Hayward SP3200DR (SP3400VSP) pump "stalled" - Need some ideas

[CoolRaul]

My Hayward Sp3200DR motor also "stalled". took the drive off and checked resisitivity between all of the 3 motor leads against each other and the all registered 0 (zero); next tested each lead individually against a ground and all registered 1 (one) or no change. Does this mean the motor is dead alive? or is just my driv dead?

Pump is 4 years and 4 months old. Hayward customer service said call my local pool shop (AKA "you are on your own"). I'll only change the drive if I can get at lest another 2 more years out of this motor. Otherwise replace the entire thing.

Do I?:
a) replace with SP3200DR drive only:
b) buy a new Hayward Tristar motor and Drive and stick it into the old 3200DR wet-end housing;
c) or yank he whole thing out and replace with PentAir (AKA "expensive but last laugh on Hayward Customer Service").

Comments? thanks.

 

[ajw22]

Typical EcoStar drive failure - Hayward EcoStar Pumps - Further Reading

Your choices are b or c.

Depends if you plan on connecting it to Hayward or Pentair automation.

 

[CoolRaul]

AJW, thanks for the swift reply.

1) are you confirming by motor is dead as tested? am looking for conformation based on the results in the original email
2) I am not planning on automation except whatever the drive provides me with on the new pump (timer, etc...).

Also, how do you like your Intellichlor? I am contemplating a chlorinator system now as well. And a new heater. Gonna take a plumbing redesign.

One last thing if I may: Being an engineer I'm pretty handy at installing pumps, heaters, etc... and researching things before installing to ensure they are done properly. What is the inclination of the majority on this board? Install themselves or pay a professional pool person to do it. I'm aware of the warranty implications and general costs savings. Just curious.

thanks.

 

[ajw22]

1) are you confirming by motor is dead as tested? am looking for conformation based on the results in the original email

The physical motor is probably good. The drive electronics are probably fried. This is a common failure and really this pump was a Hayward lemon.

2) I am not planning on automation except whatever the drive provides me with on the new pump (timer, etc...).

Also, how do you like your Intellichlor? I am contemplating a chlorinator system now as well. And a new heater. Gonna take a plumbing redesign.

I like the IntelliChlor. I am on my 3rd cell in 16 years. I just replaced a cell with a 2012 date code with a new cell. For me they have been reliable. They are pricey but I like that with the cell I get new electronics.

One last thing if I may: Being an engineer I'm pretty handy at installing pumps, heaters, etc... and researching things before installing to ensure they are done properly. What is the inclination of the majority on this board? Install themselves or pay a professional pool person to do it. I'm aware of the warranty implications and general costs savings. Just curious.

I am in the process of upgrading my equipment. As I said above I replaced an IC40 with a new IC60 cell. Just replaced a SS Pentair pump with an IntelliFlo 011028 VS pump. Next project is to replace my Aqualink box with the Pentair IntelliCenter sitting in my garage.

Professional pool people charge 2X or more the equipment price for the install. That makes their warranty worthless and a disincentive to use them if you have the skills to DIY. You can repair or replace equipment without a warranty and still come out ahead. A lot of the work takes basic electrical or plumbing skills. Hire a pro to make the heater gas connection and anything else you are not comfortable doing.

Pentair still supports equipment purchased and installed outside the pool store channel. Jandy has taken active steps to not support such activities. Hayward is somewhere in between.

 

[CoolRaul]

Thanks. On my point 1, I read (thanks for the links btw) I need to show resistivity b/w 0.5-1.0 between each of the motor leads against each other. I register 0 (zero). Again, doesn't this mean my motor is no longer functioning? I'd rather just replace the drive than the whole pump unit but purchasing a drive and later finding the motor is shot as well would be a major blunder.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks. On my point 1, I read (thanks for the links btw) I need to show resistivity b/w 0.5-1.0 between each of the motor leads against each other. I register 0 (zero). Again, doesn't this mean my motor is no longer functioning? I'd rather just replace the drive than the whole pump unit but purchasing a drive and later finding the motor is shot as well would be a major blunder.

@JamesW what should he expect his motor to test?

 

[CoolRaul]

I read between 0.5-1.0. That's not what I am getting (I am getting zero). So just seeking affirmation before purchasing the entire pump rather than just the drive (USD 1,000 diference). All comments welcome. thanks.

 

[FM1985]

I'm a few weeks behind you on this one, but just recently got the same issue. Ran through all the diagnostics to determine if it's the motor or the Drive unit and when I did my tests I got 0.42 ohms when testing the motor leads.

Just like you I'd rather not spend the $450 on a new motor and then down the road be out another $550 having to replace the drive. In the long run that'd be just under buying a completely new system from a different company and I know that the motor/drive on these is at best going to last 4 or so years.

