Pump motor kicked the bucket - Repair or replace?

[mmcgovern]

I've been learning a lot from this site. I bought the house and existing pool in January and don't know much about the pool and equipment. I just finished the aqua rite circuit board thermistor replacement fix and turned the pump on. After a minute I heard a click/pop and black smoke started coming out of the motor along with a burning smell. :grrrr: I've removed the motor and found water in the electrical end of the housing. I've done some research. It's a Hayward 1.5 HP Super pump that was manufactured in June of 2008. It looks like a replacement is $300-$400 locally. Based on the age, does it make sense to repair ($100-$150) or replace? How long to typical pump motors last?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Christian]

If your housing is in good condition you can just replace the motor, only thing is to decide if you want a single speed or would rather go with a 2 speed for efficiency. Motor life varies greatly. I've had motors die in a year and a few that have lasted over 10. On average though I'd say 3-5 years.

 

[mmcgovern]

Thanks! So what's the difference between single speed and dual speed? It's not obvious to me what I have now.

 

[Christian]

Single speed runs at one set horsepower level all the time. Dual speeds have a low setting that you use most of the time when all you need is circulation. Then there is a high setting for when you have to do a heavier cleaning after a storm, spill, high bather load, etc. You also usually use the high setting for automatic cleaners if you are using a suction side cleaner. Check the label on your pump if it has two amp ratings or two hp ratings it is a dual speed.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, mmcgovern

For your filter, your pump (assuming single speed) is oversized. I would either consider (as Christian mentioned) a 2-speed motor replacement, or (unless you have features that demand a high flow rate) a new smaller pump (still would prefer 2-speed). What do you have for water features, etc?

 

[mmcgovern]

Still learning about the pool. I'm not sure what they're called, but in addition to the 5 returns on the walls of the pool we have 4 round pop-up jets/returns spaced around he bottom of the pool that rotate (like a lawn sprinkler) that are supposed to stir up dirt on the bottom. I'm not sure if that qualifies as a "water feature" but that's the closest thing we have to one. I can hook up a self cleaner but don't have one and don't plan to get one.

 

[vinhtvu2]

I had a hayward motor that stopped working for me as well. It was a 1.5HP one as well.
I got a quote from the guy at the motor store for $250 to have it repaired.
Also called a couple pool place and they wanted $400-$450 for a new one to be swapped in.

I took a leap of faith and bought one on Amazon for $171 shipped. Installed it myself, work like a champ since.
The price went down to $121 now.
http://www.amazon.com/Hayward-SP1580X15 ... 982&sr=1-1

I might get another one as a suction pump and route the skimmer to the top and this one for the kreepy krauly alone.

My power bill also went down a good bit. This one is 120v though instead of 240, so you might have to rewire.

 

[DBfan187]

that's an aboveground pool pump

 

[mmcgovern]

Yeah, saw that. They have others though. Is the size of the filter the sole determining factor on what size pump motor to get?

To answer an earlier question, the bad motor is a single speed motor.

 

[jblizzle]

Yeah, saw that. They have others though. Is the size of the filter the sole determining factor on what size pump motor to get?

No. I think the correct process is to select the appropriate pump size for you water flow needs. And then select a filter large enough for your pool (ensuring it can handle the flow rate).

For a 30k gallon pool, we would generally recommend a 450 sqft cartridge, 85 sqft DE, or 5.6 sqft sand filter.

So your filter is about half the size we would recommend.

Seems a pretty common practice for pool builders to use filters that are too small and pumps that are too big.

With your water flow needs, a 1 HP is likely plenty. You could stick with a 1.5HP 2-speed, but your filter is still too small ... meaning you will have to clean more often and it may not filter very well on high speed.

 

[Christian]

+1 to what Jason said. Bigger filter, smaller pump. You'll save money and have a cleaner pool.

 

[mmcgovern]

Ok, went to the local pool supply store and asked about replacement motors for our pump. They tried to talk me out of downgrading to a 1HP motor. They said the impeller wouldn't work with a *different* motor and it would fail within 6 months. I also asked about a variable speed motor. They said they could sell me a new pump system that was variable speed but I would have to ditch my current pump system and replumb if I changed to a variable speed motor. I'm just interested in replacing the motor to get back up and running. Any truth to what they said or are they just trying to upsell me?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Going from a 1.5 hp motor to a 1 hp requires that you change the impeller. Putting a 1 hp motor on a 1.5 impeller will overload the motor. Changing the impeller is relatively cheap.

 

[scooperhsd]

Ok, went to the local pool supply store and asked about replacement motors for our pump. They tried to talk me out of downgrading to a 1HP motor. They said the impeller wouldn't work with a *different* motor and it would fail within 6 months. I also asked about a variable speed motor. They said they could sell me a new pump system that was variable speed but I would have to ditch my current pump system and replumb if I changed to a variable speed motor. I'm just interested in replacing the motor to get back up and running. Any truth to what they said or are they just trying to upsell me?

It might sound like they were trying to upsell - but in this case - they were looking out for you from having to buy another motor after burning out a new one. As explained above - if you are putting a smaller motor on an existing pump , you also need to replace the impeller. In this particular case, it would be better for you to get a 2speed motor where the high speed SFHP is the same or larger than your old pump's SFHP. If you really want to go for a smaller pump, it might be easier to just completely replace it, depending if your pool store can get you the smaller impeller along with the smaller motor.