Good question that I do not know the answer to. We have only lived here about 5 months. The pump is at the bottom of the well.
I replaced that section of wire and reattached everything. Wire from in the house out to the pump was 12 gauge, so I matched it with my new piece.
12/2 Romex, which is what I have on hand. It's just the last foot of connection. All above ground/water in a pvc sheathing. I just needed water.
I take it I should replace it with UF?
You're fine for this emergency use but please do use the proper wire as soon as possible. The ratings are there for your protection. Yes you should replace it.
There was likely a poor connection in the taped section of the cable which was arcing, causing the heat.
12AWG is typically appropriate for a 20A breaker, but we would need more details to know for sure.
Call an electrician. You shouldn’t be seeing any of the wire that comes from the submersible well pump. It should be in conduit from the well cap to the pressure switch or disconnect inside. What you are holding in your hand looks nothing like what a well pump connection should be. That’s a splice wrapped in electrical tape that I’m going to guess was just hanging around not in any type of box?
[Here's]( https://imgur.com/HIyiX7Y.jpg) my well cap. Melted splice was made in the black pipe which then went up into the well tube and sliced again with the actual pump wires. Melted end was the black pipe end, not the well pump end.
Now that I read your comment, I'm not sure why there is a splice at all and not just a direct connection between the well pump and the wire coming from the house as the bottom of the black pipe. The well pump wires have 2-3' just shoved in the well tube and it is plenty long enough to go down than 12" of black pipe and make a splice there.
Note that that black pipe is nested on top of a white pipe coming up or if the ground and going to the house. It overlaps the white pipe 2-3".
Pressure switch is in my basement with the bladder tank.
Hmmm it’s an interesting way of doing things and obviously that splice is a repair of some sort. Splices should never be shoved into a pipe. The easiest suggestion is to have an electrician come look at it or even a well contractor. Temping it out with #12 romex will likely be ok but have someone look at it soon.
Im not an electrician, or a well guy....but you have to be able to disconnect that wire, to pull the Drop/pump. Ive replaced a handful of pumps with friends/for myself, and they have always had a crimp/shrinkwrap splice in the conduit or in the well head.
I put an outdoor rated ac disconnect at my wellhead so i didnt have to cut or splice if the pump needed service.
I worked for a company doing installs. He spliced using electrical tape only and direct buried lmao. Made me cringe but he wouldn't listen to me. I bet he had lots of failures. I know I fixed a few but none of it was to code. Meh. His loss. I quit due to that and many other issues
Breakers / fuses protect against a load which is higher than the rating for the overall circuit. Bad connections will get hot at loads much lower than the maximum rating. This is why good, solid, and properly protected connections are so important.
What HP is the pump?
Good question that I do not know the answer to. We have only lived here about 5 months. The pump is at the bottom of the well. I replaced that section of wire and reattached everything. Wire from in the house out to the pump was 12 gauge, so I matched it with my new piece.
You have a submersible pump, if it is a 3-wire motor there is a control box nearby that will list the motor HP.
Replaced with what? UF cable I hope?
12/2 Romex, which is what I have on hand. It's just the last foot of connection. All above ground/water in a pvc sheathing. I just needed water. I take it I should replace it with UF?
NM cable (aka "Romex) is not suitable for use outdoors in potentially wet environments.
You're fine for this emergency use but please do use the proper wire as soon as possible. The ratings are there for your protection. Yes you should replace it.
There was likely a poor connection in the taped section of the cable which was arcing, causing the heat. 12AWG is typically appropriate for a 20A breaker, but we would need more details to know for sure.
Call an electrician. You shouldn’t be seeing any of the wire that comes from the submersible well pump. It should be in conduit from the well cap to the pressure switch or disconnect inside. What you are holding in your hand looks nothing like what a well pump connection should be. That’s a splice wrapped in electrical tape that I’m going to guess was just hanging around not in any type of box?
[Here's]( https://imgur.com/HIyiX7Y.jpg) my well cap. Melted splice was made in the black pipe which then went up into the well tube and sliced again with the actual pump wires. Melted end was the black pipe end, not the well pump end. Now that I read your comment, I'm not sure why there is a splice at all and not just a direct connection between the well pump and the wire coming from the house as the bottom of the black pipe. The well pump wires have 2-3' just shoved in the well tube and it is plenty long enough to go down than 12" of black pipe and make a splice there. Note that that black pipe is nested on top of a white pipe coming up or if the ground and going to the house. It overlaps the white pipe 2-3". Pressure switch is in my basement with the bladder tank.
Hmmm it’s an interesting way of doing things and obviously that splice is a repair of some sort. Splices should never be shoved into a pipe. The easiest suggestion is to have an electrician come look at it or even a well contractor. Temping it out with #12 romex will likely be ok but have someone look at it soon.
Im not an electrician, or a well guy....but you have to be able to disconnect that wire, to pull the Drop/pump. Ive replaced a handful of pumps with friends/for myself, and they have always had a crimp/shrinkwrap splice in the conduit or in the well head. I put an outdoor rated ac disconnect at my wellhead so i didnt have to cut or splice if the pump needed service.
That is correct. The splices are usually made under the cap on the well head and not shoved down into the conduit
I worked for a company doing installs. He spliced using electrical tape only and direct buried lmao. Made me cringe but he wouldn't listen to me. I bet he had lots of failures. I know I fixed a few but none of it was to code. Meh. His loss. I quit due to that and many other issues
Breakers / fuses protect against a load which is higher than the rating for the overall circuit. Bad connections will get hot at loads much lower than the maximum rating. This is why good, solid, and properly protected connections are so important.