My Whisperflo no longer whispers!!

[davidgelb]

Hi all,
I have an older 1hp Whisperflo that has gotten VERY loud over the past couple months. I never was able to hear it much past the pool, but now hear it anywhere in the house. It is SO loud!

My understanding is that this could be a sign that the bearings are failing? I had a contractor come out through American Home Shield to take a look at it (they also came to replace a leaky gasket on the pump) who said the pump is working normally. Yes, it is working normally but with so much more noise.

SO, my question is, what now? Typically, will the bearings eventually fail and burn the motor out? How long does that take? Or should I insist that the bearings WILL go out and I don't want to wait until I have a dead motor and algae growing in my pool before they replace it?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
David

 

[Durk]

Last year, my 2004 WhisperFlo also had gotten quite noisy. I just decided it was a good time to go to a 2-speed motor and now it is REALLY quiet. I wish I had done it sooner. I did the swap myself and it took less than an hour.

I had no idea how much longer mine would last. I've gone through many motors on several pools over many years, and motors can die quickly, or stay noisy for years. That last one usually belongs to a neighbor.

 

[Soupy]

Certainly sounds like the bearings are failing. If you're hearing it inside the house, that absolutely isn't normal. You absolutely should insist on it being repaired. It could run for days or it could run for months from now.

 

[tpcorr]

David,

Last season my whisperflo pump got very loud too. In my case, the guys opening my pool did not tighten down the two drain plugs all the way. I hand tightened them as much as possible and this solved my noisy problem. Hope your solution is as easy.

Tom