I noticed on Thursday night when I unplugged the pump that it was very hot. We have a grounded electrical outlet dedicated for the pool. This is our second season using it and never a problem before. The electrician couldn't come out until today because of the holiday weekend. When I told him I run it four hours a day, he said I was running it too much. It has been tripping the breaker in the house occasionally the last couple of weeks. Anyway, I'm not comfortable with anything he's coming up with. I'll take the pump to the pool store if I have to but they are horrible to work with. I'd appreciate any thoughts here! Thank you.
Power cord is HOT
- Thread starter Tfaff
- Start date
Sounds like your pump is starting to die. The only reason the cord would heat up is because of an excessive current draw from the motor. In other words something in the pump is trying to use more power than the cord is capable of providing. That is also why your breaker keeps tripping. I would start looking for a new pump
How many amps is your breaker and is it 110 or 220? I'm not an electrician but I believe a 1.5 HP motor will draw around 20 amps on a 110 circuit - half that on 220.
Have your electrician check the amp draw on the motor and then verify your breaker is rated for it. If its drawing more amps than is should, motor is going bad most likely.
Have your electrician check the amp draw on the motor and then verify your breaker is rated for it. If its drawing more amps than is should, motor is going bad most likely.
That could be it, the ( young) electrician who came out here today says it's a 20 amp outlet outside, but I know the switch I flip to reset it on the box has a 15 on it. They're coming back to look at it.:/
My water was beautiful a week ago when this started, I've only been running it a couple hours a day to mix in some chlorine, but the cord heats up so...
But then I wonder how it's worked out fine the last year with this setup... I'll keep "plugging" away at these people. I know I don't want to go another weekend like this.
(The whole Doughboy pump was replaced this spring because the original one was defective, made a screaming noise when running. )
My water was beautiful a week ago when this started, I've only been running it a couple hours a day to mix in some chlorine, but the cord heats up so...
But then I wonder how it's worked out fine the last year with this setup... I'll keep "plugging" away at these people. I know I don't want to go another weekend like this.
(The whole Doughboy pump was replaced this spring because the original one was defective, made a screaming noise when running. )
Having a 20 amp outlet is nice, but if its hooked to a 15 amp breaker, then you have a 15 amp outlet.
As for last year, maybe you just did not notice it, or maybe the pump you had then was not actually 1.5HP.
If the pump/motor ends up being bad and the circuit is 110v, look at going with a 1 HP pump which is plenty for your size pool.
As for last year, maybe you just did not notice it, or maybe the pump you had then was not actually 1.5HP.
If the pump/motor ends up being bad and the circuit is 110v, look at going with a 1 HP pump which is plenty for your size pool.
I think a 1.5 hp motor will draw around 5 amps on 220v or 10 amps on 110 amps. Your 15 amp breaker should be fine. Sounds like your pump is failing.
Sounds like you need to look for a new electrician as well. You should be able to run the pump 24x7 without any issues.
Your pump motor is failing, that is why its drawing so much and overheating. Been there before, simple fix, you need a new motor.
If you look on motor tag, you will see exactly how many amps and volts it requires, no use in having people speculate and offer advice without actually knowing what you have. Should be small silver/black tag on the motor housing somewhere.
Your electrician should easily been able to check the current draw and diagnosed it within minutes. You should be able to run that motor 24/7 for weeks on end with no issues.
Continuing to run the motor as it sits is only asking for trouble and a potential electrical fire, please stop using it until the problem is resolved.
If you look on motor tag, you will see exactly how many amps and volts it requires, no use in having people speculate and offer advice without actually knowing what you have. Should be small silver/black tag on the motor housing somewhere.
Your electrician should easily been able to check the current draw and diagnosed it within minutes. You should be able to run that motor 24/7 for weeks on end with no issues.
Continuing to run the motor as it sits is only asking for trouble and a potential electrical fire, please stop using it until the problem is resolved.
as an electrician i would say that the motor is definitely about to go out. when that happens one of two will happen. it will either just die, and nothing happens or it will pull so much juice that it will burn completely up causing a possible fire. i would stop using immediately. your electrician does not know what he is talking about if he said you have a 20 amp plug if the breaker is only 15amps. i am sure the plug is 20amps, which is pretty normal, but if your breaker is only 15amps then that is all that is going to the plug. the 20amp means that it should not be put on a breaker larger than 20amps. hope i helped some. my opinion is get rid of electrician and find a new and stop using pump.
