According to :
Neither electric motors nor the laws of physics have changed much in the past few decades. At most, it could be a few percentage points more efficient. Absolutely NO reason to replace a decent working pump on that basis.
According to :
We have a fantastic well (30GPM draws down the level to about 90', but of course the house pump can't pull that much...). We do irrigation (peaking at about 13GPM) on a mere 1/2HP pump (a jet pump at that!). Can even have showers and run the DW at the same time as the irrigation system is running.
Chances are that the thing was setup by a succession of idiot "handymen" who didn't have a clue of any sort and set it up any old way that "works".
A friend of mine discovered that his pump got its 240V from bridging two _completely_ unrelated circuits (separate cables from different panels!!!!), which were also feeding 120V to the oil furnace, UV sterilizer, general lighting and outlets. That was shortly after finding out that the metal sheath on the BX cable running through the low headroom ceiling was live (melted the hook on the serviceman's trouble light).
The original poster will simply have to figure out what the rating of the pump is. If he's lucky, the control box will be accessible, and say what the rating is. Or perhaps the previous owner left an invoice with a model number. Or something. Otherwise, he's going to need an ammeter to measure it (and add lots of head room).
First thing you need to know is the starting current and run current of the well pump. The amperage can be used to calculate the wattage needs of the generator.
Second, a Coleman generator (about 5000 watts) can be had a the discount houses for about $500. And does have a 220 volt outlet on it.
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