Port Douglas · Douglas Shire · Cairns Northern Beaches
Pump electrician for bore, tank and pressure systems
Pressure pumps, bore pumps, tank transfer and controls for tank and bore water properties across the Douglas Shire. 1,051 pump jobs since 2020, and most of them start as a fault-finding job rather than a new pump.
- 5.0 on Google
- 24/7 emergency callout
- Licence 82270
Why does my pump keep tripping the safety switch, and what fixes it?
If your pump keeps tripping the safety switch, stop resetting it. The safety switch is doing exactly what it was installed to do. Something in the pump, the cable or the controls is leaking current to earth, and every reset puts that fault straight back into a circuit your family uses. It is also the single most common pump call we get.
We have done 1,051 pump jobs since 2020. In Oak Beach alone, 40 of our 206 jobs there have been pumps, which tells you what life is like on tank and bore water once you get off town supply.
What is usually actually wrong
Ants and geckos. That is not a joke, it is one of the most common causes of pump faults in Far North Queensland. They get in through a cable gland or a worn seal, nest inside a pressure switch or an outdoor isolator, and bridge the contacts. The pump either will not start at all or it trips the RCD the second it tries. Wet season humidity does the rest. A terminal box that was dry and clean in September can be full of condensation by February, and coastal pump sheds get salt in them as well.
Submersible bore pumps fail differently, and you cannot see any of it. The motor winding goes down to earth 40 or 60 metres underground. We test insulation resistance and current draw at the switchboard end first, before anyone starts pulling poly and cable out of the ground. That test tells you whether you have a dead pump or a problem in the shed.
More than one pump, and only one tap
Most acreage properties out here run at least two. A bore or creek pump filling the tank, then a pressure pump feeding the house. When the house has no water, the real question is which one stopped and why. Float switches, level probes, tank transfer controls, changeover timers and pressure switches all fail in ways that look identical from the kitchen tap. We work backwards from the switchboard, so you get an answer rather than a guess and a new pump.
What we handle is the electrical side of it. The circuit and cable run out to the shed or the bore head, the isolator, the pressure switch and controls, weatherproof enclosures rated for where they actually sit, and the safety switch protecting the lot. If the pump itself is finished, we will tell you that too, and we fit Davey, Onga, Grundfos and Lowara.
After a storm or a flood
Do not switch a pump back on just because the shed looks dry. If floodwater has been through a pump shed, a switchboard or a bore head, verification testing is required before reconnection. A licensed electrician has to perform that task, and the certificate of test is what allows your local electricity distribution entity to reconnect your service. We are on call 24/7 through storm season for exactly this.
Who is doing the work
BH Electrics holds Queensland Electrical Contractor Licence 82270 and we are fully insured. Brad and Leanne Sims have run the business since 2017, and it has been trading in Port Douglas and Craiglie since 2007. Four electricians and two apprentices. Where the work is installation work, you get a Certificate of Testing and Compliance for it. We service Craiglie, Port Douglas, Oak Beach, Wonga Beach, Mowbray, Julatten, Mossman and out towards the Daintree.
Source: Electrical Safety Queensland, electrical safety during storms.
What we install
We fit Davey, Onga, Grundfos and Lowara, because they are the pumps we can get parts for locally and the ones we are not back out to six months later.
- Davey
- Onga
- Grundfos
- Lowara
Who we do it for
We do this work for homeowners and businesses.
Out past the mains
Pressure, bore and tank pumps on acreage
A pump is a motor at the end of a long run, often in a shed nobody visits until it stops. Most pump callouts are the cable or the control, not the pump.
-
01Start at the supply
Out on the flats the supply is a kiosk on the road and a long run to the shed. Voltage drop over that distance is what kills pump motors, and it is measurable before it costs you one.
-
02Then the controls
Pressure switches, float switches and contactors. This is where the fault usually is, and it is a cheaper thing to find than a rewound motor.
-
03Wired so it can be serviced
Isolator within sight of the pump, cable protected from the sun and the whipper snipper, and labelled so the next person knows what they are switching off.
Straight answers
Pumps and Bores: your questions
My pump trips the safety switch every time I reset it. What does that mean?
It means there is an earth leakage fault and the safety switch is protecting you from it. Usually it is moisture or insects in the pressure switch or terminal box, a damaged cable, or a motor winding that has gone down to earth. Resetting it over and over does not fix anything, and it puts the fault back on a live circuit. Turn the pump circuit off at the switchboard, leave it off, and get it tested. Locating a fault like that is energised electrical work and needs a licensed electrician.
Can I just buy a pump and fit it myself?
If your existing pump plugs into a weatherproof power point on a lead, you can physically swap a like-for-like unit yourself. Anything hardwired is different. Wiring an isolator, a pressure switch, a float switch or a new circuit out to a shed or a bore head is licensed electrical work in Queensland, and so is testing it afterwards. The other problem is that a lot of pumps get replaced when the fault was never the pump. Get it tested first and you may not need to buy anything.
What does a pump or bore callout cost?
A pump callout is priced on what the diagnosis finds, and we tell you what it will take to fix before we do it. A pump job can be a quick fix on an ant-infested pressure switch or a full new circuit run 80 metres out to a bore, which is why we do not publish rates. No surprises at the end. Ring the office on (07) 4099 3497 and describe what the pump is doing. We can usually tell you on the phone whether it sounds like a pump problem or a wiring problem.
Is my pump dead or can it be repaired?
Often it is repairable. Capacitors, pressure switches, seals and controls are all replaceable, and they are what fails first, particularly up here where humidity and salt air get into everything. What is not worth saving is a submersible bore pump with a winding fault, or a motor that has been run dry. Insulation resistance testing tells us which situation you are in before you spend money. We would rather replace a small part than sell you a pump you do not need.
Do you come out to acreage and rural properties for pump and bore work?
Yes. Tank and bore water properties are a big part of what we do, which is why pumps are 1,051 of our jobs since 2020. Oak Beach, Wonga Beach, Mowbray, Julatten, Mossman and the properties out past the highway are all normal work for us. We carry test gear and common parts on the ute, so a lot of pump faults get sorted on the first visit rather than turning into a second trip out.
Where
We do this from Cape Tribulation down to Smithfield
Pumps and Bores comes up most often at Oak Beach , Daintree , Mowbray , Cape Tribulation , Whyanbeel and Low Isles . Every area we cover has its own page with the access and the local conditions on it.
Need a licensed electrician who turns up?
Leave us a number and we will ring you back, or send the whole job through and we will quote it.