Pump leaking - oversized?

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J

Jclayton

0
LifeTime Supporter
Jun 1, 2012
22
Atlanta, GA
Guys/gals,

My apologies in advance for not being well-versed in the terms yet, but I am a new pool owner.

Long story short, I noticed a leak in my pump earlier this week. It seems to have been running fine for the first 3 weeks (just bought the house).

I called in the problem to the home warranty company, who of course assigned their contracted company to the issue.

The contracting company did a visual inspection only. The pump is not staying primed. And is letting out a "gulp of air" (his words) when turned off.

He is telling me that just based on that, there is a crack in the pump. And he is also insisting that it is because the pump is oversized for my pool. Apparently it has a dual-speed 3ph pump. He says that it should have a 1.5hp MAX, and not a dual speed. So of course this description will prevent the home warranty service from covering any of it.

Something smells fishy to me. But I'm new at this, so I'd like to consult the experts. You guys! Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jason
 
IF there is air in the pump basket, then there is likely a leak on the suction side ... no necessarily in the pump itself. It could be as simple as putting some lube on the pump basket gasket or making sure the drain plugs are tight. Or there could be a leak in an underground pipe.

Is the water staying full in the skimmer as that could draw in air as well if the water is low.

3HP is big, but once primed and running on low there should be no issues.

Some pictures could help us help you ...

I have little faith in home warranties ... did it cost you $50 for the guy to show up and give you that line?
 
jblizzle said:
IF there is air in the pump basket, then there is likely a leak on the suction side ... no necessarily in the pump itself. It could be as simple as putting some lube on the pump basket gasket or making sure the drain plugs are tight. Or there could be a leak in an underground pipe.

Is the water staying full in the skimmer as that could draw in air as well if the water is low.

3HP is big, but once primed and running on low there should be no issues.

Some pictures could help us help you ...

I have little faith in home warranties ... did it cost you $50 for the guy to show up and give you that line?
Click to expand...

Thank y'all for the replies thus far.
* Looks like there may be a little air in the pump basket. When I take off the cover, the water looks like it drains out about half way. Fill it back up with water, tighten the lid, and it will start back up. It works fine as long as you keep the pump running. It just leaks a little, looks like out of the bottom.
* Runs fine on low and high, once it gets started.
* Home warranty has its positives and negatives. Their pool coverage is not on the positive side, but it was only a few extra dollars to add. We shall see.
* Pictures coming in the next post.
* Yes, other water features. But it looks like they run off of a separate pump. Waterfall, and in-ground spa.
 
If one of those uses the main pump (especially the spa) the 3 hp probably isn't to big. If that's the case I'd call the warranty co back and give them the details and ask them to reopen the case. Unless of course, it turns out to be a drain plug or o-ring. Then it's easier to just fix it yourself.
 
Bama Rambler said:
If one of those uses the main pump (especially the spa) the 3 hp probably isn't to big. If that's the case I'd call the warranty co back and give them the details and ask them to reopen the case. Unless of course, it turns out to be a drain plug or o-ring. Then it's easier to just fix it yourself.
Click to expand...

I think they all use the 2nd pump. This is my first time with a pool, trying to figure out how all this stuff works. Good thing I found this place. Its been a HUGE help so far. Already battled an algae problem, and won (so far).

I've sent in the request for a 2nd opinion. They charge me $60 for the 'service call', then fix what they are supposed to fix. If its a o-ring or drain plug (dont even know where those are), then that's worth it to me for now. Just need to get someone to actually diagnose it and get something done rather than looking at it and telling me its a cracked pump from an oversized pump. I think he just didnt want to mess with it after I told him he could do the warranty work, and anything else I'll take care of on my own or with my own pool company (I have a friend in the business who I trust 100%). I'll learn this stuff eventually. Lots to do in a new house, and not enough time in the day.

I dont understand pools and pumps enough to know if an oversized pump can cause it to crack itself, but I'm not the expert here (yet). The thing was built ~1997. I have a giant folder from the previous owners, and need to take some time to review it and see what is what.
 
Bama Rambler said:
Can you post those on photobucket etc, and link them here? They're too small to make out.

It looks like the pool and spa use the same pump.
Click to expand...

Just had a moment to mess around with things.
- The pool and spa do both run off the same pump. The waterfall runs off the 2nd one.
- The cover on top of the pump does leak ever so slightly
- so does the pvc pipe that is going straight into the top of the pump. just a little dribble around the seal.
- neither of these leaks are the main source of leaking water. It is definitely coming out from somewhere beneath the pump. It flows slow but steadily when the pump runs. It stops when the pump is off.
- when i shut off the pump, i can see some air ( through the clear lid on top) bubbling into the pump. And the whole setup just sounds like its gurguling. No idea if this is normal.

