Ran Pump Dry, Now Sucking Air

[johne417]

I ran my pump dry for a bit. Long enough to warp the pump basket from heat. Now it appears as though I may have a suction side leak. It takes awhile to prime once I turn on, even when it does finally prime now the basket retains some air spinning at the top, once turned off all water immediately leaves and loses prime, and I can't get it to prime with filter in in backwash/waste mode. Looks like there's some leaking coming out of the pump area too, which I already had a little before but now it's a lot worse. Attached are a couple pics. Motor specs: Centurion 1HP 3450 RPM single speed hard-wired either 115V or 230V won't know until I open circuit box or motor. Pump specs label is almost completely unreadable but it says Hayward SP and then I think the next two are 26 and then can't read. Pump is minimum 6 yrs old based on move-in date but quite possibly much more. 18K gallon fiberglass pool. Questions:

1) I guess if I want to try to fix this pump the next steps are to pick up some silicone lubricant grease and open up the pump and try to find/fix any problems? What are my chances of success here - pretty good, or probably not worth the time/effort?

2) Related to #1, is this pump worth salvaging? I suspect it's pretty old.

3) If I bought a new pump, any recommendations? Specifically, I'm seeing lots of really cost effective options on Amazon <$250 for pumps/motors with specs very similar to this one. Is there any good reason not to just go with one of those?

4) I'm considering upgrading to SWG in 2-3 years. My understanding is that I'll need a programmable pump if I did this, i.e. my current manual-switch operation won't suffice. If I got a new pump with this in mind, what should I look for in the spec sheet? Is any type of programmable pump viable for SWG, or do I need to look beyond hardwired, or anything specific I should look for in the pump specs?

Really appreciate the help, you all rock!

 

[PoolStored]

1) I guess if I want to try to fix this pump the next steps are to pick up some silicone lubricant grease and open up the pump and try to find/fix any problems? What are my chances of success here - pretty good, or probably not worth the time/effort?

What caused the pump to run dry in the first place?

You can try lubing o-rings (basket cover, drain plugs). Once you have enough heat to warp the basket, you likely warped the wet end too. Worth a shot, but if it doesn't work, wet end is likely kaput. Given you have leaking from the pump, the shaft seal is also likely damaged.

2) Related to #1, is this pump worth salvaging? I suspect it's pretty old.

That's a personal preference. Probably going to cost as much as a new pump.

3) If I bought a new pump, any recommendations? Specifically, I'm seeing lots of really cost effective options on Amazon <$250 for pumps/motors with specs very similar to this one. Is there any good reason not to just go with one of those?

4) I'm considering upgrading to SWG in 2-3 years. My understanding is that I'll need a programmable pump if I did this, i.e. my current manual-switch operation won't suffice. If I got a new pump with this in mind, what should I look for in the spec sheet? Is any type of programmable pump viable for SWG, or do I need to look beyond hardwired, or anything specific I should look for in the pump specs?

I'll try to answer both of these together. If you are going SWCG at some point, then it makes sense to get a variable speed pump. Allows you to run at slower speeds and save $$

If you have 115V service at the pad, about the only option you have is:

SuperFlo® VST Pool Pump

Pentair SuperFlo VST Variable Speed Pool Pump for inground pools is for pools requiring up to a 1.5 HP pump. This pump is a TradeGrade product.

www.pentair.com

If you have 230V, there are lots of good VSPs. One that a number of members have picked up and like:

CaliMar | 1.5HP Variable Speed Pool Pump | 1 Year Warranty

calimarpool.com

CaliMar | 3-HP Variable Speed Pool Pump | 1 Year Warranty

calimarpool.com

 

[johne417]

Thanks for the reply!

What caused the pump to run dry in the first place?

Glad you asked! So I hired this contractor and I knew right away the guy was a CLOWN but then he went and...

Just kidding, it was me. Long story short: Oops.

If you have 115V service at the pad, about the only option you have is:

SuperFlo® VST Pool Pump

Pentair SuperFlo VST Variable Speed Pool Pump for inground pools is for pools requiring up to a 1.5 HP pump. This pump is a TradeGrade product.

www.pentair.com

The other 230V pump variable options in your links look more reasonable but Yikes, so if I only have 115V then I'm looking at $1K+ for a variable speed pump? Welp, if that's the case then if I have 115V, then I won't be worrying about SWCG / variable speed stuff for now. In that case, back to question #3: If I only have 115V and didn't want to upgrade to variable speed or anything, just a manual hardwired 1HP like I have now, I'm seeing lots of cost effective options on Amazon for <$250, even in the $100 range. Is there any reason beyond variable speed to not just go with one of those?

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks for the reply!


Glad you asked! So I hired this contractor and I knew right away the guy was a CLOWN but then he went and...

Just kidding, it was me. Long story short: Oops.


The other 230V pump variable options in your links look more reasonable but Yikes, so if I only have 115V then I'm looking at $1K+ for a variable speed pump? Welp, if that's the case then if I have 115V, then I won't be worrying about SWCG / variable speed stuff for now. In that case, back to question #3: If I only have 115V and didn't want to upgrade to variable speed or anything, just a manual hardwired 1HP like I have now, I'm seeing lots of cost effective options on Amazon for <$250, even in the $100 range. Is there any reason beyond variable speed to not just go with one of those?

Any pump that you can find on Amazon for less than $250 would be a tremendous waste of money. You can't just compare horsepower and expect to get the same performance. While we usually think of horsepower as the work that will be done, in this case the amount of water moved, for pumps it is more a measure of how much energy will be used. Cheap pump use the energy but don't do the work.

As to the suction leak, if the pump over heated that much, it is very likely that that regular PVC male adapter going into the pump has warped/shrunk and needs to be replaced. The same for the outlet plumbing, it is leaking as well. A couple of 1.5" high-temperature pump unions should be used.

If you are happy with the performance of your pump, a Nidec Neptune NPTT165 motor, with a Hayward Super Pump GO kit (O rings, seal, etc.) will bolt right to it. It then will be a VSP. That motor can be used with 120/240V. As with most VSP, it will have its own control that gets programmed right on the motor. Your existing time clock could then be used to control an SWG

 

[johne417]

So turns out that after running my pump dry for awhile, I had developed a crack in the suction-side plumbing going into the pump. Sounds like a common issue when the pump runs dry long enough to heat the plumbing up. So after replacing that plumbing I have it working again, and even though it's an older pump I'll just keep running with it for now. Attached pic shows the crack in the middle. Thanks for the help everyone!