Overheated...won't turn on...time for a new pump?

[devopool]

I'm out of town and my neighbor is kindly taking care of my pool.

He said he noticed the pump wasn't on and went to investigate. He said the pump was not pumping, was hot and smokey. He turned the power off. Some days later he tried it but it wouldn't turn on...I think he said there was a brief little noise (maybe humming?) but that's all.

I had a pool guy go by and he tried turning it on and said I definitely needed a new motor. He said it would be roughly $400 to get a new one. Do most pool guys just recommend a new motor rather than trying to fix it? I assume so.

I'm just wondering, when a pump overheats badly and won't turn on, could it be something else like a capacitor (cheap)? I just had this motor replaced 3 years ago and I recently had to replace my booster pump motor--I'm tired of buying motors

I bought my booster pump online and installed it myself and saved a lot of money. Only trouble is, if I wait 2 weeks to investigate myself (and possibly have to buy a new motor anyway), my pool will be swamp when I return (I'm in Texas). Might spend that much in chemicals and electricity to get it back in shape.

What would y'all do?

 

[lefty51]

hello devopool,

If your neighbor says it was "smokey", I believe your motor is a goner. hopefully an honest "pool guy" would recommend a capacitor or whatever it needed instead of new motor, But we know how that goes

I'm curious if the $400 pump is including his labor ?

If your burning out motors every 3 years, I would investigate as to whether location, pump or other problems exist.

As far as keeping pool clean in the meantime, I guess you could have neighbor add chlorine daily and have him invite everyone over daily to do laps around the pool to keep some circulation going

 

[Texas Splash]

Things like this seem to happen when you're away. That stinks. Well, unless you trust someone locally with taking apart your pump/motor to try and fix it, replacing the entire unit may be your best option, especially since you'll still be away for a couple weeks. I would try to confirm that the total amount includes labor, complete connection, and ask about the warranty on the new pump. When you get back, see if you can check the amperage draw/load on that line from the source to the new pump to make sure the amperage isn't too high for the load/motor. Ideally the person installing the new pump might do that, but you never know in this situation. I wish you luck.

 

[devopool]

ha ha. I like the idea of the neighborhood swimming in my pool to keep the water circulating.

Yes, I checked and the $400 includes the labor. I think I'll have to bite the bullet and have him do it. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[devopool]

Yes, it must be one of Murphy's Laws to have things break while you're away.

He said the $400 included everything. I'll ask about the warranty for the pump. He used to work on the pool a number of years ago but I've been trying to take care of things myself to save some bucks. I trust him more than the pool supply stores

Thanks for your advice.