Holy Melted Copper, Pump Man!

This spectacular cable was pulled from a system that was struck by lightning last night, Sunday June 12th. The exploded wire comes from 80 feet below the surface!. The heat and power of the strike melted the copper into tiny balls as it disintegrated everything around it. Keep in mind that the melting point of copper is 1,984°F- and all of this happened deep, deep under ground.

All electrical components have a life span, and are subject to fatigue under normal operating conditions, and on occasion will require replacement. But when you factor in the voltaic force of mother nature's most spectacular displays of power, normal operating conditions go out the window.

Even in instances of seemingly catastrophic destruction after a strike, more often than not a simple control box or panel replacement will get the pump up and running. That's the case particularly when ( the pump is a 3-wire pump rather than a 2-wire.

In most instances, the replacement of an above ground, control box, or panel, for a 3-wire pump, can be completed in less than 45 minutes, but the starting components in a 2-wire pump motor however are non-replaceable, they are built into the motor, therefore, requiring the pump to be pulled out of the well, and the motor replaced.