Intermitent Motor Noise

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Rockcrawler

Rockcrawler

0
May 8, 2007
174
El Paso, Texas
When my filter system comes on, the motor not the pump make a noise, its hard to explain, its not squeling like bearings, but the noise goes up and down, after the pump/motor run about 10 minutes it disappears and sounds normal, it does this everytime it turns on, I have replaced the shaft seals and gaskets. Its a whisperflow 2 h.p. motor 4 yrs old. Any suggestions on what to do??

Seconde question, I know this will vary by run times but approxiamately how long should a motor last?
 
Lifespan depends on the motor's running temperature. For every 10F increase in internal running temperature the motor's life is cut in half. At it's rated temp the projected service life is around 50,000 hours (~5 yrs).

If the noise you hear is not vibration (can you dampen it by putting a foot on the motor?) then it might still be bearing related since it seems to go away once they warm up. Has this only started since the cold weather kicked in?
 
The noise started this past summer, so I replaced all the seals/gaskets (shaft seal), that seemed to work for a while, as the noise has returned, I am not sure that replacing those seals help. I would hate to spend $300 on a new motor, is there anything I can check/take apart and replace???
 
The main thing you could check is the amp draw when the motor first starts vs. after the noise has died down. That will tell you whether this is just a nuisance or a real problem.

You can have the bearings replaced for about $100 at a motor shop. Does your motor have a switch on the back side of the shaft like this one (not the on/off switch, but the start/run switch next to the capacitor):
Motor-Switch1.jpg


If that switch has failed or fused together then it could be having a hard time removing the start capacitor from the circuit. You should see increased amperage over the label's rating if that's the case. A motor shop could replace that as well. But most Whisperflos I see are switchless...

More than 90% of the time motor noise is bearing related, so your best bet would be to bring it to a shop, have them replaced, and ask them to take a look and see if they notice any other issues (test the capacitors, etc.).
 
After separating the motor from the pump to check the seals and impeller, everthing is good to go there, I noticed after starting the pump, that the pump does not make the noise when I first start it up, when its sucking water into the basket, once the prime is set and there is a load on the pump the noise starts. And now the motor makes this noise all the time the motor is running. This is a AO Smith motor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply