My pump seized over the winter. I was able to free it by spinning the impeller. It is working OK now, I have not noticed any increase in noise level or decrease in output. The pump is 4 years old, it is only used in the summer, 6 months per year. I did follow proper winter closing procedure by draining out all the water. This is the 1st time that it happened. There is no leak around the motor. Does that mean the pump is about to go?
Pump seized
- Thread starter Ke
- Start date
You may have had a bit of debris stuck in the impeller that you freed by turning it by hand. Just keep an eye on the pump this season, it may be fine or it may start acting up. Mine started acting up without any warning and it was only a few months old.
It is not the impeller, it is the motor shaft that was stuck. And it took quite a bit of force to spin on the impeller to free the shaft. The pump is working fine for now, there is no loss in performance. I have a pool edge waterfall, I can judge by seeing how far the water 'shoots out" before reaching the pool surface. So the power of the pump has not reduced.
I will certainly keep an eye on things. I don't know what else I could have done to prevent this from happening again. Should I fill the pump with anti-freeze over the winter?
I will certainly keep an eye on things. I don't know what else I could have done to prevent this from happening again. Should I fill the pump with anti-freeze over the winter?
That means the bearings are failing. You will probably be alright for some time yet, but eventually they will give out completely.
So I am prepared to buy a new pump in the near future. How can I prevent this from happening again? I should not need to buy a new pump every 3 or 4 years. Especially the pump is only used 6 months per year. For the bearings to fail, water/moisture must have got in, but there is no leak from the motor. Should I fill the pump with anti-freeze over the winter? Or should I disconnect the pump and bring it indoor? I really don't know what I have done wrong?
The key thing is to keep the pump from getting wet. If the pump is outside you can put some kind of cover or roof over it. Also, check the shaft to see if it is wet, and thus the shaft seal is leaking, every now and then. That way you catch a failed shaft seal early and can fix it before it destroys the pump. Also, never ever let sprinklers spray on the pump.