Pentair Heat Pump not working

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M

Melnic

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Jun 7, 2017
217
Maryland
Pentair HP 900

So, I thought It was working a few days ago and was warming up pool and noticed today the temperature went back down.
My normal pool guy does not repair heat pumps.
The fan would not spin, so I gave flicked it with a stick and it spun. So I know its likely just the starting capacitor.
But the compressor is not coming on. Anyone know if that has a breaker reset on the compressor? or does that also have a starter capacitor on it that might need replacing also?
If I can't find a dealer to do a repair, a new one is like $3-4K
 
This looks like it would be the manual for your heater: Pentair ThermalFlo HP 900 Manuals | ManualsLib . If you will refer to the wiring diagram on page 12, you will see that the heater uses a dual capacitor for the compressor and fan motor. The compressor uses the 50 microfarad ( mf or uf) tap/connection and the fan motor uses the 7.5 microfarad tap/connection. The middle tap/connection is the line voltage feed to the capacitor. The dual capacitor will also have a voltage rating listed on it (either 370Vac or 440 Vac). You can replace a 370Vac capacitor with one that is rated at 440Vac, but not the other way around! You should inspect the capacitor visually and replace it if the casing is swollen/cracked at a seam /leaking or if any terminals are burnt off. If it looks normal you would need to check the actual output in microfarads with a multimeter. First remove all power from the heater. Remove the purple compressor wire from the 50mf side of the capacitor and the brown fan motor wire from the 7.5mf side of the capacitor. Check the mf reading from the center tap to the 50mf tap. It should be within plus or minus 10% of 50mf ( 45-55mf). Do the same for the 7.5mf tap, (6.75-8.25mf). You may not get to the point of actually measuring mf if visual inspection proves a failure. If the capacitor is shot it would be a reason for both the fan motor and compressor not working. You do not need to source the capacitor as an OEM part as almost all capacitors are made in China these days and are a relatively inexpensive part.
 
swamp, thanks.
I pulled the cover and found the cap. I could tell before pulling the cover off that someone has been into this unit before me as several screws were missing and the little metal clip nuts were gone.
The cap in there was swolen. Not only that, it was a 70/7.5 not a 50/7.5

I'm going to see if the local pool shop has one. They service Pentair. If not, looking at the pictures on 2 sites for Pentair 470146, it shows
wuxi-motor cap
CBB65-440R07E50R
7.5/50uF 440VAC
 
Don't know why there is a 70/7.5 in there. Not all techs who work on equipment are well qualified. Could be that when the original failed he just put in what he had on hand that was over the 50mf rating (compressor won't run correctly if it is rated for use with a 50mf and a 70mf is used) or it might have been incorrectly installed to help with a compressor hard start problem or house lights dimming on heater start up. If it was a compressor hard start problem or house lights dimming on heater start up the correct additional part to add would be https://www.amazon.com/Capacitor-In...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
 
thx for all the help swamprat. I got a 50/7.5 at a local Aireco supply store. And its the diameter of the original so it fits in the strap that was there unlike the one I pulled.
Installed and its up and working! Cold air coming out the top and temp of air out of the top is about 20F cooler than ambient.

You can see how swolen the one I pulled is.
 

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