Is my pump dead?

[ajjohnson93]

A few days ago, my husband went out to turn on the pump. He called me saying it was smoking. I went out to check it out and when I flipped it back on (he turned it off when he saw smoke), there was a hum (no smoke) but it never kicked on. This was the case for another day or so, and then I went out and nothing. No hum, no turning on, no smoke.

Does this mean we need to replace our pump? Or is there a fix? We have had a lot of rain and I know our GFCI kicks off when the ground is too wet, but the "sleep" light for our SWG is still on so I know it is getting power. They have separate plugs in the same outlet.

PLEASE help as I am afraid the pool will turn green soon if this isn't fixed!

 

[danpik]

A motor hum could be a couple of things. it could be something jamming the impeller which will prevent the motor from turning. It also could be a bad Start capacitor. With the power off to the unit, can you reach inside the strainer basket and see if the impeller will turn? If it does, is it possible to get to the shaft on the other end of the motor (may have to remove the rear cover). If you can, when turning the motor on, try spinning the end of the shaft. If it starts up, you will need a new start capacitor. Pretty common problem.

Dan

 

[tstex]

aj,

Dan explained the basics, but you didn't provide anything about what make and model of your pump? How old it is and when was it installed? thanks

 

[Teald024]

You let out the magic blue smoke genie... not a good thing for electrical equipment. The GFCI shouldn't trip just because of wet ground. pool pumps are rated for outdoor use. You should probably have a qualified electrician look it over.

While you are waiting to get the pump motor sorted out, you can manually add the appropriate amount of FC with bleach/liquid chlorine. Use your brush or leaf net to mix the water up, or just go swimming after to mix the chlorine up. That will be enough to hold you over until its fixed. No point in worrying and letting it go green.