Intelliflo Motor Corrosion Issue

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J

jcw48

0
Jan 6, 2017
4
yorba linda, ca
Hi All,
I just replaced my 5 1/2 year old Intelliflo pump motor due to excessive noise, probably a bearing.
The original motor exhibits what I feel is a lot of corrosion (see pictures).
My pool guy tells me that this is a common problem with Intelliflo motors that they often corrode like this after a few years.
I would like to know what others have experienced with these motors.

Intelliflo 12-26-16 (7).jpgIntelliflo 12-26-16 (6).jpg
 
That looks bad. I would suspect that there is something causing accelerated corrosion. Perhaps one of the following:
1) Water dripping on the motor.
2) Galvanic corrosion from stray electrical current.
3) Pump in confined area exposed to chlorine or acid fumes.
Was the motor bonded?
 
:shock:

I'm with Danny...my IntelliFlo sits outdoors in all sorts of weather (except snow) and it does NOT have a stitch of corrosion on it anywhere. JamesW has hit all the points, that is some serious corrosion caused by something. That is not normal at all....
 
By the way, that corrosion looks like "white rust" - it's essentially a mixture of zinc hydroxide and carbonate caused by the storage of a galvanized surface in a moist, stagnant environment. You can see how the white crust is very voluminous and the there's a darker grey underneath. Based on the visuals, I would say that JamesW's #2 scenario is quite possible - galvanic corrosion. The zinc on the galvanized steel casing of the motor is acting as a "sacrificial anode" and "protecting" something else it is connected to either through the bonding wire or the ground wire. It could also be a stray current on one of those wires as well.

I'd check the bonding and grounding wires for any stray voltage relative to one another. As was asked previously, is you pump properly bonded and grounded?
 
First I would like to thank all of you for your input.
Now to answer your questions:
The motor is not in a confined area, no chemicals are stored near the motor.
The motor is exposed to rain.. when it rains... if it rains... here in Southern CA.
The pump was grounded but not bonded.
In fact the bonding wire was not attached to either the motor or the DE filter. (It appears that the bonding wire was cut to remove the original pump & motor 5 years ago and not re-connected) The way the motor is situated it is difficult to see the bonding lug on the motor and, as it turns out, the bonding wire was pointed at - but not actually connected - to the bonding lug like I thought it was.
I took some voltage readings with the bonding wire disconnected from the motor and the DE filter.
Between the Bonding Wire and the motor: 149 mv DC.
Between the Bonding wire and the filter: 68 mv DC.
Between the motor and the filter: 135 mv DC.
I have no idea how those readings compare to any kind of norm.

Thanks again for your input,
Jim
 

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Hey Jim,

I'm having the exact same issue. My motor is going into it's third season when I noticed my pool turning green fast. I checked on the pump, and the motor was off. When I hit the run button, it went to an overcurrent condition. That's when I realized the motor was seized. My bonding wire was connected (however, it did look corroded). The same thing happened to the original motor, however, the case was steel and only the flange corroded. I'm going to be researching the bonding wire and how to test that it is connected correctly. It originates at the back of the heater then connects to the front of the heater. From there it connects to the motor, then down into the ground (I assume headed for the pool) I was just wondering if you found out what the problem was with yours.

WP_20170323_006.jpg WP_20170323_004.jpg
 
That sure looks like my motor. My pool guy agreed that the non-connected bonding wire caused my motor to fail and, taking the high road, reimbursed me for a new motor.
Remember that the bonding wire has to be connected to all metal objects that also connect to pool water. You didn't mention if the bonding wire was attached to your filter.
Also be sure that all of the connections are clean and tight.
Do you have a digital volt meter? I was able to read voltage between the heater housing, motor and filter with the power to my pool equipment turned off. It was in the millivolt range but remember that voltage is there 24/7/365.
With the bond wire in place there should be 0 volts between them.
I hope this helps.
Jim
 
That's an expensive motor for your pool guy to honor 5 years down the road. Props to that guy.
While you are into the bonding I would try and make sure that your water is still properly bonded to the bonding loop as well.
Another option if you cant eliminate the galvanic current you can look into putting a sacrificial zinc anode into the plumbing.
 
Sorry the anode and water bond were meant to be 2 different things. The anode would be there strictly to stop the galvanic corrosion. The water bond is a completely separate device.

I brought up the water bond because if for some reason the water wasn't bonded it could be using the motor shaft and going out thru the motor bearings as a path to ground. That is something that could greatly accelerate the corrosion of the motor casing.
 
When I got home today, my Intelliflo pump was making a "bad bearing" noise that was absent this morning.
Upon inspection, my motor housing showed the same extreme corrosion as shown in Jims pictures. The paint has completely separated from the motor.
I am an EE who deals with VF motor drives, but with a quick inspection with a fluke meter, I did not see any unusual voltages. I will however check again when the light is better.
this pump is about two years old. I will post some pics later. I have a bad rust spot in my spa that appears as if the rebar is right under a grout line. There is a lot of oxidation. Pool is 20 years old and has always had a SWG.
I will go over every node looking for galvanic currents.
 
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930pool said:
When I got home today, my Intelliflo pump was making a "bad bearing" noise that was absent this morning.
Upon inspection, my motor housing showed the same extreme corrosion as shown in Jims pictures. The paint has completely separated from the motor.
I am an EE who deals with VF motor drives, but with a quick inspection with a fluke meter, I did not see any unusual voltages. I will however check again when the light is better.
this pump is about two years old. I will post some pics later. I have a bad rust spot in my spa that appears as if the rebar is right under a grout line. There is a lot of oxidation. Pool is 20 years old and has always had a SWG.
I will go over every node looking for galvanic currents.
Click to expand...

I am facing the same issue. Pump is making noise. Paint is all chipped away like it flaked completely. The motor has lots of white stuff behind impeller and also in front of the motor. Our motor was bonded to the water but not to the pool heater, but we never used pool heater. I am going to change the impeller seal and see if the noise goes away .

The last pool pump we had lasted 15 years without any issue. It was half the price of Intelliflo variable speed. You do not expect the pump to corrode in just 5 years. Our pump is sitting outside so that could be the reason.

Do you now know as to why the corrosion happened
 
I'll join the role call. My main seal was leaking and when I went to replace it the seal plate failed (two brass nuts pulled out of the plate). I ordered a new seal plate (ebay). One of the lugs on the pump also corroded to near failure.

$1100 dollar pump is corroding away just after the 2 year warranty expired!
 
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