Pump Emergency

[Ripper70]

Hey All,

Just returned home from a business trip where the wife was in charge in my absence. Set the pool up with the Kreepy Krawly ready for action to be self sufficient while I was away. Temperature hit 86* here in New York so the kids and all their friends splashed around for most of the afternoon. I got home and the pump wasn't running. Circuit breakers had tripped and will not stay set. Pretty sure the pump is frozen and needs to be replaced. It's an old unit and whenever it started it would briefly hesitate, hum and then turn on.

It being Sunday, I'm S.O.L. to get any tech help but I do have a booster pump still inline for a Polaris setup that the former home owner used. Should I run that pump just to circulate the water and get some chlorine in there? It's still hot here and all the kid action today has made the water a tad cloudy now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cowboycasey]

add chlorine up to shock level for your pool and cya level and brush in to manually circulate the water (10 to 15 minutes) and test again after 30 minutes to ensure your at shock level... that should keep you ahead till the morning when you can get a pump connected...

I am not sure about the pressure pump..

 

[pooldv]

That'll get you covered tonight and tomorrow test again and brush a little more. No need to run the booster pump. Chlorine CYA Chart

 

[Ripper70]

Okay. I think we're good for now. I've added a couple of gallons of chlorine and stirred the pool like a giant martini for about half an hour. Brushed everything thoroughly too.

While we're on the subject, any advice for what I should be considering as a replacement pump? Should I just get the same as I had or are there more energy efficient pumps, that won't break the bank, that I should consider? Do I only need the motor or is replacing the pump and trap basket the way it's done?

I guess my primary concern is that I'll be at the mercy of the pool guy, in that I need this done yesterday, and might have to go with only what he has to offer. It could take a few days to get one online and even then i fear the installation of said pump is beyond my purview.

Open to any and all suggestions.

 

[Isaac-1]

Chances are you only need a motor, I would suggest a 2 speed if your old one was a single speed to save on electricity.

If you can stir manually once or twice per day adding bleach / liquid chlorine chances are good everything will be fine until you can get a motor in mail order in 2 - 3 days, get a new shaft seal while you are at it.

Swapping out the motor is easy, you likely don't even have to disconnect any plumbing, there are lots of you tube videos that show you how, usually it is only a total of 8 bolts that need to be removed and replaced, plus hooking up the wiring. If you go with a 2 speed motor, some come with a low/high switch mounted on the motor, others you have to wire in your own switch, a common double throw light switch will work for this. If you do pay someone to do the motor swap don't pay too much this is a 15-30 minute job most of the time.

 

[Ripper70]

Thanks, Isaac. After reading some other threads I think it may be prudent to confirm that my problem isn't the capacitor. I'll check that today.

If I can determine that the pump needs replacing and decide to go with a 2-speed can you recommend a specific model? A pump that has the switch mounted to the motor would be preferred as it makes the install less complicated. My current setup is in my sig.

 

[Isaac-1]

The 1.5 HP Hayward Superpump uses a UST1152 motor (or equivalent), this motor is available in 1 or 2 speed versions (I had a 1.5 Super Pump before switching to my current Jandy pump a couple of years ago), 2 speed may be a UST1152.2, or other similar naming. inyopools.com claims the motor with mounted switch is no longer available, don't know if that is true everywhere or not. Wiring up an external switch is not rocket science though. This is all assuming your current pump is wired 230V not 115, most 2 speed motors are 230V only, but single speeds can be wired 115V or 230V.

 

[Ripper70]

Well, I just replaced the capacitor and this is the result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOHGWmfBXzs

When the power switch to the pump is turned on the shaft makes about a 1/4 turn and the breaker trips. The impeller is easily turned by hand through the basket, so I've checked that.

Mind you, this small reaction from the pump switch being turned on is more than I got before. Then, the breaker wouldn't even stay set.

Any idea what I might try next?

 

[Ripper70]

Not sure if it's wired for 230v. Here's a picture of the breaker. The smaller red one, I believe, is for the pump for the Polaris cleaner that was installed. I can't get that switch to stay set at all. Don't know what that tells me, if anything.

 

[Isaac-1]

The upper double pole breaker is 230V, the lower single pole breaker is 120V GFCI, if it is not resetting it may be due to a ground fault, or may be a bad breaker, GFCI breakers fail far more often than traditional thermal magnetics. At this point I would just replace the motor, the problem may be the centrifugal switch in the motor, or the windings. You might want to look up repair videos on centrifugal switches if you are not ready to replace it yet.