You are all helpful, so after reading your posts I realized our young electrician said it had to be 20 amp service outside, but I know the breaker downstairs has a "15" on it. Called the senior electrician, he sent jr electrician back to switch the breaker to a 20.
The cord and and pump were still extremely hot after running 20 minutes on the new breaker.
Pool company talked to Doughboy and they were gracious enough to replace the whole 3 month old pump unit.
Brought new unit home, put it in, no leaks, everything looks good, pressure is good, sounds good, and the new pump is piping hot within 15 minutes runnng. The cord is staying cool. The pump is in the shade.
We are having our daughters wedding �� n the back yard in TWO weeks, I am the mother of the bride. Call me Mozilla right now.
Looking for a new electrician.
The cord and and pump were still extremely hot after running 20 minutes on the new breaker.
Pool company talked to Doughboy and they were gracious enough to replace the whole 3 month old pump unit.
Brought new unit home, put it in, no leaks, everything looks good, pressure is good, sounds good, and the new pump is piping hot within 15 minutes runnng. The cord is staying cool. The pump is in the shade.
We are having our daughters wedding �� n the back yard in TWO weeks, I am the mother of the bride. Call me Mozilla right now.
Looking for a new electrician.
Can you leave your hand on the motor? If so, that would be normal. If its too hot to touch at all or its cycling due to temp overload, that is a problem and first thing to check is the voltage. Seems like you might have a wiring issue.
No, at nine o'clock last night I put my hand on it and it would have burned my hand. Thank you, hopefully we can get a new electrician here on Monday. We ran it a few times today for twenty minutes each time, but it's been nine days since I could really run, the water is getting cloudy! Ugh.
New electrician, back to square one. We got a different electrician out today and this time we made sure it was from a very reputable company. He checked everything out and he wants his pool builder to come out and look at our setup to see if something is blocked in the hoses or the filter that is making the pump run so hard. The pool guy hadn't returned my call so I'm wondering if anyone here can talk me through where I should check it myself. This is going on two weeks since I could run my pump normally and our weather has been in the 90's. I'll try to put a picture on here.
Help! Day 13 not being able to run pump!
We had an electrician out today, he says the wiring looks good and wanted a pool person to look at it. The pool guy called and said he's not familiar with above ground pools so he doesn't want to come out. But he thinks maybe something is clogged and is causing the motor to run hot, maybe a hose, or the filter? Any thoughts will be appreciated!
We had an electrician out today, he says the wiring looks good and wanted a pool person to look at it. The pool guy called and said he's not familiar with above ground pools so he doesn't want to come out. But he thinks maybe something is clogged and is causing the motor to run hot, maybe a hose, or the filter? Any thoughts will be appreciated!
I see the pump has a power cord. I want you to get a heavy duty outdoor extension cord, one rated for at least 15 amps and plug the pump into another outlet, and see if the pump and pump cord heats up.
As far as checking for blockages goes, if the pump pot is full with no air bubbles when the pump runs then I doubt there is a blockage on the suction side. If the return flow is strong and the pressure gauge on the filter is within normal limits then a blockage on the return side is also unlikely.
Does the hose between the pump and filter ever pinch together when the pump is running?
As far as checking for blockages goes, if the pump pot is full with no air bubbles when the pump runs then I doubt there is a blockage on the suction side. If the return flow is strong and the pressure gauge on the filter is within normal limits then a blockage on the return side is also unlikely.
Does the hose between the pump and filter ever pinch together when the pump is running?
Add bleach to your pool every day to maintain FC and brush it to keep the algae at bay.
Ok, we have 13 amp cord so I'll round up a 15 amp cord. I can't tell how much water is runnng through the pump, it has a small skimmer basket and I don't see any water bubbles in it. The return is very strong. So I will try the extension cord tomorrow.
Ok, I'll keep up with that, surprisingly the FC is holding pretty well. Would it help to use the solar cover?
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The black hose that goes from the pump to the filter is pretty rigid and it doesn't ever kink or get squashed.
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The black hose that goes from the pump to the filter is pretty rigid and it doesn't ever kink or get squashed.
Ok, that's good about the hose. Before you plug in the pump tomorrow, give it the touch test and see how warm it is from the sun, then check again after it has been running a few minutes to see if the pump is warmer or not.