Noisy Pump, frost on Heater

[ibseanb]

Hello,

Pool opened up pretty easily this year, except the pump refused to start up because the impeller was jammed. I got it moving my hand it has been going fine since. The heater is keeping it at 71 degrees until the weather gets a little warmer.

This morning I walked outside and could hear my pump making quite a racket. I sprayed some WD40 into the back of the pump's fan blade, and it did nothing. It is pumping water as expected but it's noisy. Bearings? Time for a new unit?

Looked over to the heater and there are 2 nice lines of frost on the vents, and on one of the pipes inside. Seems coincidental that the frost appeared at the same time as the heater started making noise. I turned the temperature down to give the heater a break but am concerned that it needs work too.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[1poolman1]

Hello,

Pool opened up pretty easily this year, except the pump refused to start up because the impeller was jammed. I got it moving my hand it has been going fine since. The heater is keeping it at 71 degrees until the weather gets a little warmer.

This morning I walked outside and could hear my pump making quite a racket. I sprayed some WD40 into the back of the pump's fan blade, and it did nothing. It is pumping water as expected but it's noisy. Bearings? Time for a new unit?

Looked over to the heater and there are 2 nice lines of frost on the vents, and on one of the pipes inside. Seems coincidental that the frost appeared at the same time as the heater started making noise. I turned the temperature down to give the heater a break but am concerned that it needs work too.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

You may have two issues. The frost usually indicates a low refrigerant charge in the heat pump (same as a home air-conditioner).
There is nothing to lubricate on a VSP motor, they are completely sealed. A leaking pump seal can allow water to get into the front of a motor and ruin the bearings. Unless there was debris inside the wet-end, it wasn't the impeller that was jammed, but more likely the motor bearings were "frozen" due to rust/corrosion.

 

[ibseanb]

You may have two issues. The frost usually indicates a low refrigerant charge in the heat pump (same as a home air-conditioner).
There is nothing to lubricate on a VSP motor, they are completely sealed. A leaking pump seal can allow water to get into the front of a motor and ruin the bearings. Unless there was debris inside the wet-end, it wasn't the impeller that was jammed, but more likely the motor bearings were "frozen" due to rust/corrosion.

Thanks for the reply. So, contacting a HVAC tech to check the refrigerant charge is the best option for the heater, correct? For the pump, time to replace it or is there anything I can do?

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks for the reply. So, contacting a HVAC tech to check the refrigerant charge is the best option for the heater, correct? For the pump, time to replace it or is there anything I can do?

Which Hayward pump?
You might find an HVAC tech willing to work on a pool heat pump, but likely not. Might be best to call the manufacturer and see if they can refer you to a service company.

 

[JamesW]

The frost might be from low water flow.

Get the pump working correctly first.

 

[JamesW]

Can you show the whole system?

Can you show a video of the pump running?

What speed is the pump on?

Can you verify the flow rate?

 

[ibseanb]

Hey all, thanks for the replies. I took a few more pictures and a video of the pump in action. Thought it was easier to share a link instead of uploading. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zytbVMfYYeCnnyvk6

I went to our local pool store yesterday and the owner said it's most likely the bearings going out, and I might be able to take it to a local repair shop to have new ones put in. I found the same one I have for $923 online (several hundred cheaper than anywhere else). thinking of just replacing the whole thing since its cheaper than buying a new motor for it.

https://doxo.shop/product/hayward-maxflo-vs-pump-w3sp2303vsp/

Thoughts ?

thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Thought it was easier to share a link instead of uploading. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

Maybe for you but not for us.

Many folks here will not click on unknown links.

Put pictures in messages and load videos onto YouTube with a link to it in a message.

 

[ibseanb]

I understand the hesitation, but the photos link is a google photo URL. The second is from a pool company in florida.