Blown Pump Motor - (Will it happen again ?)

[aswetich]

Have a 3 Year old pool with 1.5 HP Hayward motor that died last week. I installed a replacement motor and think it may now be starting to make a noise. (Could just be me) It is set up for 220 Volt and when I check each 110 Volt leg they are within 3 Volts of each other. Is the voltage difference OK or could that be why the motor died originally ? How long should a motor last ? I live in the Midwest and run it about 16 Hrs a day.

Thanks

Note:
The motor is hooked to a Jandy Purelink (Salt and Automation) system that I just installed this year.

 

[JohnT]

The concern is the voltage between the two hot lines. What happened to the motor? There are some repairable failures that aren't expensive to fix.

 

[JasonLion]

When you measure across the two hot leads on a 220 volt circuit with a proper AC voltmeter you should get a reading between 200 and 240 volts. If it was really 3 volts the motor would not run at all. I suspect you are not measuring correctly, either the wrong setting on the meter or using the wrong wires.

A properly installed and operated motor should go ten years or more, usually quite a bit more. They do tend to benefit from a little maintinance every several years, something they often don't get. But even without any attention three years is unusually short.

 

[PoolDad2]

When you measure across the two hot leads on a 220 volt circuit with a proper AC voltmeter you should get a reading between 200 and 240 volts. If it was really 3 volts the motor would not run at all. I suspect you are not measuring correctly, either the wrong setting on the meter or using the wrong wires.

A properly installed and operated motor should go ten years or more, usually quite a bit more. They do tend to benefit from a little maintinance every several years, something they often don't get. But even without any attention three years is unusually short.

What is the suggested maintenance on the pump motor? I would like to have mine last as long as possible.

 

[Poolsean]

Jason, PoolDad mentioned that the voltage across each leg was within 3 volts of the other leg, rather than reading 3 volts.
This voltage difference is fine and should not be a problem.

There really is no maintenance for a pump motor, other than keeping the basket clean and debris away from under the motor.

Motors should last a long time but are almost a disposible item anymore. Cheaper to replace a motor than it is to get it repaired/rebuilt.

 

[JasonLion]

Ah, I misread on the voltage difference. Not a problem as Poolsean said.

It wouldn't hurt for anyone who is sure they know how to get the motor turned off to check for debris that got past the strainer basket and is staying in the area around the impeller once every year or two. It is also good to do a quick visual inspection for anything leaking/getting wet reguarly. Water and electricity don't mix well.

 

[Jond]

aswetich,

You didn't specify wether you tested voltage with the motor on so for the sake of this post I will assume you didn't. It is just important for that voltage to stay there once the motor is up to speed. If you have access to an amp meter you could check to see if the amps are near the rating of the motor. Voltage irregularities while the pump is running could cause issues with the contacts in Jandy. A note: I have zero experience with a Jandy, but I do have some around relays.
If you think you have low voltage/high current issues check all your service connections to your pump are tight.
I would not start worry unless I lost over 5 volts on each leg if checked while running.
I am not saying this is your problem, just food for thought.

Disclaimer ;-)
As always safety first! If you don't comfortable doing this kind of stuff hire a professional.

 

[aswetich]

Update

The motor appears to be running fine so my failure may have been unique. How do I check for the 220 Volt ? It sounds like you are saying to put the two meter leads on the hots ? With no ground (Neutral) how will the meter register ? I would like to take some additional tests. (Like voltage before and after start , Amp draw, etc)

Some additional info on the failure:

1. Came out in the Sunday morning and the pump was not running.
2. Put the meter on each 110 Volt leg and ground. (Was getting ~110 on each leg)
3. Removed the electrical cover on the pump to remove the pump for inspection and found a bunch of black goop inside.
4. Identefied the failure as a blown start capacitor, then replaced it.
5. Turned pump on and it started.
6. About 10 seconds later smoke came out of the motor so I shut it down.

I assumed the start capacitor failure was a result of another defect in the motor and it being sunday I just went out and purchased a new motor for $ 200.00.


Though it might be nice to have a spare so I contacted a few electric motor rebuilders and they all wanted about $ 35 to look at it and indicated repairs usually run around $ 85. The way I described the failure the motor rebuilders indicated it probably would be more than $ 120.00 so I trashed the motor.

 

[JohnT]

Re: Update

The motor appears to be running fine so my failure may have been unique. How do I check for the 220 Volt ? It sounds like you are saying to put the two meter leads on the hots ? With no ground (Neutral) how will the meter register ? I would like to take some additional tests. (Like voltage before and after start , Amp draw, etc)

The two hots are phased differently, so while both are 110 from neutral, the are also 220V from each other. A starting capacitor is one of the cheap fixes, so you may have done the right thing when you replaced it.

 

[aswetich]

Update !

I noticed the lights in the house going bright to dim for a while and thought it was the air conditioning going on and off. The air was off for a week and the lights continued to go bright and dim so I called the power company. They said their defanaty was a problem and it was a loose nuetral wire in the meter goigin to the braker box. I upgraded my service from 100 to 200 watts and replaced the breaker box myself but hired and electrician to do the outside chnage to the meter to be safe. Guess it does not always pay to hire a pro ! Do you think the loose neuotral may have contributed to my early pump motor faulure ?

Thanks

 

[MikeInTN]

Re: Update !

I noticed the lights in the house going bright to dim for a while and thought it was the air conditioning going on and off. The air was off for a week and the lights continued to go bright and dim so I called the power company. They said their defanaty was a problem and it was a loose nuetral wire in the meter goigin to the braker box. I upgraded my service from 100 to 200 watts and replaced the breaker box myself but hired and electrician to do the outside chnage to the meter to be safe. Guess it does not always pay to hire a pro ! Do you think the loose neuotral may have contributed to my early pump motor faulure ?

Thanks

Ummm..I think you meant 100 amp to a 200 amp service. It's very possible that a loose neutral could have caused your pump failure. As you could tell from your lights dimming, this was affecting your line voltage /current through your service panel.