Hayward Tristar pump overheated and now not working

[beezar]

Ok, I backwashed a spa yesterday, but I forgot to release the air in the filter while I was doing it. Backwashed for 4 mins, rinse for 1, turned to filter, added DE, ran the filter for 2 hours fine. Never released air in the filter. Today, during the scheduled filter time, I noticed the pump was not on but was in fact very hot to the touch. The pump will not turn on... I tried turning offf and on the circuit breaker really hoping that was it, but no.

Did I screw it up by not releasing air on the filter? Is the pump salvageable? If so, what can I do? Unfortunately, having a whole bunch of family coming tomorrow evening for Christmas, and now my spa won't work...

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[bobodaclown]

It may have over temp protection in the motor. Did you try resetting after the motor cooled off?

 

[beezar]

It may have over temp protection in the motor. Did you try resetting after the motor cooled off?

Apparently the motor has an "automatic thermal overload protector" per the manual which shuts the motor off if power supply drops to prevent overheating, and the motor is supposed to automatically restart after it has cooled. I shut off the pump (via a Goldline control), and tried turning it back on after it cooled off, but nothing. Didn't seem like there was way to reset it, but I don't know.

Am I missing something here, or do I have to get a new motor?

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

It may be one or two of a couple of things. It might be the start capacitor, an under voltage condition, broken down insulation of the coils, something stuck in the impeller, or seized bearings.

The 1st thing to do is check your supply voltage. It should be between 210 and 250 Volts AC. If it's OK, then the start capacitor should be swapped, assuming you can find one.

If the time constraints are such, a new motor and seal set are in order, assuming nothing is stuck in the impeller. If there is something stuck there, replace your pump basket. If it was whole, it would have caught anything that could have jammed the impeller.

Scott

 

[beezar]

It may be one or two of a couple of things. It might be the start capacitor, an under voltage condition, broken down insulation of the coils, something stuck in the impeller, or seized bearings.

The 1st thing to do is check your supply voltage. It should be between 210 and 250 Volts AC. If it's OK, then the start capacitor should be swapped, assuming you can find one.

If the time constraints are such, a new motor and seal set are in order, assuming nothing is stuck in the impeller. If there is something stuck there, replace your pump basket. If it was whole, it would have caught anything that could have jammed the impeller.

Scott

Ok, thanks for the tips. I eventually just replaced the motor and seal. Measured the voltage, and it's 230V AC. The impeller looks good. I just want to make sure before I start running it that there is nothing else I needed to check so I don't burn out the new motor too! The original motor was only about 3-4 yrs old

Also, I replaced the motor from a one-speed to a two-speed. I was running the one-speed 2hp about 30-45 mins with good filtering (~2000-2500 gallon spa); the low speed would be 0.33hp. Any idea how long I should run the pump at low speed to get decent filtering? Just need a starting point I guess. Thanks!

 

[bobodaclown]

an hour to two.

 

[countspacula]

running these pumps without water in them does not hurt them, only hurts the seal.