My pump may have just died!

[kevin11]

Turned the pump on about 7:00 tonight and noticed a little later it wasn't running. Checked the breaker and nothing was tripped. Flipped a switch and tried using the timer that it's wired to. It turned on and ran for maybe a minute and turned off. The motor was really hot! It won't do anything at all now. I'm not very mechanically inclined and will probably have to call the pool store to come out. The pump is a Sta-Rite Dura-Glas 1HP pump. I'm also very leary about the way this thing is wired up. On the outside by the pool it has a metal box with a pin you slide up or down to turn the pool on or off. This looks okay to me. It looks like a pool related switch. When you step into the garage is where things don't look too safe to me. I don't like messing with Electrical stuff. It has a plywood panel mounted to the wall with a light switch, timer, and some type of relay. When the light switch is up it bypasses the timer. Flip the light switch down and use the timer. The relay went out last year and I replaced that and the pump started working again. It looks okay this time. Does this sound like the pump is bad? I'm just gonna bite the bullet and have the pool people come out and check the pump and wiring. Looking online replacement motors look to be between $130-$160. We only plan on living in this house maybe 4 or 5 years. Would you just replace the motor or step up to a newer more energy efficient pump setup? How much can you save on your electricity bill each month with a newer setup? My plan is to use the slide pump to circulate bleach until I figure this out. It's hooked into the pool plumbing and pulls water from the skimmer. Will 30mins be enough time to circulate the bleach? Just paid $400 for a new AC compressor for my wife's car yesterday. Now the pump. I've always been told things come in 3's. I guess I will wait and see! Sorry for the rambling!

 

[n240sxguy]

It sounds like the motor is overheating and tripping the thermal overload. If it's not making any noise indicating bearing failure, the windings may just be bad causing it to overheat. A 2 speed pump would be a good investment. Hard to say what you would save without knowing your electric rates and pump run times. I did the math on replacing my 1.5hp single speed with a 2 speed and based on 8hrs a day at $.10 kW/hr, my bill would drop roughly $35/mo. Without seeing a picture of the garage panel it's hard to say if it's safe or not.


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