About to give up--Equipment failure

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docxo

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Jun 10, 2011
65
Carbondale, Illinois
Hi folks. Last year we did a major construction of a pool house. Since then, all things pool related have been a disaster. I'll spare you ALL the details, but we had a pool guy insist on "taking care of" all the equipment and relocation of the pump, and MANY things were broken in the process by him. Recently we opened to a green pool. I followed the SLAM method, the green went away immediately and my water has been in perfect balance. Things were very promising, but we were getting nowhere with the cloudiness with 1 1/2 weeks of patience. I did a deep clean of the sand filter per your protocol and it was absolutely filthy, likely from all the construction last year in addition to general buildup. This definitely seemed to help and FINALLY I started to get somewhere. I have not been able to run the polaris auto vacuum because the booster pump mysteriously was broken. I ordered a new one but do not feel comfortable replacing it myself. SO, the past few days I have been able to see the shallow end clearly and finally shadows of the deep end and main drain. I have been letting things settle to the bottomfor several days so that I could vacuum to waste. I did not realize that there were a ton of leaves at the bottom, and ran my vacuum over the pile of leaves, just thinking it was dirt. I guess this plugged things up. I lost suction, so I went to the pump to turn it off, and it wasn't doing anything--seemed plugged up, pressure gauge read zero and my salt panel said "water fault." I turned off the motor and cleaned out the basket which had very little debris in it. Now the pump won't run. It buzzes, but nothing happens. Did I plug up the line and burn out the motor? Is there any way to save it? I'm a very pregnant doctor with not that much spare time or energy, and my husband is out of town. I know I need to just chill out and call someone to fix it, but I no longer trust the main pool company in this very small town. Any advice? If the advice is get a new pump, brand and where to buy suggestions are welcome.
 
Buzzing means the pump is still receiving power, but something may be prohibiting it from turning - possibly from the large amount of debris that was pulled into the line, or perhaps it's overheated. Hopefully nothing permanent from "running dry". I would suggest two things right now if you are able ... turn-off power to the pump (circuit breaker if possible). It may be overheated from lack of water. Maybe it needs a bit of a cooling-off period. Just let it sit overnight. The other thing I wanted to suggest ... well ... depends on if you are up to it based on your condition. Maybe tomorrow with good daylight and power off, take off the pump strainer basket lid, remove the strainer basket, and feel inside to see if any debris made it past the basket into the pump's impeller area. It should turn freely with your finger tips (ensure power if OFF). Even though your basket wasn't dirty earlier, I figure it can't hurt to check.

Let's try those things and go from there.
 
That's not much at all. Pumps have been known to run several minutes without any water (during priming for example). Perhaps when you get a moment, tell us what type of pump assembly and motor you have there. We would be looking for info like this: "Hayward 2 HP, 2-Speed pump; AO pump motor model # XXXX-XX-XX. Things like that. Anything you can find on the ID plates. It might tell us if there are any other troubleshooting options, or if your pump/motor historically has a reputation for freezing quickly.
 
I think everything is ok. I took the thing apart on my lunch break to see if the impeller was clogged. I have a clamp that goes around so it was fairly easy to take apart. Nothing was in there, but when I put it back together, it does what it normally does to get going. It's like the impeller was locked up for no apparent (or visible) reason. The problem now is that there is a small leak at one of the collar junctions, and I can't possibly get it any tighter. I ran out of time, so when I get home I'm going to take the collar off, reposition it, and tighten it up again to secure the leak, then see if I can get things running again. I feel like now maybe I should take apart the booster pump and see if I can get that going too.
 

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I feel very proud of this accomplishment! Even though all I did was take it apart and put it back together, but I'm sure I would have paid somebody way too much to do the same thing, and probably charge me for doing more that wasn't necessary. I learned a lot about the anatomy of the pump than I previously knew, and that alone is rewarding. I have always said that medicine is much like being a mechanic. Once you learn the anatomy and begin to understand patterns of symptoms, you can go in there and fix it. I appreciate all of you and your wealth of knowledge, and more importantly, your willingness to share it.
 
I'm just pleased you got the main pump running for the filter. Outstanding! Not sure what caused the booster pump to stop, but they operate basically the same way. It's just dedicated for a specific purpose. Give yourself a TFP Gold Star for pump repairs. :goodjob:
 
No reason to not see if you can get it running! Just think of the bragging rights you will have! BUT if you are at the point of more money than time, then by all means, buy a new one. We want you well rested for when the baby comes! When are you due?

Kim:cat:
 
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