Glacier Chiller Fan Motor

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jark87

jark87

Silver Supporter
Jun 5, 2011
1,319
Flower Mound, TX
Pool Size
25500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Jandy Aquapure 1400
My fan motor appears to have gone out on my chiller. I checked the breaker and it seems to be fine. Chiller pump is working and both pump and fan are wired to the same breaker. I know nothing about electrical components except how to turn them on and off. Is there anything else I should check before ordering a new motor? Also, do I have any options other than the Glacier replacement motor? They want $500 for a 1/4 hp motor, which seems outrageous. It has a long shaft for the fan blade and a unique 3 point mounting bracket that is part of the housing. I searched the model number, but found nothing. Thanks for any help!
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Does the fan spin smoothly by hand or is it all bound up or feels like it's grinding on something when you try to move the fan blades? If the shaft of the fan spins freely and easily, then it might be nothing more than the start capacitor on the motor which, on a lot of motors, is a fully serviceable items and usually costs less than $20 to replace. Depending on how the motor is designed, it could also be the centrifugal switch that takes the start cap out of the circuit when the motor reaches a certain rotational speed. Unfortunately, this will require someone with some familiarity with fan motors. An HVAC contractor should be able to diagnose the motor as your chiller is nothing more than A/C unit designed to cool pool water. A/C compressor and fan motors blow capacitors all the time and are one of the main types of service calls HVAC guys get when a homeowner calls about a non-functioning AC unit....
 
Thanks for the replies. Fan blade will not spin at all. There is a glob of what appears to be dried glue on top of one of the blades that looks like it might have dropped down from the motor. Of course, it may have been there all along and I just never noticed it. There are a number of electric motor repair shops nearby that give free estimates, so I’ll disconnect it and take it to one of them. It’s only 5 years old, so I’m a little surprised that the motor would go out so quickly, even though I run it every day during the summer. My pool pump motor lasted much longer and runs every day of the year.

I’ve drained the chiller and covered it for the winter. It was probably time to shut it down anyway. Pool got down to 72 last week when humidity dropped. Rain and high humidity along with mild air temps this week render it useless anyway. I’ll now have a project for a nice day this fall. 🙂
 
jark87 said:
Thanks for the replies. Fan blade will not spin at all. There is a glob of what appears to be dried glue on top of one of the blades that looks like it might have dropped down from the motor. Of course, it may have been there all along and I just never noticed it. There are a number of electric motor repair shops nearby that give free estimates, so I’ll disconnect it and take it to one of them. It’s only 5 years old, so I’m a little surprised that the motor would go out so quickly, even though I run it every day during the summer. My pool pump motor lasted much longer and runs every day of the year.

I’ve drained the chiller and covered it for the winter. It was probably time to shut it down anyway. Pool got down to 72 last week when humidity dropped. Rain and high humidity along with mild air temps this week render it useless anyway. I’ll now have a project for a nice day this fall. 🙂
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jark87,
I’m considering buying a glacier chiller. What was the resolution of your motor issue?
Thanks,
Mike
 
Funny you ask, as now that spring has arrived, I’ve been thinking about that project. I haven’t done anything with it yet, but will update this thread once I do. Other than the motor failure, I’ve been very pleased with the Glacier. It did what I wanted it to do. Water temps stayed in the low to mid-80s all summer last year, and even dipped into the 70s during a period of low humidity. You don’t have to keep it that cool - I ran the chiller every day because I like a nice shock when I dive in. 🥶
 
How much did it cost you to run the cooler (on the electric bill)? Did you run it all day nonstop? For how long? Considering one too 😀
 
conradvaml said:
How much did it cost you to run the cooler (on the electric bill)? Did you run it all day nonstop? For how long? Considering one too 😀
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Sorry - I haven’t tracked electricity cost, but the chiller itself can’t consume too much, as there are only 2 things running: the fan motor and a small float pump that pumps water into the pool once the basin fills. It’s nothing like the cost of running an AC unit. Having said that, I’m also running my pool pump at the same time, so that adds to electricity consumption. I was doing that anyway when I was using misters in an attempt to cool the water, so I see that as no additional cost. Starting at some point in May, I’ll run the pool and chiller for 17 hours per day (3 am - 8 pm). I’ll maintain that schedule until mid- to late-September. It definitely works. My water temps were reaching mid-90s starting around July 4 and we wouldn’t use the pool much after then. Since we’ve had the chiller, we enjoy the pool all season long now.
 
jark87 said:
Sorry - I haven’t tracked electricity cost, but the chiller itself can’t consume too much,
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Interesting! Yeah, that makes sense. Someone else in another thread - North Texas Pool Temps in July/Aug - figured that it cost him $0.60 per hour. To be fair, this is with a heat pump running in chill mode. I can't figure it's much different from a dedicated chiller though (correct me if I'm wrong). If the $0.60/hour figure is right, your schedule will cost you about $1500 for the year I guess. Not too bad I guess...if it works a lot better then your misters did that is. How does it compare to your misters?

