Pump Problem

[eshep3]

Installed a pool two summers ago. It holds 20,500 gallons, has an in-floor cleaning system, three lion head fountains, one skimmer, a main drain, and a leaf catcher. I have 52 feet of head. Pump system is a Jandy. Pump motor is 1.0HP but says the actual HP is 1.25. On start up in March of this year for third summer of use, the pump was dead. I was just under warranty so builder came out and replaced the pump. About two months ago, I noticed that I was not getting constant pressure from the pump. The fountains and a home-made aerator would spit less water for brief periods of time. Two months ago, the pump started cycling off, like it was overheating after 6 or 8 hours of run. It would cool down for 10 or 15 minutes and then start back up. Yesterday, the pump started only running for 15 to 20 seconds before shutting off and even when running it did not seem to be moving enough water. There does not appear to be anything in the lines. The pressure gauge on the filter shows pressure on the low side of normal.

I cannot figure out what is going on? I guess it is possible that I just happened to get two bad pump motors, but that seems unlikely. Any chance the home-made aerator is hurting the pump? I do cap some of the output jets to get the aerator to spray water high enough to cool the pool, but I still have the aerator, three jets and the in-floor system dumping water back into the pool. Does the in-floor system require a bigger pump and that is putting too much on the pump and causing it to burn up? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bobodaclown]

Hello,
Does the shaft turn easily on the pump motor? Did they replace the shaft seal with the new motor? Does the motor squeal? Do you know the original motor size? Could they have downsized the motor but not the pump impeller? That would be like replacing an 8 cylinder motor with a 4 cylinder motor it would work, but the motor wouldn't last long. The impeller would have a number on it to correspond to the motor size.

 

[tmobileguy]

What is your filter PSI? Are there any air bubbles in the glass of your pump basket? Also, when you say the builder replaced the pump...did he replace the whole pump or just the pump motor?