- Oct 25, 2015
- 5,148
- Pool Size
- 25000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Folks,
I've had this problem before and figured out how to get through it and I was hoping I wouldn't have to repeat it again. Robin (my wife) is correct when she says "I can count on you never to repeat the same mistake twice"... "it takes you 3 or 4 times to learn".
So I hope if I document it here, I will commit it to memory with only two tries. I needed to replace the impeller to complete my change to a VS motor. No big deal right? Took off the six bolts holding the pump motor assembly on then remove the two screws holding the diffuser on, then the impeller retaining screw on the end of the motor shaft. No big deal right? Wrong for me. I forgot it's reverse-threaded. So the more I tried to turn it, the more it slipped and I quickly rounded out the Phillips screw royally! So next I thought, OK my screw extractors... nope they only work on right-handed threads. So I got my handy battery-operated vibrating saw like this one:
and sawed off all but the center core. Then I cut into the screw head with a pattern. Next I secured the shaft from the rear and grabbed the remainder of the impeller core with some vice grips. Finally I unscrewed the impeller and watched as the head just collapsed outward and popped off. The impeller then unscrewed the rest of the way with fingers only. When things go wrong it's nice to see the fix work beautifully. That doesn't happen too often with me. Of course it's way better to just turn the screw the right direction in the first place. Full disclosure: this sounds pretty elegant but it really wasn't all that pretty. Here's a photo of the impeller (well most of it) after the procedure:
I hope this is helpful to some other poor soul that has this issue to deal with.
Chris
I've had this problem before and figured out how to get through it and I was hoping I wouldn't have to repeat it again. Robin (my wife) is correct when she says "I can count on you never to repeat the same mistake twice"... "it takes you 3 or 4 times to learn".
So I hope if I document it here, I will commit it to memory with only two tries. I needed to replace the impeller to complete my change to a VS motor. No big deal right? Took off the six bolts holding the pump motor assembly on then remove the two screws holding the diffuser on, then the impeller retaining screw on the end of the motor shaft. No big deal right? Wrong for me. I forgot it's reverse-threaded. So the more I tried to turn it, the more it slipped and I quickly rounded out the Phillips screw royally! So next I thought, OK my screw extractors... nope they only work on right-handed threads. So I got my handy battery-operated vibrating saw like this one:
and sawed off all but the center core. Then I cut into the screw head with a pattern. Next I secured the shaft from the rear and grabbed the remainder of the impeller core with some vice grips. Finally I unscrewed the impeller and watched as the head just collapsed outward and popped off. The impeller then unscrewed the rest of the way with fingers only. When things go wrong it's nice to see the fix work beautifully. That doesn't happen too often with me. Of course it's way better to just turn the screw the right direction in the first place. Full disclosure: this sounds pretty elegant but it really wasn't all that pretty. Here's a photo of the impeller (well most of it) after the procedure:
I hope this is helpful to some other poor soul that has this issue to deal with.
Chris
But it's okay. TFP screening would've removed them anyways. 
