New Pump Motor Hot during SLAM - NEWBIE

[HBrittan]

New member, New to working on my pool, and I have a new pump and motor....

I am three days into doing a SLAM. The pool was really bad as the motor died last summer, and we covered it over the winter to keep leaves out. We scooped and skimmed all the bulk waste from the pool (tons of stuff). We replaced the pump and motor with a brand new unit that matched the original equipment and started the SLAM three days ago. Because the pool was SO bad, we circulated water, bypassing the filter using a 2" hose for the first 48 hours. Yesterday at 4 pm, we vacuumed to waste, and then switched over to the filter. It has been running for 24 hours on the filter, and we are rinsing the filter, and strainer baskets regularly. So far, I am pleased with the chemistry experiment.

The pump/motor came as an assembly. It is a Whisperflo WF-28 with a 1.5hp motor. It bolted up, and fired right up when we turned it on. It is the same model and size as the original.
We have a Pentair Clean & Clear Cartridge Filter. In the past, a clean filter would run at 8-10psi. We would see a drop in water flow at 20 and would clean the filter. It appears that pressure right now is about 20-25. Other than stopping to clean the filters it has run constantly. During this SLAM, we have been running around 20 and cleaning at about 23-25. Today, even after rinsing the filter, the pressure is still elevated (about 15), so I imagine it is not really clean. I have a new filter but was continuing to use the old filter during the SLAM. We also changed all the O-Rings on the filter and added a new pressure gauge.

That brings me to my problem.

At about 4 pm today, I notice the pump motor was very hot to the touch and was making a squeaking/chirping sound. I have shut it down now to let it cool. I was reading different posts here about hot and loud pump motors and can only hope that I have not burned out a brand new motor with less than 72 hours on it.

Do you have any thoughts about what and why this has happened? Is pressure too High? Do you think my pump is fried? Do you think this is a product issue? Do you think I can cool it down, reduce pressure, and continue on?
Sorry, Lots of questions.
Thanks.
Harry

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Your Pentair pump should be able to run continuously 24/7 without a problem. You may just have infant mortality and a bad pump. I don;t know how hot a pump motor feels in the Texas sun.

@Jimrahbe @JamesW

 

[HBrittan]

It was hot, but I could leave my hand on it. Late afternoon, it is in the sun.

I let it cool for a couple of hours and just went back out to try it again and see what happens. More than the heat, what caught my attention was the sound. I changed out the old filter that was probably no good after sitting dry for so long (even though I cleaned it). The pressure was running about 7psi with the new filter and water flow appeared good. But the pump/motorI, i would say it sounds like a chirping cricket. Other than that, the pump and motor sounds normal.

Really discouraged, cause we have worked so hard to get everything fixed, and start cleaning it up. I’m just hoping I don’t have to redo the pump. Should I pull the pump and deal with the warranty or have a repair guy come and deal with the motor? I am assuming that sound of course is a the motor, shaft, or bearing.

I assume I can’t run it any more, right?

 

[Jimrahbe]

H,

Not sure what the problem is with the motor, but single speed motors often get so hot you can't leave your hand on them.. If you could keep your hand on the motor, then I don't think the heat was the issue.

Since you had so much junk in the bottom of the pool, are you sure something did not get into the impeller area???

With the power off, I'd stick your finger in there and see what you can feel... See if you can rotate the impeller and duplicate the sound.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[HBrittan]

I will try that in the morning and let you know.

Thanks. Good night.
H

 

[JamesW]

Is the voltage correct and set correctly in the motor?

 

[HBrittan]

Thanks for the feedback.
JIMRABE - I checked the impeller. My hand is big so it was hard to get it down in there. I could turn it smoothly but could not get on it enough to make it spin. I turned it around several times and could not feel anything or hear any sounds. Cleaned all the baskets and put it back together.

JAMESW - I doubled checked the wiring and voltage. I wired it up straight our of the box, not thinking to check that. It comes from the factory wired for 220, so I am good. I am worried about the wire connections though. I reused the old connectors, and may want to replace those with new clean connectors to ensure a good circuit connection.

I shut it off over night and this morning I started everything up, and it is running quietly. I am running on a brand new filter now, and pressure is running about 3 PSI. Lots of flow from waterfall which typically slows down with pressure is high the filter is dirty. It is running very quietly. Maybe a bit of a noise or vibration.

I am running it now, but am going to have a friend come by who is a motor guy/electrician to check it over. Been running since about 7am (about 5 hours).

I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks.
H

 

[HBrittan]

I wanted to close the loop. I have been running the pump continuously for the past few days. No sounds, no pressure problems. I did not do anything other than change the filter.
I just wanted you all to know I was not having any problems. Thank you for taking the time to respond and help out this new guy. It's good to know there are people that I can ask for input.
Thanks.
H