Help with new pump/motor

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kgriggs

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Aug 1, 2010
96
Columbia, SC
I have a sta-rite 1.5 HP pump and the motor was replaced last year with a generic 1.5 motor. Last year the pump also had to be rebuilt because it had run hot and melted some of the parts at the impeller. The motor is still working but runs VERY hot and occasionally will shut off. I am debating on replacing the whole pump versus the motor as the guys who replaced the impeller didn't replace all of the damaged parts. Or should I just replace the motor?

Next set of questions is should I go with a 2 speed or variable speed? And what HP? I know the guy that built the pool did no calculations to find out the best HP. He actually replaced the pump three tmes in the first couple of months. He started with a 3/4 HP on the pool and a 1HP on the water feature seperate, then went to a 1 HP on each, then replaced both with a 1.5 HP to run both from one pump.
 
Post your pump model number and you current motor brand and model. Do you know what impeller he put in it? Was it a direct replacement (same size). It may be that your current motor is too small for the pump impeller. In addition, all 1.5 hp motors are not actually the same, so even if he put the same impeller size back on, the motor might be undersized.

kgriggs said:
Next set of questions is should I go with a 2 speed or variable speed?
Click to expand...
I am assuming your electric rates are fairly low? Does the spa run off the same pump? Does the waterfall run off the same pump?
How was your flow when you had the original motor running...where you happy with it?
 
Is that a picture of the new or old motor?

That one has a total hp of 1.65, and I think the original pump had a total hp of 2.21. If he replaced the impellor with the same one, then the current motor is too small and is the reason for the overheating. If he replaced the impeller with one matched to the 1.65 thp motor, then it should have been okay.

We need to know the motor impeller combination to correctly size a new 2-speed.
 
Assuming a standard impeller for that pump, then a 2-speed replacement motor would be: A.O. Smith UQS1202R

This would get you back to the the proper sized motor for the oem impeller and should fix the overheating. However, that is a lot of pump, but will give you more flow at the waterfall on high (then you have now) and still save you money on low. Was the waterfall flow acceptable when the original motor was on the pump?
 
Yes, the flow was acceptable with the original pump/motor combination. I can't remember why the original pump was replaced. Honestly I think it was because of a "shotgun" approach to diagnosing a problem. this was two years ago. last year the pump had to be replaced due to overheating as well as the impeller and shroud around the impeller due to the motor overheating. The original replacement motor was the same as the current replacement motor.
 
With no real flow rate requirements, you could probably go as small as you want to. But you might want to take into consideration the current voltage setup for the motor (230v vs 115v) to make it easier on yourself.

Can you describe the plumbing setup? Pipe size, number of pipe runs from the pool to the equipment, number of returns, skimmers, main drains, etc.
 

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