Edit: I just schooled myself by looking at their graphics: Residential Pool Cooling by Glacier Pool Coolers | Glacier Pool Coolers

Wow, didn't realize there was such a big difference.
 
conradvaml said:
How does it compare to your misters?
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Night and day. Misters would cool temps down overnight, but by mid-afternoon, water was hot again. I might get a 4-5° drop overnight. Our pool is in direct sun most of the day, but the chiller is heavily shaded all day, which I’m sure helps. Plus, wind would blow the mister spray on the surrounding landscaping and that was doing a fair amount of damage to the plants. Add in that my wife hated them and the chiller was a HUGE success!

I noticed on the Glacier link that Glacier is claiming a 10° drop overnight. That’s not realistic, at least not in the DFW climate. Like the misters, I will only get a 4-5° drop in 1 night, but by running continuously throughout the day every day, I can maintain pretty low temps. I try to get ahead of the summer heat by starting in early May so I avoid needing a big cool down.
 

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Well, I finally got around to taking the motor into a repair shop. Their repair estimate was $500, which is the cost of a new motor from Glacier, so I was bummed about that. The guy did tell me that the coil used in the Glacier motor was not nearly as well insulated as what he would rebuild it with, but I’m going with a new motor anyway. If anyone else ever has to do this, the removal of the fan blade is a 2 man job! At least mine was. It was really stuck on.

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Received motor from Glacier and installed it a couple of days ago. Reassembly was much easier than getting it out, although it’s pretty clumsy since the fan, motor and fan guard all have to go on at the same time. I was able to do it by myself. Wiring is simple, but I must have left the compression connector on the old motor, so I had to run to Lowe’s and got lucky that the one I bought was the right size. I haven’t turned it on yet since water temp is still 70°, but am not anticipating any trouble. I’m now prepared for another hot Texas summer with water temps in the low 80s!
 
Bvacchiano said:
How long have u had your chiller?
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5 years, I think. I can’t remember if this is the 5th or 6th summer. I run my chiller pretty hard - 17 hours/day, every day, starting in late April/early May until mid to late September. I found that by getting ahead of the heat, I can keep water temp in the low to mid 80s all summer, which is right where I like it. I’ve never been able to get the 10-15° drop overnight that Glacier claims.
 
We’ve had such a wet and mild Spring, I started the chiller today for the first time this season. It’s the latest into the season I’ve gone since we installed it. Happy to report my motor installation worked!
 
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jark87 said:
Received motor from Glacier and installed it a couple of days ago. Reassembly was much easier than getting it out, although it’s pretty clumsy since the fan, motor and fan guard all have to go on at the same time. I was able to do it by myself. Wiring is simple, but I must have left the compression connector on the old motor, so I had to run to Lowe’s and got lucky that the one I bought was the right size. I haven’t turned it on yet since water temp is still 70°, but am not anticipating any trouble. I’m now prepared for another hot Texas summer with water temps in the low 80s!
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@jark87 Can I ask a question? My motor went out too. Got a new one from Glacier. My original wiring had Leads 1 & 3 connected to my white power wire and leads 2 & 4 connected to the black. My new motor came in with leads 1 & 4 free and 2 & 3 connected together and taped together. Mine was the Liang Chi motor. How did you wire your replacement. Thanks
 
I don’t remember the exact wiring, but I wired it back just like it was when I disconnected. I double-checked it against the wiring diagram on the motor, just to make sure. Your motor should also have a diagram on it that you can use. Mine was TECO.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Does the fan spin smoothly by hand or is it all bound up or feels like it's grinding on something when you try to move the fan blades? If the shaft of the fan spins freely and easily, then it might be nothing more than the start capacitor on the motor which, on a lot of motors, is a fully serviceable items and usually costs less than $20 to replace.
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My fan stopped working on my GPC25. To make a long story short, it was indeed the 20uf capacitor that was shot (after only one year of use!). Replaced with similar I bought on Amazon for $12.00 and now working correctly again.
 
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siffert said:
My fan stopped working on my GPC25. To make a long story short, it was indeed the 20uf capacitor that was shot (after only one year of use!). Replaced with similar I bought on Amazon for $12.00 and now working correctly again.
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Was it hard to change? My fan does spin freely. When I turn it on, the fan just spins slow.
 
Ed Blown Vert said:
Was it hard to change? My fan does spin freely. When I turn it on, the fan just spins slow.
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Like you, I seem to recall mine was moving slowly, then stopped completely. No, its simply the top part of the motor that comes out. Three screws I recall. Simply take it off, look inside and you will see the capacitor. Remove, fit similar size 20uf capacitor and your done. See if the fan works.. Do that before even thinking about replacing that $450-$500 motor from Glacier
 
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