Author Topic: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well  (Read 1115 times)

SeaWalnut

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Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« on: June 14, 2019, 05:44:36 PM »
The gas company mounted a cathodic protection pannel near my property somme 10 years ago and now the well water pump triped the circuit breaker.I measured the curent on the steel rope thats atached to the pump and measures 10 volts with the pump not conected to electric power.
I think this pump corroded because of the electrolysis thats happening in the well.The water most likely its contaminated with metalic ions as a result of the electrolysis.
I called the gas guys and i hope this time il make them move their cathodic protection.Its the 7 th pump it breaks because of corrosion and they only payd me just one pump 2 years ago.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2019, 05:51:37 PM by SeaWalnut »

MameyDisco

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Re: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2019, 01:04:51 AM »
Sounds serious
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Oolie

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Re: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2019, 03:02:01 AM »
I do not have firsthand experience with issues of this nature except on metal equipment used in saltwater.

Current is not measured in volts, but in amps.

A measured voltage of 10 volts indicates that there is active corrosive force, in essence your well is a functioning battery.

The well water is acting as an electrolyte, and your pump is the anode. The solution in saltwater is to attach a large piece of zinc to the metal which is dissolving rapidly as a sacrificial anode. This is due to zinc having a greater affinity for being dissolved.

Is this well strictly for agriculture? I don't know if zinc toxicity is an issue that has to be considered in this situation, but it would be the solution for a pump operating in saltwater.

What type of damage is causing the failure? There may be an opportunity to change the pump design to eliminate the problem.

SeaWalnut

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Re: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2019, 03:21:15 AM »
I do not have firsthand experience with issues of this nature except on metal equipment used in saltwater.

Current is not measured in volts, but in amps.

A measured voltage of 10 volts indicates that there is active corrosive force, in essence your well is a functioning battery.

The well water is acting as an electrolyte, and your pump is the anode. The solution in saltwater is to attach a large piece of zinc to the metal which is dissolving rapidly as a sacrificial anode. This is due to zinc having a greater affinity for being dissolved.

Is this well strictly for agriculture? I don't know if zinc toxicity is an issue that has to be considered in this situation, but it would be the solution for a pump operating in saltwater.

What type of damage is causing the failure? There may be an opportunity to change the pump design to eliminate the problem.
They have zinc or magnesium electrodes in the ground but instead of oxidating those electrodes,it oxidates my well pumps,cables ,door valves ,etc.
I was thinking to install a pump that doesnt gets in contact with the water ,but the well its verry deep( 37 meters deep on one meter wide concrete tubes) and its hard to find such pump.
Right now i have installed a russian pump made 35 years ago wich worked flawlessly for 35 years in another well.The guy i bought the pump sold it because the cable started to crack a little but i reconditioned it.Its a membrane,high pressure pump that doesnt have bearings or a motor,just a vibrating coil( electromagnet) that actions the membrane.Its a verry efficient pump that draws only 200 watts to get a decent flow of water from that depth.In comparison i had german ,chinese and romanian pumps that had brushless motor with bearings that consumed at least 1000 watts for the same flow the 200 watts russian pump gives..They all rusted altough were from stainless steel or bronze and the pumps with motor lost the oil in the well ( the motor of such pumps its filled with oil wich its pretty weird for an electric motor).
The well i use it for my orchard and i plan to use it for my greenhouse and a small scale trout farm.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2019, 03:23:58 AM by SeaWalnut »

pvaldes

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Re: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2019, 05:35:02 AM »
If you provide your pond with this contaminated underground water, you'll probably kill the trouts

You need to make this water analyzed looking for metals if you plan eat this fishes
« Last Edit: June 15, 2019, 05:44:01 AM by pvaldes »

SeaWalnut

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Re: Stray voltage ,10V measured in the well
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2019, 06:17:29 AM »
If you provide your pond with this contaminated underground water, you'll probably kill the trouts

You need to make this water analyzed looking for metals if you plan eat this fishes
I planed to take the contaminated water out and then il test the water.Looks clean now compared to the time when the stainless steel pumps corroded and they lost all the oil in the well.Now there is no oil floating.I also have an alternative source of water for the pond( tap water) but the goal its to use the well water because its cheaper and its really cold and also it was better than the tap water before ( less phosphates,less nitrates and no salt while the tap water has a little bit of salt in it).
Until now i didnt ate any fish from that pond because i considered them as pets and released them all into the river near by when the water got too bad .I even released 3 frogs that were living in there and since i had frogs, i know the water its safe because the frogs are verry sensitive to pollution-they breathe from their skin and can absorb chemicals from it.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2019, 06:23:55 AM by SeaWalnut »