Are these signs of a cacked pump? Is my gut on to something thinking that the pool service guy just wanted to collect the $60 and not deal with looking for the real problem, especially after i told him that he could just do the warranty work and nothing more? Am i just crazy?
 

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Jclayton said:
Just had a moment to mess around with things.

- The pool and spa do both run off the same pump. The waterfall runs off the 2nd one. That's what I thought. In that case the pump isn't too big.

- The cover on top of the pump does leak ever so slightly A good cleaning and some lube will probably fix that. That's contributing to your basket filling with air when you stop the pump.

- so does the pvc pipe that is going straight into the top of the pump. just a little dribble around the seal. That could also contribute to the basket filling with air but it would only happen after the pump stops.

- neither of these leaks are the main source of leaking water. It is definitely coming out from somewhere beneath the pump. It flows slow but steadily when the pump runs. It stops when the pump is off. That's most likely the casing o-ring or the shaft seal. Neither are too hard to change for a handy person.

- when i shut off the pump, i can see some air ( through the clear lid on top) bubbling into the pump. And the whole setup just sounds like its gurguling. No idea if this is normal. That's not normal and once you get the leaks stopped that will no longer happen.

Are these signs of a cacked pump? Not necessarily. Like I said it could just be an o-ring or seal.

Is my gut on to something thinking that the pool service guy just wanted to collect the $60 and not deal with looking for the real problem, especially after i told him that he could just do the warranty work and nothing more? Am i just crazy? It wouldn't surprise me if that's exactly the case. And you're not crazy!
Click to expand...
 
Bama Rambler said:
Jclayton said:
Just had a moment to mess around with things.

- The pool and spa do both run off the same pump. The waterfall runs off the 2nd one. That's what I thought. In that case the pump isn't too big.

- The cover on top of the pump does leak ever so slightly A good cleaning and some lube will probably fix that. That's contributing to your basket filling with air when you stop the pump.

- so does the pvc pipe that is going straight into the top of the pump. just a little dribble around the seal. That could also contribute to the basket filling with air but it would only happen after the pump stops.

- neither of these leaks are the main source of leaking water. It is definitely coming out from somewhere beneath the pump. It flows slow but steadily when the pump runs. It stops when the pump is off. That's most likely the casing o-ring or the shaft seal. Neither are too hard to change for a handy person.

- when i shut off the pump, i can see some air ( through the clear lid on top) bubbling into the pump. And the whole setup just sounds like its gurguling. No idea if this is normal. That's not normal and once you get the leaks stopped that will no longer happen.

Are these signs of a cacked pump? Not necessarily. Like I said it could just be an o-ring or seal.

Is my gut on to something thinking that the pool service guy just wanted to collect the $60 and not deal with looking for the real problem, especially after i told him that he could just do the warranty work and nothing more? Am i just crazy? It wouldn't surprise me if that's exactly the case. And you're not crazy!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

2nd opinion came back much different. Its not a 3hp pump. That confims my suspicion that service guy #1 had other motives for his 'diagnosis'.

The guy who was sent from company #2 has been around for a long time. Turns out he actually did some of the install work on my pool back in the late 90's. Small world. He thinks its a simple seal in the pump. Going to fix that and then we'll work to identify any other potential leak sources.

Funny side note: Service guy #1 actually said to me "the guy that did your plumbing should be shot." Service guy #2, having been involved in that plumbing, was slightly offended by that comment.
 
Jclayton said:
Funny side note: Service guy #1 actually said to me "the guy that did your plumbing should be shot." Service guy #2, having been involved in that plumbing, was slightly offended by that comment.
Click to expand...
What did S1 not like about it? I bet S2 was offended, but it sounds like he is doing the right thing.
 
linen said:
Jclayton said:
Funny side note: Service guy #1 actually said to me "the guy that did your plumbing should be shot." Service guy #2, having been involved in that plumbing, was slightly offended by that comment.
Click to expand...
What did S1 not like about it? I bet S2 was offended, but it sounds like he is doing the right thing.
Click to expand...

In his word, "everything". He went off on a couple of mintue lecture about how awful the plumbing is, how much of it just needed to be completely redone, how beautifully he would do it, how much of a PITA it would be to even work on my pump, how it should have never passed inspection (what inspection I have no idea), etc. Said it was one of the worst plumbing jobs he had ever encountered, and topped it off by telling me that the person who put it in should be shot.
 
linen said:
:oops: forgot the pics were up there.

I can see somethings that I would have done different, but you have a lot going on there in a small space, so options are limited.
Click to expand...

Indeed. My trusted pool adviser agrees - its not the best, but it works. I'm not sure yet what half of that stuff is. But im slowly figuring it out.
 

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