Pool Pumps repair questions

[goMO]

newbie here, so please bear with me!

i have issues.. my setup is a 10k kidney shape pool. i have a 12 yr old Enerson single speed 3/4 hp motor with a 3/4 polaris booster pump as well. Both pumps have been leaking for months and the Poloaris has been very noisy (like a grinding whirl - neighbors really love it!). I put some of that plumbers tape around it. helped a little bit but not much. i'm not that handy so i couldn't do much more than that without picking up the phone. anyway, couple of cold nights last week, and at one point during the day, i see my pool lost about a foot of water. i run to the pumps and see water spraying everywhere from the plumbing between the pumps/heater/filter, etc. So I shut everything off. frozen water everywhere! all over the pvc pipes, pumps. everything. so after a few days everything thawed out and not i have to figure out what to do.
I called a local pool guy. he quoted me about $500 to repair the leaks in the plumbing, install a jandy 3-way valve (where a red open/shut valve was), seal kit for the main pump, all plumbing and labor. Seems a bit high. I asked him to breakout the materials vs. the labor. waiting for updated proposal.
on the polaris pump, he suggested replacing it completely since it was noisy and was leaking. he quoted me $650 to replace the pump completely.

lastly, he suggested a timer with freeze protection (right now I turn the pumps on and off manually every day). $600 all-in for that.

So overall, quite a bit of money. I'd like to know what my 1)least expensive alternative is, and 2) what the best alternative is. I'm assuming just fixing what is there is cheapest. instead of replacing the booster pump, could that use a seal kit as well? i assume it will still scream and whine?! could i just say screw the booster pump? the timer/freeze protection is a "nice to have", not necessarily a "need to have" especially with the other things that need to be fixed.

Looking for overall suggestions/comments.

thx,
goMO

 

[Rocco]

Do you feel you can remove the pumps and put them back in place? If so I have a couple of pool stores near me called Leslie's and they will take a look at the pumps for free if you bring them in and they can recommend fixes. I have not paid them to fix any pumps so I am not sure what that would cost if they recommend fixing something. However with my limited knowledge of pumps and your discription I would replace one or both.

In regards to the 3 way valve and plumbing that is all pretty straight forward stuff that can be done with materials (3 way valve and PVC) that should cost under $100 I believe. The most expensive part would be the 3 way valve currently arround $46 on Amazon. It would be helpful if you could post some pictures of your equipment area. You will have to upload them to a picture sharing site and post the links in a post.

I close my pool every winter so I do not know much about freeze protection so someone else will have to provide an opinion on that.

 

[Citizen]

One thing I would suggest is simply replacing the entire Polaris booster pump with a new one. if the motor is becoming loud and it is leaking, it is not worth repairing it. The cost of the parts will likely be more than a whole new one that comes with a warranty.

As for the other stuff, a picture of the equipment pad would help.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

If you are a DIY type, all of this is stuff you can do yourself.

That bid is plausible, a tiny bit higher than I would like but not unreasonable.

 

[goMO]

Welcome to TFP!

If you are a DIY type, all of this is stuff you can do yourself.

That bid is plausible, a tiny bit higher than I would like but not unreasonable.

Thanks for the comments, guys. much appreciated. i know i can get the booster pump on amazon for $235. For the $600 job (booster only), he showed me materials of $466 and 2 hours of labor for $285. So is he basically doubling the cost of the pump? i guess there may be some fittings to go along with that, but it seems like quite an uplift. Should I suggest that I supply the pump? Is that like bringing your own steak to a restaurant and asking them to cook it for you?!!

For the plumbing repair, he has materials of $215. that's the 3 way valve and other pvc stuff. Plus 3 hours labor.

For the timer, he has material of $400, but I see that timer (with frost protection) at amazon for $175. Plus 2 hours.

Here's a link to a pic. I couldn't get it to load here (since its in dropbox??).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9u95plg7mchfec/PoolPump.JPG?dl=0

 

[JasonLion]

Many workers will not work with parts they do not supply, though some will. Generally, when the parts are supplied by the worker, they will provide a warranty, which they generally will not do when you supply the parts.

I would ask for bids from some other people and see how they compare, rather than trying to pressure this person into changing their price.

 

[gtemkin]

I don't see his prices as being way out of line. For the pumps he may deal with a local distributor and they provide a list price that he uses. Pretty typical. For his labor (and overhead) he has to either stock various o-rings and other accessories that he'll need on the job site, or possibly take an additional trip to get parts after he's disassembled once he's got there. As long as he does good work, he's not giving you a deal but he's not gouging you either.

 

[mas985]

If you want to save yourself this heartache in the future, at the first sign of a pump leak, replace the seal. Once a pump starts to leak it can cause the motor bearings to fail which is much more expensive to repair than just the seal.

 

[goMO]

so the total for all 3 things was around $1,750. I said due to budget issues I would probably have to do it in stages. fix main pump now, then worry about Polaris down the road since I really don't use it much in the winter anyway. but I said if he could do all 3 for $1,500, I'd consider that. He came back and said $1,600. I said fine. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for the help and advice!