I bought a house with a pool last summer and am having a few problems, one in particular is my pump, it just went out. It is a sta-rite pump 1.5 HP and i have a 15000 gallon salt water pool. Any idea what to replace it with, how hard it is to replace by yourself, and where to buy a cheap one with a warranty. My pool store quoted me for a hayward super II 1.5 HP $592.99 plus labor. thanks
Which pump to use
- Thread starter mhein006
- Start date
I would recommend looking for just a replacement motor, and preferably a 2-speed to save yourself some money on electricity. The motor should not be more than $300. That is the cheapest option and avoids any need for re-plumbing.
If you provide more details on the motor you have, someone can help you locate a replacement motor.
If you provide more details on the motor you have, someone can help you locate a replacement motor.
Pumps are not that hard to change out, but as Jason says consider just replacing the motor, on most pumps this can be done without disconnecting any of the plumbing. As to replacement pumps, I would look at a 1HP 2 speed, but we need to know more about your pool to give a good opinion, do you have any water features, spa area, heater either conventional or solar, is your pad far from the pool or located at an elevated location, etc.
Ike
p.s. as to pricing it sounds like the pool store is getting you twice first on mark up then on installation, it really is not that hard to install as long as it is the same voltage as your current pump, anyone handy with plumbing and wiring should be able to do it if they pay attention to what they are doing. For comparison I bought my current pump in my signature off ebay a month or two ago for $350
Ike
p.s. as to pricing it sounds like the pool store is getting you twice first on mark up then on installation, it really is not that hard to install as long as it is the same voltage as your current pump, anyone handy with plumbing and wiring should be able to do it if they pay attention to what they are doing. For comparison I bought my current pump in my signature off ebay a month or two ago for $350
Here are pix with more information on the pump. One thing i did want to mention is we do have a spa with four jets in it, and they do not blow very hard, the hot tub is adjoined with the pool and flows into the pool. we only have two other eyes and they are both in the shallow end, i have no eyes or jets in the deep end. Would increasing the pump size blow the jets in the spa better and would it increase circulation in the pool? The pool equipment is probably 30 to 40 feet away from the spa, probably only 20 or so for the pool. The spa is on the other end of the pool. I worry about the rest of the pump in just replacing the motor because it burnt up and i have no idea how old the rest of the pump is, no information was left on the pool when we bought the home.
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So first that motor you have is a 1HP, 1.25 SF = 1.25 SFHP motor ... not a 1.5HP like your first post indicated.
You could go a little larger to get more flow to the spa, but you would then at a minimum also want a larger impeller or just get a new pump ... I would certainly then get a 2-speed so that you are not running the energy hog at high speed all the time when you are not using the spa.
EDIT: What does the rest of the equipment pad plumbing look like? Pipe sizes etc?
You could go a little larger to get more flow to the spa, but you would then at a minimum also want a larger impeller or just get a new pump ... I would certainly then get a 2-speed so that you are not running the energy hog at high speed all the time when you are not using the spa.
EDIT: What does the rest of the equipment pad plumbing look like? Pipe sizes etc?
Also the pump you have can be wired for 120V or 240V, most (all?) 2 speed pumps are 240V only, so if your existing pump was wired 240V you should have no problem installing a 2 speed 240V pump, but if it was wired 120V you may have an issue, particularly if you go with a 1.5 HP replacement.
There are some pictures of the equipment. I don't know anything about plumbing so i dont know if you can tell from these photos what size it is. My husband is handy with wiring and plumbing so i think i could talk him into doing it if it's not that bad. How does a 2 speed work and if i turned the jets off in the spa if we weren't using it would that mean less circulation in the pool or would it really effect it much? Also whoever plumbed the pool was not very smart, we do have a heater but the plumbing is all tied in together so i can't just heat the spa part it heats the whole pool so would that work with a 2 speed if the plumbing is not separate between the spa and pool?
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Can you get a better picture of the valves? I am sure you are able to isolate the spa and only heat it. You would only do this for the few hours you were using it and then switch back to pool mode with the heater off.
You would just run high speed when you were using the spa and run on low speed for general circulation and filtration ... you do not need a highe amount of circulation.
Is your SWG before the heater? That is not a very good idea.
You would just run high speed when you were using the spa and run on low speed for general circulation and filtration ... you do not need a highe amount of circulation.
