Intermatic timer burned out

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A

a_t

0
Apr 23, 2013
22
Los Angeles, CA
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hi,

I'm replacing my old pool filter, which returned water through an old Leslie's Coppertherm heater. I've never used the heater and it was filled with all kinds of dry leaves and dirt. So before plumbing in the new filter, I decided to test if the heater works and either connect it to the system or leave it out. I cleaned out dirt from heater and disconnected the pump from timer so that I can test the heater without turning on the pump. The pump had two black wires going to it, and I disconnected them. In this picture I circled the two black wires going to pump.

20130505_145206_zps5a2074fd.jpg


In this picture pump wires are disconnected.
20130505_154114_zps65330382.jpg


Then I turned on the breaker and turned on the timer by manually flipping the switch. I heard a loud pop and it smelled burnt. I'm glad I didn't get shocked because I think it's a 220 volt line (based on the fact that it's controlled by a doubled breaker). I don't know what happened. Well, I think that what I did was not the right way to disconnect the pump, and I'm guessing that maybe what burnt out was some kind of safety device. So I have the following questions:

* Do you know what I did wrong and what it is that burnt out?

* What is the right way to disconnect the pump?

* I decided to take out the heater because the display panel doesn't seem to come on, plus I live in Southern California and a few days of summer heat is enough to get the pool warm enough for me. I'm planning to get the same type of timer. If I don't connect the heater, do I need to get a different model of timer?

Thanks for your help!

Here's the picture of the heater, if anyone is interested:
20130506_130912_zps0de36dff.jpg
 
So the heater was originally hooked up and all your did was remove the 2 black wires? I am failing to see how that would cause a problem.

Although, there should be 3 wires to the pump? Two LINES and a ground for 230V

Add a picture further back that shows all the equipment, I can not picture how everything is connected.

Wondering if maybe you actually hooked up the 2 black wires from the heater and there may be stripped insulation that caused them to short to each other???
 
Here's a fuller picture. You can see the pump sitting on the left side of the new concrete slab that I posted about a couple of weeks ago. There is a flexible conduit connected to the back of the pump, and you can see it come up to the bottom of the timer, where the two black wires go into it. There was no ground wire going to the pump, but you can see a green wire going to the conduit on the right, which goes to the heater. I'm wondering if maybe I moved the wires around too much when I was cleaning out the heater, and did cause some kind of short-circuit. Or maybe it's just age catching up to the timer? I also did bend some wires inside the timer to get them out of the way. Whatever happened, it didn't trip the circuit breaker.

20130506_150129_zpsd0be7d46.jpg
 
Hmmm, I misread and thought it tripped the breaker. Was the pop and smoke in the timer or the heater? I am not really sure what is going on.

I would certainly add a Ground wire to the pump and you also want to make sure the pump, heater, and conduit are bonded.
 
The pop and smoke was definitely in the timer. When I put in the new timer, I'll ground the pump. My main concern was that I was completely misunderstanding how things work and I don't want to damage the new timer. Since I'm disconnecting the heater, my setup is going to even simpler. Plus I'm taking out both parts that could have caused the short (heater and timer), so I think I should be safe.

Any suggestions as to which timer to choose? I've heard that these simple 24 hour timers are the best and last the longest. Are there any specific models or features that I should look for?
 
The Intermatic you have is pretty much bullet proof ... notwithstanding, whatever you just did to it ;)

You will want the T104 (for the metal box) or the T104P (for a plastic box) to run the 230V pump.

Any thought of going to a 2-speed motor? There are timers that can switch the speeds as well, or you can just manually flip a switch when you want.
 
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