Hayward Tristar 2 HP Pump "Ringing" Noise

[whynotsr]

Hi,

I have a Hayward Tristar 2HP dual speed pump attached to a 17000 gallon in-ground pool.

My pump is making a ringing noise. I have recorded the sound in the attached MP3 inside this ZIP file:

View attachment PumpNoise.zip

This is my third pump motor. It has been replaced under warranty three times for the same sound. The first motor lasted about 2.5 years. The second about 1 month, and the third about 3 months now. The ringing attached is actually from my second pump, the existing pump motor is just starting to make the noise (it is too faint to capture). It gets louder over time and will eventually be as loud as the recording if ti follows the same path as the first two motors. My pool is well maintained and chemicals are in spec. It is not leaking, and it has not run dry. No event has occurred that would explain this. I was hoping someone on this forum would recognize the sound. The wet side of the pump was never replaced. Could it be an impeller shaft or something? It doesn't make sense that replacing the motor would fix it if that were the case.

 

[mas985]

First, welcome to the forum.

Second, are you sure it is coming from the motor and not the wet end?

It almost sounds like the centrifugal switch. But I don't know why it would fail so many times.

 

[whynotsr]

Thanks for the reply.

I can't be positive the sound is coming from the motor, but it sounds like its closer to the wet side of the pump rather than the rear of the motor (but again very hard to tell). Replacing the motor definitely fixed the issue (twice), which had me believing it was the motor, unless something about bolting the wet end into the motor causes it to run fine for a while. The sound comes and goes at this stage. Today for example I do not hear it. Starting the pump sometimes causes the ringing to occur briefly (and loud) and then it disappears. The pump motor is an A.O Smith which is a respectable manufacturer (I think) from what I read. Given this is the third motor, and the sound is not typical of a bearing, I'm thinking it has to be something else and my pool company has overlooked the root cause of the issue. Vibration maybe...a loose screw? There is nothing obvious loose on the outside of the pump, or anything attaching it to the concrete.

 

[mas985]

It could also be the Impeller ring or perhaps a missing impeller ring. You could try inspecting the impeller and impeller ring and see if they are chewed up.