Impeller sheared?

[Blivit79]

Last year (February 2015 to be exact) I replaced the motor on my pump. I do not know the age of the unit that was replaced as we had just bought the home; it appeared to be old though.

Opted for a 2-speed over the single speed that was there. Wired in a switch, replaced all seals and gaskets, re-used the impeller and put everything back together. Everything was fine and has been fine for the past year.

Came home from work yesterday and saw the vacuum wasn't moving but the pump was "on." It wasn't making any odd noises and there are no visible leaks, there was just no pressure.

I did some investigating. The switch is fine as the unit turns on normally and I can switch from low to high speed. There is no bearing noise or any abnormal noises coming from the unit. I took the electrical cover off and the shaft spins freely. In fact, it spins as it should when the pump is turned on both high and low speed. I then took out the strainer basket and tried to get my hand inside (everything off of course) and I think I can feel the impeller. I feel something in there that I can kind of spin by hand it is just hard to reach. Is that the impeller? Sounds silly as I did install everything myself but I am just not sure if I should be able to feel the impeller from there. Whatever it is, if I spin the shaft in the back by hand, it does not spin at the same time.

Does this sound like the impeller has sheared from the shaft? How common is this? I suppose this is compounded by the fact that the impeller itself is several years old. I am going to take it apart tonight. At 1 year on the install of the new pump with no leaks (not visible anyway) what gaskets or seals do you think I would need to replace in the process?

 

[440dodge440]

What brand/model pump is it? Maybe people with that brand can reply...I have a Hayward that got a piece of 'grass' (not exactly grass, but a very strong grass like bush) wrapped around the impeller shaft, causing the impeller shaft to snap. It was an easy fix, just the impeller and no other seals, etc....Whether or not I should've replaced more, I don't know.

 

[Blivit79]

What brand/model pump is it? Maybe people with that brand can reply...I have a Hayward that got a piece of 'grass' (not exactly grass, but a very strong grass like bush) wrapped around the impeller shaft, causing the impeller shaft to snap. It was an easy fix, just the impeller and no other seals, etc....Whether or not I should've replaced more, I don't know.

Thanks. It is an older hayward max-flo. I do not know the exact model number. I have a picture of the impeller from when I took the old pump off. I have gone ahead and ordered a new one along with seals just in case. I will find out tonight what happened hopefully.

 

[Blivit79]

Took it apart last night and the impeller was definitely sheared from the shaft. The threaded end was all plastic and had just cracked in half. Luckily it all came out easily. I did not find anything inside that may have caused this so I will assume just age. New unit already on order and it looks like it has metal threads which should hopefully last longer. All of the seals and gaskets looked good and there were no leaks but since I took everything apart and have already ordered replacements I will do all of that at the same time.

 

[440dodge440]

Good to hear it should be a simple fix. I had the plastic shaft on my broken impeller as well. The new one appeared to be brass, so I'm guessing this must have been a common problem for them.