Power cord is HOT

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It's either the pump or supply. An electrician should be able to tell you for sure which it is.

See if you can find this locally.

Kill A Watt Meter - Electricity Usage Monitor | P3

It's inexpensive and can tell you a lot.

It just plugs in and then you plug the pump into the killawatt device.

If the pump is really pulling a lot of current, it might be too much for the device and burn it out instantly.

Maybe take the pump to a local electric motor repair shop for evaluation.
 
"The power use would not go up but the lack of flow would cause the motor to overheat because water flow helps cool the motor." from post 36

The above is a false statement. The water cools the pump, not the motor.

Is it the motor or pump that is getting hot? post 11 states the pump.

either way, really need an ammeter (voltmeter too, but it will only tell you part of the story) to see what is up with the motor. some ammeters have voltmeters too. But that kill-a-watt item looks intriguing.
 
[h=1]Southwire Digital 600-Volt Clamp Meter[/h]
Item # 464290 Model # 21010N

$39.98 at lowes,

but the kill-a-watt meter is probably easier to use and not mess up...did either electrician check the volts and amps... they are a real quick and easy test for someone in the trade
 
So this is the type of multi meter that would measure what you need to know.
Extech Instruments Manual Clamp Meter Mini 200-Amp AC/DC with NCV-MA150 - The Home Depot

Or this device which is what James was referring to.
P3 International Kill A Watt EZ Meter-P4460 - The Home Depot

Since you don't seem familiar with electrical wiring I suggest the second device James said. It won't involve taking your outlet apart. It just plugs in.

I'm going to assume that since your original pump lasted over a year the the outlet and wire going to it are installed correctly and the right wire size.

There could be damage to the buried wire somewhere but its not likely to cause the issue you are having. That kind of damage would most likely trip the breaker in the house with or without the pump.

As for the temperature of the new pump, temperature is subjective and hot to one is warm to another. Could you take a thermometer, something like a cooking thermometer would work great, and measure the hottest spot on the motor and note which location is the hottest.

Another quick thing that could help would be to take a photo of the name tag on the motor with all the motor specs on it.

There is no such thing really as too much water thru the pump. You can "stall" a pump which is where it spins and moves no water which will make the motor use less power but that will overheat and damage the wet end of the pump not the motor.

One more thought at anytime did you change just the motor on the pump or have the changes always been a complete motor and pump change.
 
Agree with the above, I read an owners manual for an og-powerline xp pump assembly. Don't know if this is yours or not, but if so it says it has thermal protection.

Have you read owners manual and can you verify that? if so you would know it is getting to hot, it will shut off and then restart by itself when it cooled down.

May wish to buy a cheap infared thermometer and see what actual temperature is.
 
The killawatt might be undersized for this test. If the pump is using excessive amps, the killawatt is likely to burn out.

The two main things that you need to know are volts and amps under load.

The electrician should have measured those.

Do you have a picture of the motor label?
 

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Thank you all for your input. I really hope to not go a third weekend without a working pump or filter or whatever it is that's not working! We're having a wedding reception in our yard in ten days - I am spending more time on this than the wedding. Ugh

Zea3 - I'll try the hose thing tomorrow.

ike0069 - the pressure is always between 7 and ten, I backwash when it gets above ten.

dobeluvr- Sorry, it's the motor that is hot.
Ill get a clamp meter n the morning.
And yes, that is my pump. So it should shut off when it gets too hot? Everyone who has been here has agreed that it's too hot. Ill check that tomorrow as well.

CJadamac - The pool company tried changing the motor on the original pump, that one made a screeching noise. I think it was just defective. Got the second one back in March and it was nice and quiet, ran well until two weeks ago when the cord started getting really hot, as well as the motor. This pump is all new, the cord doesn't get hot but the motor does.

I tried running it again at 10 pm tonight. I plugged it into another outlet in the kitchen and it was hot within 15 minutes, I can touch it for a second but no longer.
 
Since this is a new motor and it is a dual voltage motor are you sure its wired correctly in the back of the motor for the voltage coming from the outlet?

I'm assuming your outlet is wired for 110v, if the motor is wired for 230 it will run but it will overload and get hot. Same goes if your outlet is wired for 220v and the motor is wired for 110v the motor will over heat.
 
As for motor temperature that motor is rated as Class B. Which means the windings in the motor are rated to run at a maximum of 130*C (233 *F). Now I'm not say the motor should run that hot but it can run that hot on the inside and be OK.

The maximum ambient temp the motor is rated to run in is 40 C (104 F). Which for most folks is well within the expected range of temps the motor will see. Don't panic if your High for the day is 120 F your motor is going to be fine.

So all that a surface temp on the motor casing of 140F isn't that unreasonable. That is far to warm for you to leave your hand on it but it's not too warm for the motor to handle.
 
CJ is pretty spot on here. Have we determined the actual operating temps of the motor?

I have to disagree with the statement... High pressure will not cause the pump to use more power. High pressure will actually lower power use.


additional comment redacted as I was informed it was incorrect
Dan
 
danpik said:
I have to disagree with the statement... High pressure will not cause the pump to use more power. High pressure will actually lower power use. It indeed will cause more power use.
Click to expand...
Sorry but you are wrong. James is correct. With more head loss, the operating point moves to the left on the head curve and the pump will draw less power. It takes more energy to move water than it does to create pressure in a centrifugal pump. You just need to look at the energy consumption measurements done by Energy Star to convince yourself:

Pump Database - Google Sheets

Also, higher pressure does not slow the motor RPM, in fact RPM is slightly faster because there is less load on the motor. Much like a vacuum cleaner with the exhaust covered.

But back to the problem at hand. I think someone mentioned this before but the motor will draw excessive power if the bearings are failing or there is any interference in the impeller.
 
Looking at the owners manual, as dobeluvr pointed out last night, the motor has a thermal overload sensor on it and it says the motor will shut down if it gets too hot ( this new motor has not shut off at all yet). It says it will run above 140 degrees normally. I am thinking maaaybe it's not TOO hot, :oops: (although everyone who has looked at it thinks it is too hot, no one has checked the actual temp.) I'm having the second electrician come back tomorrow am to check the voltage when we plug it in and 15-30 minutes later. I will also ask him to check the motor temperature. Like I said, I'm over my head with this at this point.
 

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