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cajun-aire water treatment plant problem

davem | Posted in General Discussion on December 31, 2008 09:17am

does anyone know these systems? honey had a problem with hers that resulted in the 5 amp breaker on the control box popping out. she had a guy repair the unit, and he replaced the air pump and motor. the breaker still pops. because the breaker is only 5 amps, I doubt that the motor runs through it, so i think the control panel must contain a timer and a relay. I can find no information on electric side of the system.

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  1. rez | Jan 04, 2009 05:23pm | #1

    Greetings dave,,

    This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again which will increase it's viewing.

    Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.

    Cheers

     

    94969.19  In the beginning there was Breaktime...

    94969.1  Photo Gallery Table of Contents

    1. davem | Jan 05, 2009 07:02pm | #2

      thanks.

  2. rez | Jan 05, 2009 07:37pm | #3

    bump

     

    94969.19  In the beginning there was Breaktime...

    94969.1  Photo Gallery Table of Contents

  3. DanH | Jan 05, 2009 08:09pm | #4

    I found the web site for this and it appears to be some fairly specialized equipment -- essentially a small sewage treatment plant.

    As specialized as it is, I think you either need a sharp handyman or sparkie who can puzzle it out or someone with actual factory training on the unit.

    It should be possible for someone with a clamp-on ammeter to find out what the actual current draw of the unit is, and, by observing the wire routing, to determine if the pump is on the 5A breaker or separate. From there a first guess could be made at deciding what's wrong.

    Was the guy who worked on it the local "factory service" guy? If so, you should probably contact the factory and ask for the "second level" guy. If not, contact the factory and ask if they have someone to recommend.

    The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Jan 05, 2009 08:27pm | #5

      I looked at the website and only download info is for homeowners manual and it does not have any schematics.Sometimes tha tkind of equipment has schematic on the inside of the control panel..
      William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

    2. davem | Jan 06, 2009 12:17am | #6

      this is one of those attempts to save a buck while managing a job from 200 miles away, while helping a friend who is short on cash.  we called a service guy who services cajun-aire and he said it was the pump.  a family member had a good pump, but not the exact same model.   now the pump works fine, but the 5 amp pop up breaker on the control box trips....just like before.  we also had the tank pumped, so we're good for a time.

      the above leads me to the conclusion that the pump motor probably quit some time back without anyone noticing it wasn't running, and then the timer malfunctioned and tripped the breaker.   I think there is a timer in the control panel that needs to be replaced, but I can find no information online, nor can I find parts.  I don't think the breaker operates the areator motor directly, as the breaker is only 5 amp.

      I think it is a very simple system with a timer/solenoid that turns the areator motor on at set intervals, but I can't find any schematic to confirm my guess.

       

      1. DanH | Jan 06, 2009 02:02am | #7

        Yeah, you need someone who can figure out the wiring by looking at it (and possibly looking at a wiring diagram pasted to the inside of the enclosure). I don't know how big this pump motor is, but I'd agree that it's probably nominally more than 5A and isn't the cause of the failure, but without more info it's impossible to say for sure. (Can you get us some nameplate data off the motor -- volts, amps, watts, etc?)If it's a mechanical timer, I doubt that that is tripping the breaker -- mechanical timers are very reliable and it's just about impossible to cause one to draw more than about ten watts.
        The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel

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