Removed blockage in impeller, reattached dry part of Pump, now no prime, just hum.

[quallsdw]

First post here, thanks in advance for your time!

I had been getting around 5 psi on filter gauge, and basically deduced it must be a clogged impeller after ruling out everything else.

Took off the dry part of the Pentair Challenger Pump, the diffuser and plate, and could easily see blockage in the eye of the impeller. Cleaned that all out, then re-lubed all o-rings, reattached dry part of motor to the wet part, sealed up.

Finally, I filled up the strainer basket and there were no leaks.

Started the filter and just a hum from the motor, which tripped the breaker after about 5 secs. Display states “No flow to pump”. Went through entire process again, and same result.

What the heck have I done wrong? Thanks for any ideas!!

 

[Texas Splash]

Others may have more experience here, but I'll kick-start it. Unless it was a really big coincidence that the capacitor just happened to go bad, I would be inclined to think one of two things may have happened:
1 - Something is still hung-up from the tear-down, not allowing free rotation resulting in that stall and shut-down. Have you tried turning the impeller by hand? Or another way is by removing power from the pump, removing the back cover, and trying to rotate the motor from the rear? Perhaps you can confirm if it is jammed. If should have a smooth turning action. Sometimes a simple turn or two of the motor shaft helps to free-up things.
2 - Maybe the centrifugal switch is stuck following the maintenance

I know this sounds old-school, but after all that, if it still just hums, try a couple taps on the motor casing. Perhaps a little "love-tap" or two with something like a 2x4 (careful not to dent the casing) will help to free-up what ever may be tight, jammed, or even a dirty connection.

 

[Jimrahbe]

q,

Welcome to TFP... A great place to find the answers to all your pool equipment questions..

The most logical thing is that you have somehow gotten the impeller jammed so that it will not turn.

I would turn off the power to the pump and take out the pump basket... Stick your finger in the hole at the bottom and see if you can easily move the impeller. If yes, then it may be an electrical issue..

Obviously, if the impeller won't move you have found the problem.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[quallsdw]

Thank you both for the replies!

The impeller and shaft did freely rotate after I removed the blockage (with no power, just by hand). After the first attempt, and subsequent redo, I even turned on the power with the dry motor part still unattached, and flicked the filter on button just for a split second. It fired the impeller right up, rotating lightning quick, and I immediately shut it off. Reattached, and still just the hum and no prime up.

In the morning, I’m going to try to see if I can rotate by hand while attached through the pipe from the strainer basket. I just can’t figure out what else I changed as it should’ve been so simple taking this off and putting back on. Would having the pressure relief valve still open on the top of the filter have any affect? It is still open as I was going to close it off when water starting coming out... but maybe it needs to be shut to get prime?

Would the shaft seal somehow need replaced?? I can’t see any reason why since I didn’t even take the impeller off, nor anything past the impeller.

Thank you all so much.

 

[JamesW]

Most likely the impeller is impinging on the diffuser or seal plate.

If the seal plate grommets are loose, the motor will not be pulled tight against the seal plate, which can cause the impeller to rub.

Check the seal plate, impeller and diffuser for signs of rubbing against each other.

Look at the 2 lower bolts that hold the motor to the seal plate. If there is a lot of corrosion, that's usually a sign that the grommets might be coming loose.

 

[quallsdw]

SUCCESS!! Thank you all so much. Feels so good to fix this stuff on my own. Y’all convinced me that the impeller was still not able to spin freely, and turns out, that was it. There was about a quarter inch buildup of clayey junk around the periphery of the cylindrical channel through the diffuser. I just thought it was a part of the diffuser it was so worn on. I chiseled thru it with a screwdriver and hammer, cleaned it all off, and reinstalled everything.

Primed pump, turned filter on, and it’s better than ever now. Thank you all very much for your time in reading this. I really appreciate it!

DQ from Texas.

 

[JamesW]

Good job. Thanks for the update.

 

[Texas Splash]

Outstanding!