We have a house in a small village fifteen miles outside of Merida in the Mexican state of Yucatan. We use an electric motor to pump water from a concrete cistern in the ground up to a storage tank (tinaco) on top of the roof. The pump motor has burned up twice in the last three years. The 110 volt service seems to fluctuate and the cable from the meter pole to the house appears light for the job. The wiring from the cable over the roof to the motor is jury rigged and looks to be about the same gauge as a heavy duty lamp extension cord.

The lights in the house flicker when the washing machine, the clothes dryer or a hair blower is running.

What is the best way to improve the electrical situation?

Would it make any difference if we arranged for 220 volt service and bought an appropriate pump motor?

Would 220 volt service make any difference so far as the lights and appliances are concerned?

 

Do not do your 220V idea.

First, improve/make all the connections, splices, junctions tight and very clean, including at the pole; and if that does not cure it, add another cable to the street pole in parallel or replace it with a thicker one.