Pond pump suddenly trips breaker?

Question

I have had this pond up and running all summer and just recently unplugged it to clean out some leaves and debris and when I plugged it back in it wouldnt work.

My neighbor said I should check the house for a outlet with a "test" and "reset" button on it and see if it is being effected.

Sure enough, the reset button is sticking out, so I push it back in, and then go back outside.

I reach the pond and plug in the pump, which sputters and then stops.I go back to said outlet with the buttons and the reset button was sticking out again.

I really need to get my filter going again for the fish as well as the plants rooted in the waterfall.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

check and see if your pump is getting wet inside or a loose wire on it it is something with the pump or the outlet that it is pluged into...just check the wiring...sounds like that...

Answer 2

The GFIC tripping is telling you that there is a ground fault somewhere in the circuit.  Most likely it is the pump.  I don't know what kind of pump your using but the magnetic drives are probably the best.  Those that are direct drive depend on seals to keep water out of the motor.  Pull the pump out of the pond and check it out or get it checked.  If you plug it into a circuit that is not a GFI there is a chance of shock.  Don't mess with water and electricity..

Answer 3

Its either your motor or your GFCI. Plug a dry extension cord into the motor then walk away from the water to a dry location and plug it into a standard outlet. If pump runs, change GFCI. If not bad pump.

Answer 4

First check the extension cords.  Make sure you didn't get them wet.  Check to make sure the underwater part of the pump is OK, not leaking or cracked.  Check the GFCI with out the pond pluged in.  Plug something else in like a radio or something.  Does the GFCI outlet work OK with out the pond?    

Answer 5

Electronic Lesson #1 :

All motors use electricity, and as electricity travels through a wire it cause the wire to heat up. This does not mean a lot of electricity it means " All Electricity" The degree the wire heats up will increase as the electricity traveling through it is increased. The wire will cool down very rapidly too once less electricity begins to flow through it, or once no electricity is traveling through it.

For a motor to work it must use electricity and that must travel through a wire to get to the motor from the source of power. If the motor is faulty it will not turn as easily as when it was functioning properly. It will now take more electricity to turn the motor per revolution. This more electricity will cause the wire to heat up more than it did. Once the wire heats to a point to exceed its rating it trips the breaker. That is the same as saying the electricity traveling down the wire has exceeded the rating for that breaker, it is this excessive electricity that has caused the excessive heat resulting in the tripped breaker.

Most likely the breaker is functioning properly because it resets and functions up to the point where the motor is used on that line.

Is the motro running way longer than it should?

Is the motor getting really hot while running?

Is the motor tripping the breaker immediately -- no chance to heat up?

I'd say all of the above indicate a faulty motor and that means the motor must be replaced. Does it have a date on it when it was purchased ? Is there any warranty in effect?

Answer 6

The pump might be clogged and not able to run.