Intelliflow VSP Leak

[LVChris]

Has anyone ever seen this happen to a pump before? I’m assuming I’ll need to replace it as it’s leaking slightly, but do I replace the entire unit or just the motor portion?

 

[Lake Placid]

Likely a shaft seal leak. All the seals can be replaced assuming the bearings in the motor aren’t trashed. I assume you’re using a SWG and that is salt that is left after the water evaporates.

 

[1poolman1]

View attachment 606443
Has anyone ever seen this happen to a pump before? I’m assuming I’ll need to replace it as it’s leaking slightly, but do I replace the entire unit or just the motor portion?

That is not a "slight" leak, or it has been let go a long time.
If the motor is not making noise, understand that it may start as the front bearing is definitely damaged. At the very least it needs a new shaft seal installed. A PS-3865 is the better version of a PS-1000 that pump uses. I've cleaned a motor like that and put it back into use and it lasted another 5 years. Yours may not.
That motor can be replaced for about $600.00 plus a shaft seal, body O ring diffuser, O ring, if you DIY. Obviously more if you have a company do the work .
The drive can be removed from that pump and reinstalled to the new motor without any lose of programming other than the time may have to be reset.
With that much corrosion, the sealplate is very likely to be damaged trying to remove the motor from it, so plan on replacing it as well. The brass inserts that the bolts thread into usually will come out of the part and can't be re-installed. Its a Whisperflow sealplate. The aftermarket ValPak one is actually better made.
The rest of the pump wet end is just a Whisperflow, which is a very durable part and could easily be re-used.
Nothing is as good as new except new, but those are very-repairable pumps. Just replacing the motor, if it is needed, is far less than 1/2 the cost of the same new and would not require new plumbing if there are no problems now.

 

[LVChris]

Likely a shaft seal leak. All the seals can be replaced assuming the bearings in the motor aren’t trashed. I assume you’re using a SWG and that is salt that is left after the water evaporates.

Thanks. I don’t have a SWG which is why I’m wondering how that happened. I’m assuming it’s insulation oozing out?
The pump sounds fine so I’ll see if I can find something that tells me how to re-do the seals.

 

[mknauss]

It is likely calcium from the pool water.

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks. I don’t have a SWG which is why I’m wondering how that happened. I’m assuming it’s insulation oozing out?
The pump sounds fine so I’ll see if I can find something that tells me how to re-do the seals.

Its a combination of the "stuff" that is in the pool water and the corrosion from its reaction with the aluminum and steel parts of the motor. While that is a particularly spectacular case, it has been happening to pool-pump motors long before SWGs came out.

 

[LVChris]

That is not a "slight" leak, or it has been let go a long time.
If the motor is not making noise, understand that it may start as the front bearing is definitely damaged. At the very least it needs a new shaft seal installed. A PS-3865 is the better version of a PS-1000 that pump uses. I've cleaned a motor like that and put it back into use and it lasted another 5 years. Yours may not.
That motor can be replaced for about $600.00 plus a shaft seal, body O ring diffuser, O ring, if you DIY. Obviously more if you have a company do the work .
The drive can be removed from that pump and reinstalled to the new motor without any lose of programming other than the time may have to be reset.
With that much corrosion, the sealplate is very likely to be damaged trying to remove the motor from it, so plan on replacing it as well. The brass inserts that the bolts thread into usually will come out of the part and can't be re-installed. Its a Whisperflow sealplate. The aftermarket ValPak one is actually better made.
The rest of the pump wet end is just a Whisperflow, which is a very durable part and could easily be re-used.
Nothing is as good as new except new, but those are very-repairable pumps. Just replacing the motor, if it is needed, is far less than 1/2 the cost of the same new and would not require new plumbing if there are no problems now.

Thanks. I am not knowledgeable on rebuilding pumps so I’d likely need to call a pool person to do it for me. I’m assuming they would get the parts but it sounds like there are definitely some better choices than others. I suppose I should also check into sales on new equipment.
Side question, is this something that just happens or is this unusual for these units?

 

[mknauss]

You should be inspecting your equipment at least weekly. As was said, this was happening a long time.

My Intelliflo VS is 10 years old and no leaks. So it is not common.

If you are hiring it to be repaired, it will likely just be replaced.

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks. I am not knowledgeable on rebuilding pumps so I’d likely need to call a pool person to do it for me. I’m assuming they would get the parts but it sounds like there are definitely some better choices than others. I suppose I should also check into sales on new equipment.
Side question, is this something that just happens or is this unusual for these units?

Without maintenance, yes it frequently happens. Its why I had a repair business for 34 years. Even a "small" leak has to be addressed ASAP or, as the old commercial used to say, "You can pay me now, or pay me later."
Unless you absolutely know that the source of any water at an equipment pad is "your fault," it has to be repaired or the damage just gets worse. There should never be water at the pad that can't be accounted for by opening a valve, a pump, or cleaning something (though some pumps do "spit" out the lid when turned off).

 

[LVChris]

You should be inspecting your equipment at least weekly. As was said, this was happening a long time.

My Intelliflo VS is 10 years old and no leaks. So it is not common.

If you are hiring it to be repaired, it will likely just be replaced.

I do look at it regularly and kept thinking the water was from cleaning the pump basket. The other part seemed to happen fairly quickly.

 

[mknauss]

Water here evaporates quickly. So if a spot is consistently wet, you have a leak.

 

[1poolman1]

I do look at it regularly and kept thinking the water was from cleaning the pump basket. The other part seemed to happen fairly quickly.

With the pump running, and sometimes even with it off, you can feel the bottom of the motor flange, the part that bolts to the wet-end, and you will feel a small gap. If there is water there, the seal is leaking, that's what the gap is for, to make a leak more visible.

 

[Lake Placid]

With the pump running, and sometimes even with it off, you can feel the bottom of the motor flange, the part that bolts to the wet-end, and you will feel a small gap. If there is water there, the seal is leaking, that's what the gap is for, to make a leak more visible.

+1 My babied 5 year old Superpump started hosing the pad down Friday….Never a drop in 5 years. When I pulled the pump apart, the shaft seal had clearly been leaking for sometime, but not enough to leak out the weep hole and make the pad wet to alert me that something was wrong. Bottom line, you do have to deliberately inspect equipment, it won’t always tell you despite decent design features to aid in the process.

 

[LVChris]

Without maintenance, yes it frequently happens. Its why I had a repair business for 34 years. Even a "small" leak has to be addressed ASAP or, as the old commercial used to say, "You can pay me now, or pay me later."
Unless you absolutely know that the source of any water at an equipment pad is "your fault," it has to be repaired or the damage just gets worse. There should never be water at the pad that can't be accounted for by opening a valve, a pump, or cleaning something (though some pumps do "spit" out the lid when turned off).

Thank you.