pump. Otherwise, what about separate water meters? Of course, I've never seen them used with a well pump, but I suppose it could be done.
 
I have a customer who has 7 houses on 1 well. The well is metered (electric) seperately. All agree to pay 1/4th of the bill. The extra goes into an account to pay for any repairs.
I met these people one night about 10pm. The meter caught on fire. I temped a line from the nearest house so they had water until daytime. We came out and replaced the servicice the next morning--1 phase 240v, 30A well. The pump controller fried causing everything back to smoke also. That was about 10 years ago.

I vote for a seperate service.
 
One of the shared well system just down the road has 2- 3hp submersibles about 10' apart. No well house. Last year we set them up to alternate, switch lead/lag pump every 24 hrs, count starts per pump, run time per pump and the # of times the secondary pressure switch closes when the lead pump can not keep up with demand. A beacon flashes if a pump fails to start when called and allows for the second pump to come online to maintain a slightly lower pressure in the system.

Since installing it we now know which pump is delivering less water and is in need of repair. Prior to this no one knew if either pump had quit until there was no water. We used a simple PICO controller & few hours to work out the details.
 
I am the not-so-proud owner of a slightly larger system.... 5 houses - one well.
I have a separate meter & panel installed in a well house with a single pressure switch, Two 180gal pressure tanks with each home having it's own 40 gallon pressure tank. Each home is behind a check valve. One switch does it all. The electric bill is picked up by me (They are my 5 rental homes)..but it's only generally about $16 a month....anymore and I know there is an underground leak.....but that's a whole other story.
 
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