Any idea why this pump motor is making this noise? Bad bearing?

[Esand323]

I have a Century B128 motor for my pool. I just noticed the other day it's making a strange noise but working fine. It's almost a rattling noise, but there isn't anything loose on it. I thought for sure something was stuck in the impeller, but I cleaned that out and it's still making the noise. Here is a video with the noise -

Any idea what is causing that? When I took the motor out to clean the impeller, there was a bunch of grease on my hand. I'm not sure where that came from. Do I need to grease something?

Thanks.

 

[JamesW]

Can you show the motor labels?

Is the seal leaking?

 

[JamesW]

I remember that you installed this just last year.

Brand new motor started to smoke? What's going on?

I just bought a brand new Century B128 Motor motor to replace my previous one. Pool store talked me into just replacing my old one as the bearings were bad. I'm nearly positive it should be set to 115 volts. I had them confirm that the old one was set to only 115 volts. I also only have a...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Esand323]

Hi thanks. I'll add the labels below. There is no leaking. I did get the motor replaced last year, but I think they just replaced the motor itself. I think the impeller, diffuser, etc. weren't replaced. I wish I would have been paying a bit more attention, but lesson learned.

Unfortunately, the company that changed out the motor has moved to another location on the opposite side of my city. So it's a bit of a drive. I plan to go to talk with them and see if they can identify the issue, but I won't be able to get out there for a couple of days.

 

[JamesW]

It looks like it is past the 1 year warranty period.

It sounds like bad bearings.

Are you 100% sure that there is no leak?

 

[JamesW]

 

[Esand323]

Thanks! I appreciate the input.

No there is no leaks. Any water in the video/pictures is from when I took everything apart to clean the impeller. I'll double check though just to be 100% sure.

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks! I appreciate the input.

No there is no leaks. Any water in the video/pictures is from when I took everything apart to clean the impeller. I'll double check though just to be 100% sure.

Look at the first picture. You will see corrosion and a bit of rust at the bottom of the front vent (closest to the pump body). That is positive evidence that the shaft seal is leaking and the bearings are shot. Doesn't take much of a leak to ruin the front bearing, just a tiny one that isn't dripping will do it. Sorry that it happened to a motor that new. Good news is that a motor that new should be able to come apart easily and the bearings be replaced.

 

[Esand323]

Thanks! I talked with the company that replaced the motor. They thought it sounded like something was stuck in the impeller, but I'm rather sure it's not the case.

I took apart the diffuser and impeller and I do see some rust. So it seams like a bad bearing? I'm probably out of my depths trying to replace that myself, but perhaps I'll see if I can find someone to replace it for me. The company that installed the motor said they haven't done it before. The last picture seems to show quite a bit of rust. In June 2022, I paid for a new motor and shaft seal. So was the shaft seal poorly installed leading to a unnoticeable leak that rusted this all?

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks! I talked with the company that replaced the motor. They thought it sounded like something was stuck in the impeller, but I'm rather sure it's not the case.

I took apart the diffuser and impeller and I do see some rust. So it seams like a bad bearing? I'm probably out of my depths trying to replace that myself, but perhaps I'll see if I can find someone to replace it for me. The company that installed the motor said they haven't done it before. The last picture seems to show quite a bit of rust. In June 2022, I paid for a new motor and shaft seal. So was the shaft seal poorly installed leading to a unnoticeable leak that rusted this all?

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With just a little care its really hard for a seal to be improperly installed, but that seal is worn out or was damaged on installation. The face of the seal bellows is missing/worn/gone from the part on the impeller and that is the part that seals against the ceramic in the sealplate. Look at this picture of the seal for your pump (PS-201) and you will see it on the bellows (portion with the spring). Amazing that the pump would even prime.

 

[Poolbreh]

Run the motor without the impeller just to confirm it’s the bearings. It sounds like bearings.