Mind you... the pump motor had the dreaded "hum"... indicative of a bad capacitor (as learned here)... Well... First things first. I tested the capacitor as per the various methods shown on various sites... all of which told me the the capacitor was bad. I went to buy the capacitor with only my old capacitor in hand -- fella behind the counter tested it with his capacitor tester and it read just about the mid-point of the range written on the cap. He offered to test the motor which I had in the truck by putting in a new capacitor -- still no go. We took the housing impeller off the housing and we found TWO seals (like O-Rings) where there should have been one (Hayward pump) -- the pump was spinning but NOT very freely -- there was a lot of resistance.
The old pump motor was an Emerson EUST1102 replaced with an AO Smith... I can find the AO Smith for $140 (approx) online, but that doesn't get me the seals, etc...
I guess what I'm asking, and pardon me for being paranoid, but does that sound like the motor was bad or did I get taken?
Thanks,
Pete
P.S. Now -- on to getting the water clear!
With everything off the motor he was able to get the motor to spin with a little "help" to start it. This is all from him telling me -- I didn't witness it (he took it in the back and put it on the bench).
Long story short -- we ended up getting a new motor with all new seals -- I will say that the impeller moves more freely than it did before.
I know it won't help me with the rest of my problems (getting the pool clear/clean) -- but it will help me with my long term knowledge of things... you think I got taken? Total cost (new motor, seals, etc. $195 including tax). This is an