Basics - 28,000 gal in-ground pool. 1 HP motor rated at 6.6A at 220V and 13.6 A at 110V. Built in 1989. Owned house last 5 years. Problem - after I had the pool opened two weeks ago, everything ran fine. 2 days later had problem with circuit breaker blowing. I've isolated that problem to an underground wire issue. However, in the trouble shooting of that problem, I have learned that my motor is drawing higher than rated current. On the 220 circuit, it draws 7.8-7.9 A. On a 110 circuit it is drawing 14.7-14.8A. There are no air leaks in my system, the filter in the main housing is clean, skimmer baskets clean. The motor was new last year, and as part of my circuit breaker problem, thought the motor was the culprit, had it replaced under warranty. Both motors pulled ~8 Amps on the 220 circuit. I am trying to figure out what might be causing the motor to pull such high current. On the 220 circuit it runs cool, on the 110 circuit its warm. Century motor.
High current draw - Hayward Super Pump
- Thread starter donleo
- Start date
cfherrman
TFP Guide
Check your wiring, if you have a partial broken wire or bad connection it will pull more current.
Are you setting the voltage correctly in the motor?
What size breaker are you using?
What else is on the circuit?
If the wiring is known to be bad, you have to fix that first.
The wiring has to be sized correctly and all connections and switches have to be in good condition.
What size breaker are you using?
What else is on the circuit?
If the wiring is known to be bad, you have to fix that first.
The wiring has to be sized correctly and all connections and switches have to be in good condition.
James - thanks! So I believe there is a wire problem in the normal 220 circuit the pump is on. So now I have it running on 110 using an extension cord plugged into a GFCI protected outlet. The motor is correctly wired for 110 - moved the plug to the 110 spot and verified neutral and hot are on correct terminals. It’s still drawing more amperage than the rating calls for. 14.7 vs 13.6. Same as is was when it was on the 220 circuit. There it was drawing 8 amps vs rating of 6.6.
You need to measure the voltage at the terminals while the pump is on.
The voltage should be at least 115 or 230 for each voltage. If lower, that's a problem.
The voltage should be at least 115 or 230 for each voltage. If lower, that's a problem.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,242
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Corrosion at any of the connections will increase resistance, decrease voltage, and increase current.
Clean all of the wires and contacts with emery cloth.
There could be internal corrosion the motor causing the problem.
Clean all of the wires and contacts with emery cloth.
There could be internal corrosion the motor causing the problem.
From what JamesW said that’s low. What would cause that? This is a brand new motor by the way.
JamesW - I may have replied at the wrong place on the thread. Voltage is 107.
Low voltage is a supply problem. Maybe undersized wiring or bad connections.
What is the voltage when the pump is off?
What is the voltage when the pump is off?
I can’t really check that now since I’m temporarily using an extension cord to power the pump - not going through a switch or timer
You can check the voltage at the outlet.
Unplug the pump and measure the voltage.
Most likely, you're getting excessive voltage drop due to undersized wiring or bad connections.
If your voltage is low with no load, then that indicates a general power issue that might need to be resolved by the power company.
Unplug the pump and measure the voltage.
Most likely, you're getting excessive voltage drop due to undersized wiring or bad connections.
If your voltage is low with no load, then that indicates a general power issue that might need to be resolved by the power company.
Voltage at the outlet is 120 so I’m good there. The extension cord is 100 ft and is a 15amp rated cord so probably undersized for the amount of power the pump is drawing.
That's too much voltage drop.
The wire is undersized. You have to provide bigger wire to get the voltage to stay above 115.
Once you can get the voltage to stay above 115 under load, then you can check the amperage.
The wire is undersized. You have to provide bigger wire to get the voltage to stay above 115.
Once you can get the voltage to stay above 115 under load, then you can check the amperage.
16 ga is way too small - at least 14 but more like 12, depending on what breaker size you have and 220V vs 110V
you should have a yellow [12awg extension cord] not an orange [14 ga] as a temp solution
you should have a yellow [12awg extension cord] not an orange [14 ga] as a temp solution
There are multiple voltage drop calculators online if you want to see what effect wire size and length have on the voltage.
Just Google voltage drop calculator.
Just Google voltage drop calculator.
Similar threads
