New Pump Recommendations

[jerrypar72]

Noisy Whisperflo pump

My 8 year old Whisperflo pump is also making a lot of noise. Is it likely just the motor going out and making these shrieking noises?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

It is usually best to start your own topic/thread rather than reuse some existing thread.

There are various noises that a pump can make. Bearings tend to whine. Cavitation sounds more like a broken lawn mower. A jammed impeller usually makes a loud hum.

I haven't heard pumps described as "shrieking", but that is somewhat close to what I call a bearing whine.

A good basic first step is to open up the pump strainer basket, remove the basket, and take a look at the impeller area (all with the pump off of course). That area should be clear and the impeller should turn by hand.

 

[jerrypar72]

Thanks

Thanks for your reply Jason. In the future, I will start a new thread. I checked out the impeller as you had suggested, and it seems to be fine. I can move it easily by hand. I guess the sound could be best described as a grinding sound, and the motor comes to a grinding halt upon turning it off. It's hard to tell if the sound is eminating from the motor, or maybe the pump itself. Does it make sense to change out the motor only, instead of the entire motor and pump assembly? I found a new WF-4 replacement motor for $175. Thanks for your help!!

p.s. This site is great!!!

 

[alben]

Re:

Is the air purge on the filter or the pump? Here are some pictures of my pump and filter. I did notice that the drain on the side of the pump was leaking, but I don't know how to get it off. It's just a rounded nub.

This is in reference to the picture Posted: June 25th, 2007, 6:56 pm
My pump drains were twisted off exactly the same. The hex head on the drain plug breaks off easily. Resulting in just nubs. Solution is to use a Dremel tool to cut a slotted groove in the nub. Then just use a screwdriver to remove the nub.

 

[Guest]

I am not trying to hijack the thread, but I have been looking for sizing on my new pool.

When I look up the Pentair pumps for AGP, I find the the Dynamo motors are being used on those models. The Whisperflo motors are being used on the IGP filters.

In looking at the dynamo 2 speed 115v 3/4 HP, I see a full load amperage of 8.8 amps and a low speed amperage of 2.6. Based on my calculations full speed is 1012 watts and low speed is 299. I cannot locate any flow rate graphs for the dynamo pumps, so I am not sure of the flow rates, but this seems a lot more efficient than the WhisperFlo models like the WFDS-3 which is 14.6 amps and 4.7, or 1679 and 540 watts respectively.

So which one is more efficient? Since I can't get the GPM on the dynamo, I cannot rate them in terms of GPM/Kwh.

 

[Guest]

Speak of sticker shock!

I looked at the price of the Pentair IntelliFlo pumps. The true infinite variable speed is $1,700 and the 4 speed is $1,000. Sorry to say, I CANNOT afford this ultra-efficient option, no matter how much savings and however nice.

Guess I will be sticking to a 2-speed 3/4 HP pump from Pentair for the big $239 instead.

These prices have got to be gouging the public because they have the only model available with these features. It will have to drop before the mass public will embrace it.