I'm interested to know what you ultimately went with.

 

[CoolRaul]

I'm a few weeks behind you on this one, but just recently got the same issue. Ran through all the diagnostics to determine if it's the motor or the Drive unit and when I did my tests I got 0.42 ohms when testing the motor leads.

Just like you I'd rather not spend the $450 on a new motor and then down the road be out another $550 having to replace the drive. In the long run that'd be just under buying a completely new system from a different company and I know that the motor/drive on these is at best going to last 4 or so years.

I'm interested to know what you ultimately went with.

Got tired of getting the same reading ( Zero Ohms) from motor confusing my issue. Time is money. I went with the Hayward again - SP32950: VS 2.7 HP this time. I was repeatedly told they make a good pump, just the Ecostar drive was a lemon and this pump is supposed to be its replacement. - although more HP. Compounding that, I don't think my pool guy installed it properly and that may have contributed to the problem. I now have a nice long straight pipe intake; replaced my old primary suction and discharge diverter valves (Biggest work issue - they were Purex & only 5" wide while the standard today is 7". Pipes coming out of the concrete pad were only 12 1/2' wide (OD/OD) - no way to get in sweep elbows on the valves. Had to use a few 45 degrees on each side to give them " tiny hips" or a little "heart-shaped" to get them to fit the old in-concrete plumbing. Next, had to stagger their heights because they were too near to go side-by-side at the same height. Not too much lost there - just a lot of work.

Completely by-passed the heater using another Pentair 2" 3-way valve but built in future access pipe with check valve for when I purchase a new one later. I have/had this old heater ( Mediterranean II - 400,000 btu - works great but inefficient) maybe twice a year, but since it requires a 1 1/2' intake pipe coming from my filter it created unnecessary pressure in the system and since everything now is nice straight 2' pipe thought I'd just by-pass/disable it for now.

Next, just got installing today an Intellichlor IC40 SWG on as separate timer (but synch'd) with the pump's internal timer. Put in 240 pounds of salt and away I go. All GREEN with nearly all nice straight 2" pipe. ! Just need to monitor the chlorine production because the SWG system only operates at % outputs. You need to match that to your demand manually. Once in lock step I hope I don't need to look at this system again until end-of -the-season.

I also noticed the pressure in my DE filter is way down since I now have 2' (vice 1/ 1/2") pipe heading back to the pool. Pool gets plenty of vacuum action at 1750 rpm. with the 32950. I hear a bigger motor at lower rpm is more efficient.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on your developments.

Shout out to anyone on this board that gave advice - thanks.

 

[CoolRaul]

I'm a few weeks behind you on this one, but just recently got the same issue. Ran through all the diagnostics to determine if it's the motor or the Drive unit and when I did my tests I got 0.42 ohms when testing the motor leads.

Just like you I'd rather not spend the $450 on a new motor and then down the road be out another $550 having to replace the drive. In the long run that'd be just under buying a completely new system from a different company and I know that the motor/drive on these is at best going to last 4 or so years.

I'm interested to know what you ultimately went with.

BTW, how long did you have the Ecostar pump before it failed?

 

[CoolRaul]

@JamesW what should he expect his motor to test?

What part of NJ? Old Bayonne boy myself....

 

[FM1985]

Got tired of getting the same reading ( Zero Ohms) from motor confusing my issue. Time is money. I went with the Hayward again - SP32950: VS 2.7 HP this time. I was repeatedly told they make a good pump, just the Ecostar drive was a lemon and this pump is supposed to be its replacement. - although more HP.

BTW, how long did you have the Ecostar pump before it failed?

Yeah, I did the same. Our EcoStar was the 2.7 HP equivalent to the 950 so it was the easiest option. Complete overkill for our 15K gal pool, but I really liked how well it could run through the whole pool at 1800 RPM in about 7.5 hours while using less than 300 watts per hour. I tested a few flow meters last summer so I could dial in the run times to hit about 90% change over per day and if we hit the pool hard I could just have it run a bit longer. It was a fun little project.

After finding the records for the pool from the previous owners (we've been here 2 years now) the EcoStar was installed in May of 2014, so we got a full 6 years out of it. The real frustrating part was seeing how much they paid for the install and everything on the invoice. They had it installed for $965 TOTAL. The 950 is the EXACT same pump, but with an "upgraded" control module that supposedly wont blow, and everywhere around me had it at $1700. What a complete ripoff. I ended up getting mine for $1200 and swapped it myself. I could have gotten the equivalent one on Amazon for about that price, but a 4 year warranty was something I definitely wanted. I guess if I made a big enough of a stink with Hayward they may have cut me a deal on a new 950, but as I didn't have the time to haggle, or wait to play email tag, given its already prime pool season and I have 2 kids in the house going through cabin fever I didn't want the pool down for too long. Oh well. Priorities.