Doheny Discovery motor longevity

[hal2814]

Hi, everyone. I have a Doheny Discovery I bought refurbished about two and a half years ago. It’s been great and I love it. Yesterday it wouldn’t turn on at all. I verified with a multimeter the cable was fine. I pulled the motor unit and cracked it open. There was a significant amount of water in there. So I’m buying a new motor unit. It’s really expensive.

I’m curious from others’ experiences how long a motor typically lasts. Is this something I’ll just need to replace every couple of years? I’m ok with that. I’d just like to know so I can budget accordingly. Also, if anyone knows a way to get one for less than $450 I’d appreciate that, too. I looked at just replacing the individual motors but even that is expensive. The impeller motor alone is $150 at the few places I can find it in stock.

 

[cowboycasey]

That is not normal, A seal went bad and you did not notice it leaking.. This is something you should check at least monthly to see if your pump is leaking and if so take it apart and change the seals... My pump seal was going out at 5 years, my plan is to change them at 4 or 5 years now

I just replaced my 2 speed motor with a VS motor and it was 700 total once I changed the motor, seals and impeller and added a remote

 

[hal2814]

Thanks for the feedback! How do I check for leaks? Do I just pull the motor and remove the top plate and check that little moisture bag? Is there a way to verify without taking the motor unit apart?

 

[cowboycasey]

most of the time it will have water just below the pump between the pump and motor.. I bet there was water under your pump for awhile, maybe just damp as mine was...

 

[Starplex]

Why would you spend half the cost of a new one on parts? Typically if repair is over 40 to 50% of new I just go with new.

 

[hal2814]

I ended up finding a motor for about $370. Replaced it and the robot works better than it ever did.

As far as why I repaired vs replaced, these robots are actually pretty simple aside from the motor unit. I think they’re easier to work on than my Polaris 280. I could verify the rest of the unit was in good shape so it was worth it to me to just do the repair. To replace the whole thing would cost about $700 refurbished or $850 new. Repair probably would’ve had to run about $500 before I considered replacing the whole thing in this case.