Pump Information Required

[jordo1985]

Hi!

We just bought a house with a pool, and have never owned one, so excuse my ignorance when it comes to pools! Our pump has recently quit, we tired to replace the capacitor, and it looks like its the bearings. I've been told its very costly to replace the bearings/motor, so we have decided to go ahead and purchase a new pump. Our pool is approx 15,000 Gallons.

We currently have a hayward Super Pump 3/4 HP (c48j2n131b1 see attached), and were looking to replace it with a
- Hayward super pump 1hp or
-Hayward Maxflo 1hp

I have three questions:
1. Is it a bad idea to go from 3/4 to 1 hp? The pump was getting quite hot and the pool technician said this could be from overworking
2. Should we get a variable speed? We are going to put the pump on timer as the evenings get very cool here in the summer.
3. What is the difference between a super pump and Maxflo? Are there are pros/cons to either?

Thank you for any help you can provide

- a very confused new pool owner

 

[tim5055]

Well, I'm only going to try to answer one of your questions.

Is it a bad idea to go from 3/4 to 1 hp? The pump was getting quite hot and the pool technician said this could be from overworking

Probably a bad idea if it was sized properly in the first place. It was probably getting hot because the bearings were going out, not because it was "working too hard". Well, maybe it was working too hard - trying to overcome the bad bearings.

When dealing with pools it is usually better to have a smaller pump and a bigger filter.

Welcome to TFP!

 

[Mike_W]

Hi!


We currently have a hayward Super Pump 3/4 HP (c48j2n131b1 see attached), ...
...
1. Is it a bad idea to go from 3/4 to 1 hp? The pump was getting quite hot and the pool technician said this could be from overworking

First, a replacement A O Smith pump motor is available from many sources (including Amazon) for around $135 plus shipping. Just Google "smith c48j2n131b1". If you have good access to the pump, changing the motor is typically easier than replacing an entire pump, since you don't need to redo the plumbing.

Actually, first should be Welcome to TFP!

As far as the pump motor "overworking", a smaller hp motor simply moves less water per hour than a higher hp pump. It does not "work harder" to do that. As tim5055 says, the heat was likely due to bad bearings.

Interestingly, a smaller motor/pump that moves 1000 gallons in an hour uses less total electricity in that hour than a larger pump that moves 1000 gallons in 30 minutes uses during those 30 minutes. The amount of electricity required to move a gallon of water is less with a smaller pump.

That is why you will often see recommendations for smaller pumps on this forum.

Mike

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

If you are going to replace the motor, I would take the opportunity to upgrade to a 2-speed version and save yourself some money on electricity.

If you open up the pump and check the impeller part number, you will then know if the motor was "overworked". You can not use a motor rated for smaller than the impeller size, but you can use a larger motor with no issues.