I noticed a drop in the pump pressure on my Sta-rite Max-E-Pro 1 hp, the skimmer and pump baskets are both clean. The pump is 1 year old and I 've never taken it apart to clean the impeller. We do get a lot of pine needles in the pool. Has anyone done this and is there anything I should watch out?
How to clean impeller
- Thread starter Ke
- Start date
Undo the clamp ring, pull apart and set the housing o-ring aside, then unscrew the diffuser, then inspect the impeller. To remove debris from them I like to use pipe clears(bendable wires covered in cotton from a craft store) or a zip-tie because it's flexible.
Do I need to apply teflon gel on the O-ring? The skimmer and pump baskets are not too effective in catching pine needles, because they are so thin, they can go right through, I do get lots of pine needles when I clean my cartridge filter.
The instruction manuel for the Star-rite pump isn't too clear, after I pull the pump motor portion away, there is a diffuser plate I need to remove, will I be able to get to the impeller after this? Or must I remove the impeller in order to clean it? Also someone mentioned about every time you take the pump apart there is a seal you must replace rather than reuse, which seal is that? I just want to know as much before I actually do it. Thanks.
When you're through with that project, you might want to give skimmer socks a thought. They have helped me greatly with my millions of pine needles. Last year, I thought I had a clogged impeller, but I found the impeller turned easily manually when I started to investigate. Turns out I had a large clump of pine needles stuck behind my light fixture/return. I was able to break apart the clump and fish them out with a heavy duty plastic wire-tie.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Ke said:
Yes, you'll find the impeller directly behind the diffuser plate. You won't have to remove the impeller to clean it. The seal that you mention that needs to be replaced every time a motor is replaced is between the impeller and the motor, so you won't need to worry about it.
Ke, I have to do this about every other weekend due to pine needles. I'm amazed that you haven't had to do it in a year! You definetly need to get skimmer socks. I have come to the conclusion that they are critical in my case. They really help with catching the needles. When I open the impeller up, it usually looks likes strings on a vacuum! I just hose it out and dig them out with a screwdriver and hose some more until they're all out. I've become a pro!
With all this information on hand, I took my pump apart today, everything went as planned, removed lots of pine needles from the impeller, the pressure immediately went from 9 to 15 psi, big difference! I also put on a skimmer sock for the first time, so far so good.
I am so glad I could do this myself, my pool is about 1 year old, so far I have been doing all the up keeping myself, my PB does not do pool maintenance. Here in Toronto, Canada, I guess the economy isn't as bad as it seems, it is very difficult to get tradesman to do small jobs, my friend just bought a house with a swimming pool, when she called a well known pool company they refused to accept new clients.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the help.
I am so glad I could do this myself, my pool is about 1 year old, so far I have been doing all the up keeping myself, my PB does not do pool maintenance. Here in Toronto, Canada, I guess the economy isn't as bad as it seems, it is very difficult to get tradesman to do small jobs, my friend just bought a house with a swimming pool, when she called a well known pool company they refused to accept new clients.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the help.