questions about pump motor and vac pressure

[kramer]

So I made some total newb mistakes over the winter. New house, new pool, total newb, didn't discover this site until last month. My pump timer is inside the house next to the main electrical box. The timer looks exactly like the timer for the outside lights at my old house. So naturally, when I first got to the timer, I set it to come on around 4 or 5 PM and go off at 11 PM to light up the driveway at night. Meanwhile, whatever I did outside to make sure the cover pump came on as needed would cause the filter pump to run if it was plugged in, and you won't believe it, but I actually thought I needed to circulate the water through the filter over the winter. This was really dumb as my water was likely one giant frozen block of ice eventually. Plus, even if it wasn't, all the pipes had of course been blown out and plugged at closing long before I moved in.

Long story not so short, I really screwed up the pump/motor. Needed a new seal and a new impeller when we opened, but even with those installed, the pump leaked (possibly unrelated to my newb-ness as the new seal may have been installed incorrectly by pool company) and the sound of the motor was unbearable. So, now I have a new motor and you have the wonderfully entertaining back story. Questions I am hoping folks can answer:

1) Should I be concerned that the pool company replaced my Hayward motor with what looks like a no-name, off brand motor? It has the same specs and all, but knowing nothing about manufacturers and quality, I wonder if I will get the same performance and longevity.

2) Pressure while vacuuming was typically 9 PSI with the old motor. This new one doesn't quite reach 5. And the pump basket housing thing (or whatever that's called) never fills completely with water. There are air bubbles rumbling through it the whole time, and I assume that means I am not really getting the pump totally primed. I also hade to get a new vac hose as my old one snapped in half. I guess my main question is should the basket fill with water and have no air bubbles? I am thinking YES. Could the motor be responsible or did I just get a crappy hose at the big box hardware store? Or am I just failing to get it prime by not getting all the air out of the hose before I start the pump?

Thanks everyone. Just my second thread here, but I learned a lot from the first one and from several weeks of lurking.

 

[OldPoolMan]

First of all, leave the vac hose out of the system so you can look at the pump first. FYI, bad seal or bad seal plate gasket will cause suction issues. Actually it sounds as if suction issues are your problem. It's quite likely that the fittings in front of your pump are sucking air due to the freeze/run dry situation you had. The motor brand might be an issue: What brand is it? Also did your repair guy give you the same hp impellor? Your pump pot should fill with water almost completely and the lower psi on the filter is related to that. Your old motor died due to it running dry and that destroyed the bearings and caused the loud noise

 

[kramer]

All seems fine when not vacuuming. Filter PSI is 14 which has been my "opening, post backwash" PSI and is where it was before I got the new motor. The pump pot is full and there are no water leaks. New motor runs quiet. The new equipment looks exactly the same, except the motor housing is black as opposed to gold. The only info I remember from both plates is 1 HP and 3,450 RPM. I believe the new motor is AO Smith UST1102 and it came in a Century Box. I just have a bad feeling that it's not a Hayward branded motor.

The suction problem starts when I hook up the vac hose. Pressure drops and stabilizes around 5, and I have bubbles in the pump pot. In the past, I've seen the bubbles slowly disappear as the pot fills with water, but it doesn't happen when I have the hose connected. Reading the sticky at the top of this sub-forum, now I am thinking I might need a bigger hose or the one I have might have a small hole.

 

[mas985]

FYI, bad seal or bad seal plate gasket will cause suction issues.

Both are on the pressure side of the pump so would leak water out and not air in.

The air leak could be in the pump drain plug under the pump basket or the pump basket lid or further up the suction line. Perhaps a valve position was changed somewhere or the tech did not lube the gaskets on the pump lid or drain plug.

It is possible that the impeller was clogged and the tech cleaned it out so now the suction is higher than before. Also check the cleaner hose for any clogs.