New variable speed pump tripping breaker

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SirSwimAlot

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Jun 1, 2016
133
East Coast
I just had a Supermax VS 1.5HP professionally installed to replace my Hayward 1HP of 15 or so years (bought the house 5 years ago no idea of real age).

The new pump keeps tripping the dual 20A breaker every few hours. I called the company who installed it and they said I have to hire an electrician to look at the issue.

I can see the pump is rated for 13A max and I never had a problem with the old pump.

There appears to be nothing else on the circuit.

Any ideas? They want me to hire my own electrician to solve it.
 
SirSwimAlot said:
Any ideas? They want me to hire my own electrician to solve it.
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The Pentair Intelliflo pumps (big brother to your pump) needs to use a specific Pentair branded Circuit Breaker or it can trip the breaker. Let's see if @Jimrahbe or @JamesW can point you in the right direction.
 
If the OP has a GFCI breaker some are more susceptible to tripping than others (like the Pentair CB)

Which GFCI breaker to use?

I'm installing a Hayward Variable speed pump and boster pump for the cleaner and a heater. I will need a 230v 20 amp dual breaker. Siemens is the one that fits my old breaker box, but there are two versions US2:QF220A...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Sir,

Wait...

If I read your post correctly, your original pump was running off of a standard 20 amp 2-pole breaker and not a GFCI breaker.. Is this true?

If so, and your old pump was working fine, then the problem has to be the new pump.. It has nothing to do with a GFCI issue.

If your original set up had a 20 AMP GFCI breaker, then it is possible that you just need to change the breaker.

Tell us what kind of breaker is in there right now...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
The Siemens equivament DP 20Amp GFCI breaker is identical to the pentair breaker; only delta are the rebranding names...

To the OP,

What type of breaker were you running with the older pump?
What type of breaker is running the new VSP?
Did the installers change anything else from the original pump?
What type of service panel do you have [where your breakers are installed}?

Let us know these answers and we'll go from there
 
Sorry for the late response, I never got a notification for responses.

I forget the type of breaker I had but the pool company had an electrician come in and look at it and changed out the breaker to a Siemen's breaker and the problem went away. I asked if it was the breaker and they told me no this is a common issue with Pentair pumps needing Pentair breakers but Siemen's are very similar in style and work as well. He said it has nothing to do with the load on the breaker. The pool company is saying they never seen the problem before and it's my problem. After over a month of back and forth, it is up and running but I got another bill for the electrical work. When I mentioned this, they are giving a totally different story that they sell 150 of these a year and never had this problem and the electrician said "the breaker couldn't handle the pump".
 
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Variable speed pumps create certain types of noise in the wiring that can trip some gfci breakers.

It's really not the fault of the installer.

You could have replaced the breaker yourself as we had advised.

In any case, an electrician was sent out and solved your problem.

In my opinion, you owe the money.
 
JamesW said:
In my opinion, you owe the money.
Click to expand...

On the other hand, my pool builder, (the cheapest man on earth) automatically installs the Pentair breaker to avoid the problem.. It is not an unknown problem and to me it makes sense to use the better breaker, even when not needed.. In my case, I doubt it was free, and I am sure I paid for it in the original build price.

But, to me, it is better to install it up front, than insult your customers later on...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Jimrahbe said:
On the other hand, my pool builder, (the cheapest man on earth) automatically installs the Pentair breaker to avoid the problem.
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For a pool build, I definitely agree. The builder is being paid to do the electrical.

In this case, the service person was only asked to replace the pump, not to do any electrical work.

The breaker was the original 15 year old breaker.

They have no idea if it's a suitable breaker or not. They might not be comfortable or even qualified to do breaker panel work.

We don't know why the breaker was tripping. Maybe it was just old and worn out.

In any case, it seems that an electrician was needed to replace the breaker, which would be the homeowner's responsibility.

Perhaps the service company should have been more knowledgeable about the issues and advised the homeowner that the breaker might be an issue.

A competent service company would be aware of the issue and they would tell the homeowner that the breaker might need to be replaced.

