Lost pump motor. What next?

[superuser]

This morning as the storms rolled through and I was getting ready for work, we had a few brownouts. Pretty hefty voltage sags, popped 3 or 4 GFCI's, and ... apparently killed my pump motor. I didn't notice it when I left, but when I get home the pump is usually running at low speed and there was no water moving. Went out to the pad and nothing. Put the panel in service mode, turned off the pump, and put my hand to it - quite hot to the touch. Let it cool down for an hour, and tried to power it back up. Loud hum, no movement. Figured start capacitor, but tested it and nope - dead on 35uF. Popped the lid and stuck my finger in the impeller, and was able to easily spin it freely, so no clog and the bearings are good. Pulled the motor off the pump and brought it to the bench, pulled the back cover and found a nice scorched section of the windings. Drat.

I'm guessing there's not much left to do but replace the motor, right? FWIW it's a Century 2.5HP 2 speed motor on a Hayward pump, SP1620Z2MC / 7-184874-01

 

[cowboycasey]

Call INyo and ask if you can switch to the new 2.7 hp V Green VS motor, works great

Variable Speed Pool Pump Motors - INYOPools.com

Replace your outdated pool pump motor with a variable speed motor which can save you up to 80% on your operational costs - INYOpools.com

www.inyopools.com

Grab a rebuild kit and a Salt or SCS seal..

 

[superuser]

I could upgrade to a VS, but back of the napkin math says I wouldn't save much more money on power than the 2 speed I'm used to. There's the cool factor, but I'll probably just swap it out with the same motor. Anything I'm missing on VS vs. 2 speed?

Going to throw some liquid chlorine until the new pump arrives, maybe throw the sump pump in the pool to get some circulation into the spa.

 

[cowboycasey]

It depends

I went from a 2 speed to the V green VS.. I run mine on 800 rpm now for 10 hours... it is 100 watts, a light bulb... that is way better then low speed I was on.. When I run the SWG it is the same as my old low speed... so it depends

 

[mknauss]

Anything I'm missing on VS vs. 2 speed?

Act quick. In July that 2 speed motor will no longer be available (or until they run out of stock). Federal regulation kicks in that will require VS motors of 1.1 THP or greater.