Is your SWG before the heater? That is not a very good idea.
ok my husband just corrected me, you can isolate the heat from the rest of the pool. I thought he had said something at one point that the plumbing was all together, but maybe i was wrong. And yes the equipment is lined for the pump then SWG then the heater
Do you think it would be best to upgrade to a 1.5 and replace the whole thing since it burnt up, i mean that tag on there use to be white and when the pump went out it turned it a brown color like it burnt up.
Really the wet end (none motor part) looks in really nice shape ... if it is not leaking anywhere, it could be fine.
But if you want more forceful jets you could either get a larger motor and impeller, get a new larger pump, get the same size motor for you current pump and they putting smaller eyeballs in the spa.
Still kind of need to know if existing pump is 115V or 230V for ease of changing the motor.
What is in the big tan box on the wall?
But if you want more forceful jets you could either get a larger motor and impeller, get a new larger pump, get the same size motor for you current pump and they putting smaller eyeballs in the spa.
Still kind of need to know if existing pump is 115V or 230V for ease of changing the motor.
What is in the big tan box on the wall?
The photo with the close ups of the wires, the second one from the left is the wire that comes from the pump so i don't know where it's plugged in at. In another photo i took a distance shot because one wire comes out of the box and goes into the attic and i'm not sure which one that's from.
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Well, who did not label anything 
So you have 3 230V circuits and 2 115V circuits. Likely the 115V are for the outlets and the lights, so most likely it is a 230V pump.
So, no you have to decide if you want to replace the motor with the same, replace the motor/impeller with a larger one, replace the motor and maybe impeller with a 2-speed, or just get a whole new pump, or get a new 2-speed pump.
Note with a 2-speed motor you will need to add a switch to select the speed. With some 2-speed pumps, the switch comes pre-installed on the motor.
So you have 3 230V circuits and 2 115V circuits. Likely the 115V are for the outlets and the lights, so most likely it is a 230V pump.
So, no you have to decide if you want to replace the motor with the same, replace the motor/impeller with a larger one, replace the motor and maybe impeller with a 2-speed, or just get a whole new pump, or get a new 2-speed pump.
Note with a 2-speed motor you will need to add a switch to select the speed. With some 2-speed pumps, the switch comes pre-installed on the motor.
I think it would be best to replace the whole thing considering it burned up and i have no idea how old it is or anything else about it. The 2 speed motor does sound like a good idea. If we did that are you saying we would add a switch to that circuit box to control that? Is there anything else that's special into hooking a pump up? and is there any one in particular recommended?
Like I said, some of the pumps come with a switch installed, so you would just hook up the power to it almost the same as your existing pump and then just throw the switch to change the speed.
If the pump you select does not have a switch already, there are some motor end caps that have the switch, or you could add a switch on the wall. If you add it on the wall, you would need to run 1 more wire (for a total of 4) from the switch/panel to the motor.
Since you would like the jets in the spa to be stronger, you could either go a little bigger on the pump or put smaller eyeballs in the spa to increase the water velocity.
I would have to do some digging to find the flow curves for you current pump and see what would be a little bigger, but maybe someone (Mark) may have a suggestion off-hand.
It would be good to know if those pipes are 1.5" or 2" ... can you measure the diameter?
If the pump you select does not have a switch already, there are some motor end caps that have the switch, or you could add a switch on the wall. If you add it on the wall, you would need to run 1 more wire (for a total of 4) from the switch/panel to the motor.
Since you would like the jets in the spa to be stronger, you could either go a little bigger on the pump or put smaller eyeballs in the spa to increase the water velocity.
I would have to do some digging to find the flow curves for you current pump and see what would be a little bigger, but maybe someone (Mark) may have a suggestion off-hand.
It would be good to know if those pipes are 1.5" or 2" ... can you measure the diameter?
For reference, you existing pump has been replaced by Sta Rite Super Max (PHK2RA6E-102L).
There is actually an equivalent 2-speed version of the Super Max. Or you could switch to a Pentair Superflo 1HP 2-speed which appears to have the same pump curve as what you have. Or step up to the 1.5HP version of either to get a little more power.
I know the Superflo comes with a switch on the motor, not sure about the SuperMax.
There is actually an equivalent 2-speed version of the Super Max. Or you could switch to a Pentair Superflo 1HP 2-speed which appears to have the same pump curve as what you have. Or step up to the 1.5HP version of either to get a little more power.
I know the Superflo comes with a switch on the motor, not sure about the SuperMax.