If there was a defect in the pump or the installation, then the service company would be responsible.

If the 15 year old breaker was faulty or just not able to deal with the noise from the variable frequency drive, then I would not expect the service company to be responsible for that as they did not install it.
 
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James,

I see your point, but if I were in the business of installing IntelliFlo pumps, I would include the breaker or at least let the home owner know that it might me needed..

On the other hand, maybe that is why I am not in any business... :mrgreen:

I'd also include pump unions and then no one could afford me... ☹

Jim R.
 
When giving a quote or proposal for any work, I think that it's best for the service company to be as comprehensive as possible about what is included, what's not included, what variables are possible etc. so that the customer can make the best, most informed choice.

The more competent a company is, the less likely it is that the customer will encounter any unexpected problems.

I think that someone who installs variable speed pumps, should be well aware of the issue and they should include the possibility in their proposal or the option to replace the circuit breaker at the time of service.

It's important to note that not all service technicians are comfortable or qualified to go into a breaker panel and replace a breaker.

Replacing a breaker might require a licensed electrician, which most service people are not.

In this case, it seems that the service provider was not comfortable dealing with the electrical and referred it to an electrician, which is reasonable.

Especially when the electrical work is older, it's important to have an electrician replace the breaker so that they can make sure that everything is up to current code and is safe.
 
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JamesW said:
When giving a quote or proposal for any work, I think that it's best for the service company to be as comprehensive as possible about what is included, what's not included, what variables are possible etc. so that the customer can make the best, most informed choice.

The more competent a company is, the less likely it is that the customer will encounter any unexpected problems.

I think that someone who installs variable speed pumps, should be well aware of the issue and they should include the possibility in their proposal or the option to replace the circuit breaker at the time of service.

It's important to note that not all service technicians are comfortable or qualified to go into a breaker panel and replace a breaker.

Replacing a breaker might require a licensed electrician, which most service people are not.

In this case, it seems that the service provider was not comfortable dealing with the electrical and referred it to an electrician, which is reasonable.

Especially when the electrical work is older, it's important to have an electrician replace the breaker so that they can make sure that everything is up to current code and is safe.
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I was told over and over they never heard of this problem before and they sell 150 of these pumps a year. I've been wanting for it to get resolved for well over a month, they said they would send an electrician and if it is on my end, I will be invoiced, if it is on theirs they would be. The electrician came and said these pumps are known to do this and they don't like a lot of breakers, it has nothing to do with overloading the breaker. Then I received an invoice, when I spoke to the pool people they said the electrician said it was overloading the breaker (which is not what the guy told me, and he replaced it with a siemens breaker specifically to avoid issues with the pump). It took well over a month to get it resolved, all the while I had to reset the breaker 3-4 times a day to even keep it running. It makes me uncomfortable they claim never to have seen the problem before and the electrician said nearly exactly what mknauss said earlier. Then what I brought that up, they are giving me a completely different story from the electrician.
 
I can understand your frustration with the situation.

In my opinion, the service company's performance was not acceptable.

They could have handled it much better.

Their performance cost you a lot of time and aggravation.

In any case, the breaker had to be replaced by an electrician, which would be your responsibility either way.

Perhaps the service company should compensate you in some way for the time, aggravation and inconvenience.

At a minimum, they should be more understanding about your dissatisfaction and offer something of value to mitigate the adverse effect on you.
 
Sir,

To give your service company a tiny bit of slack, most IntelliFlo installations do not have any problems, no matter what kind of breaker.. Everything has to be just right or I should say "wrong" for the problem to occur. Even so, I find it hard to believe that they have never heard of this problem before...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Even so, I find it hard to believe that they have never heard of this problem before...
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I agree. It's a known problem. If they do as many as they claim, it's not credible that they don't know. It's not right to act like it's a mystery and leave the customer with a problem.

It's a brand new pump. The company should have been out the same day or the next day and figured it out.

Even if they didn't know, they should have called Pentair or done whatever else necessary to make it right as quickly as possible.
 
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