Pump motor tripping occassionally

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M

mcdickey

0
Apr 19, 2012
63
Tucson, AZ
My pump motor is about 6 years old and I have owned the house and pool for a little over 1 year. Until about 3 weeks ago the pump ran perfectly. About three weeks ago it tripped the breaker (240V) and started working immediately once I reset the breaker. The pump ran normally for another week or so and then tripped. Again I reset and it was fine for a a few days and then tripped. It is now tripping the breaker every couple of days...but always only after the pump has been running for a period of hours and not when it first starts up.

I have a second identical pump for my water fall that I can swap in an attempt to isolate the problem to either the pump or the wiring and breaker. Is that where I should start? I have not yet opened up the motor cover to check wiring etc. I will do that before I swap out the motors.

Any thoughts on why the pump may be tripping (keeping in mind that it only happens after it has been running for a while and not immediately upon start up)? Thanks. Here is what I have:

AO Smith Motor K48N2N104 (AO Smith ST1202 (replacement number)) 2HP, 3450 RPM with 1.3 Service Factor
 
It sounds like it may just be a breaker failing. As they start to fail they trip at less amperage.
I'd have the pump tested. Or you could just change the breaker.

Of course it could be the windings failing but they normally fail pretty quickly.
 
I opened up the pump and panel yesterday and all connections were solid with no corrosion. I decided to swap the pumps and see if that causes the problem to either go away or switch from one breaker to the other. My pool pump has run about 8 hours a day on average and my waterfall pump has run about 30 minutes a day on average for the last six years, so I figure it makes sense to switch them out to try and even out the accumulated run times regardless of my tripping issue. Let's see what happens.
 
I don't know enough about pumps, but they are identical pumps so shouldn't they be close in current draw? If the pump that was tripping the breaker (pool) now trips the breaker when hooked up to the waterfall wouldn't that tell me I most likely have a pump problem and not a breaker problem. Each pump is on its own circuit with separate breakers.
 

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