So I purchased the home 4 years ago this July. I've used the pool for 3 seasons total and the first summer I got use out of the pool the way it was but everything was pretty old. The company I use opened the pool the following year and the pump motor was seized. I wanted to convert to salt so I had them basically replace everything (pump, filter, had a heater installed and some automation for the salt and attached spa). That summer ran perfect.
Last summer's opening was problematic. The company must have sent their B team and they left the filter head set to Closed when they turned on the system. The guys left before the head blew from the pressure and since nobody was home, it started draining my pool well below the skimmer boxes. I have a main drain but thankfully the timer was set to turn off before I got home so I only lost half my pool water instead of all of it. The company was good about replacing the filter head, refunding the cost of the opening and replacing the salt I lost due to the draining. At the time, I asked if this would have had a negative effect on the motor since the skimmer boxes were pulling air (only the main drain pulled water) and they insisted it was fine. Barring the incident, the motor ran fine all season again and the same company closed the pool.
I decide to give the company another chance this year since they did right by the situation (and they're still the cheapest option in the area) but I'm now being told they tried to fire up the system and motor is seized. The motor that lasted two seasons. The motor that was running at the end of last season. I asked the guy about a warranty since he installed the parts two years ago but he said the motors are warrantied only for 1 year but he would replace it at cost. I asked him about the incident from last year but he again insisted that wouldn't have been the problem.
So as a guy who doesn't know what to believe I'm here to ask: Am I being scammed or did I just get unlucky with the motor and sometimes they just fail (unfortunately)? Do I have any recourse? And what would you expect the distributor cost of a new motor to be for a 40,000 gallon in-ground pool?
Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
Last summer's opening was problematic. The company must have sent their B team and they left the filter head set to Closed when they turned on the system. The guys left before the head blew from the pressure and since nobody was home, it started draining my pool well below the skimmer boxes. I have a main drain but thankfully the timer was set to turn off before I got home so I only lost half my pool water instead of all of it. The company was good about replacing the filter head, refunding the cost of the opening and replacing the salt I lost due to the draining. At the time, I asked if this would have had a negative effect on the motor since the skimmer boxes were pulling air (only the main drain pulled water) and they insisted it was fine. Barring the incident, the motor ran fine all season again and the same company closed the pool.
I decide to give the company another chance this year since they did right by the situation (and they're still the cheapest option in the area) but I'm now being told they tried to fire up the system and motor is seized. The motor that lasted two seasons. The motor that was running at the end of last season. I asked the guy about a warranty since he installed the parts two years ago but he said the motors are warrantied only for 1 year but he would replace it at cost. I asked him about the incident from last year but he again insisted that wouldn't have been the problem.
So as a guy who doesn't know what to believe I'm here to ask: Am I being scammed or did I just get unlucky with the motor and sometimes they just fail (unfortunately)? Do I have any recourse? And what would you expect the distributor cost of a new motor to be for a 40,000 gallon in-ground pool?
Thanks in advance for your help and advice.