Pentair motor or pump or both replacement - loud squealing and no pumping

[stephenson]

Hi All,

Different pool from my older posts ... in Florida ... sister's pool ... 10 years old with original equipment. Pentair 1 hp motor.

Her pump started making a horrific squealing noise - sounds like a bearing is gone. I tried to isolate whether he sound was coming from the motor or the pump .. it SEEMS like it is inside the pump housing. The pump is no longer suctioning effectively enough to flow water normally through the priming container - but there is a whitish, frothy looking water coming from the pump side.

I've attached some photos ...

I can probably swap either the pump or the motor or the entire assembly out myself, but wanted to get your thoughts on likely cause and best course of action. Can I simply replace the motor where it attaches to the pump or is it better to swap out the entire assembly given the 10 years of age?

My sense if replacing the entire assembly is to cut the PVC and remove it all, then reconstruct the installation with new sleeves (see photo - do these screen in or glue into the pump housing?) and glue up like a plumbing job. Special cement required? Also assuming another Pentair that is substantively alike would save some plumbing effort and align better?

Thanks, in advance!!

 

[stephenson]

OK - did some research ... watched a couple of videos ... pretty simple process to either replace the entire motor, or even replace bearings.

What is a good online source for the US Seal kits and/or bearings?

Broadly speaking, is it better to simply buy a replacement motor, or replace the bearings? How about a good online source for the pump, itself?

Thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

s,

A bad bearing should not keep the wet end (pump) from working..

I suspect that the impeller has broken, or come loose from the motor shaft.

With the power off and the back cover of the motor off, you should be able to turn the motor shaft and confirm that the impeller cannot be held in place..

I have never had any luck with replacing pump bearings due to the massive amounts of corrosion that will most likely be in there after 10 years..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[stephenson]

Yeah ... or perhaps gotten skewed with is causing the squealing ... doesn’t matter, I guess I need to pull the motor off before I start ordering stuff ... regardless, though, you would replace the pump motor due to the age? I like replacing bearings �� but there will be lots of corrosion after 10 years in Florida.

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

I did not mean to imply that the bearings could not be replaced.. I have just not been too lucky in that department.

Most motor shops around will not even except pool pumps for repair, as it almost costs as much to fix them as it does to buy a new one.

Obviously, if you can replace the bearings yourself, it would be the most cost effective repair.

Please let us know the outcome as it might help others in the future.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

That is a single speed pump? How many hours a day does the pump run?

Why not replace it with a 2 speed or VS pump? The electric bill savings of running the pump on low speed should pay for the new pump in a few years.

Check if your area has any energy rebates for energy efficient pumps.

 

[JamesW]

The total hp is 1.25. So, you should have a 073127 impeller. If you replace the motor, you could use the same impeller or downsize the impeller to a 073126 if you don't need a lot of flow.

Impeller......Total HP.

073126.........0.95
073127.........1.25

I would suggest that you disassemble the pump before you decide what to do. If you need a new seal plate or housing, you should get a new pump.

It would probably be worthwhile to switch to a two speed or variable speed pump.

 

[stephenson]

Took the motor off today ... was expecting the worst, but all I saw was the very badly stretched and elongated oring between impeller cover and the pump housing was laying inside the housing ... photos tell the story.

The motor spins freely by finger and without drag or noise ... I could not find anything else out of the norm ...I’ve watched a lot of videos (stayed at Holidy Inn Express?) and all seems ok with the motor.

Could a detached or badly elongated oring cause the noise? I’m assuming the lack of an oring or badly deformed could allow flow around it and hence lack of pumping ...

Was considering just replacing the oring and the larger oring between impeller housing and pump housing.

Thoughts?

- - - Updated - - -

Another photo ...

 

[JamesW]

I suspect that the motor is probably bad, but it's worth a try to just replace the diffuser gasket and housing gasket and see how it works.

 

[stephenson]

JamesW,

Thank you ... I’ve reviewed alternative multi speed pumps, but give the current installation already has a timer function and it is a small pool and small pump, the added complexity of the VS installation may not make sense ... how much power savings are we discussing? What kind of payback period would you predict?

Since I’m doing this myself, the motor and seal kit total is about $160 ... changing out to VS, unless the power company covered the entire cost, just doesn’t seem like a net savings ...

 

[JamesW]

Try the diffuser gasket. Without the gasket, you're going to get some internal recirculation of water, which degrades the performance.

If that doesn't work, remove the impeller and seal plate to see if they are ok.

If they are bad, the cost goes up quite a bit and you would be better off replacing the pump.

If they are ok, a new motor and seal should be a reasonable fix.

A VS pump can be a good choice depending on how much you run the pump and how much your electricity costs.

 

[KDpoolguy]

JamesW,

Thank you ... I’ve reviewed alternative multi speed pumps, but give the current installation already has a timer function and it is a small pool and small pump, the added complexity of the VS installation may not make sense ... how much power savings are we discussing? What kind of payback period would you predict?

Since I’m doing this myself, the motor and seal kit total is about $160 ... changing out to VS, unless the power company covered the entire cost, just doesn’t seem like a net savings ...

Your out front cost for a Variable Speed pump will be $650-$900, but it will save you thousands in electricity over time. It will pay for itself in a year to 18 months, something a single speed pump won’t do. My old 1.5 hp cost me $1200/yr in electricity, now I pay $500/year. SOLD!

Most electric utilities have about $2-300 rebates bringing cost down to single speed prices. Pound for pound, a pool pump is the single most electric drain (next to AC) in any home with a pool, it’s shocking. Most of us who installed VS have the timer, you just remove the on/off pins and install of VS is quite easy. The scheduling options in the VS pump are fantastic, and the unit is so quiet.

You run the pump at higher speeds if you have a suction cleaner, then throttle back for longer period for filtering and at low speeds it’s the electrical use of about 1-2 100watt light bulbs instead of the approx. 1600 watts for your current pump (yes, 16, 100w bulbs to run your current pump).

I’ve swapped out rebuilt motors and doing the rebuild kits will get you going. I lived in single speed pumps, and it was hard for me to see spending on a VS even when my pump was actually working fine...until I started seeing my electricity bills.

 

[Backyard_Lap_Pool]

I’ll add a vote for the VS pumps. I run (2) 3hp pentair intelliflo vs pumps 24/7 on my pool. They run at 400 watts each in the summer and 250 watts each during the winter for a combined 110gpm and 60gpm respectively. At 8 cents a Kwh, that works out to about $50/mo in the summer and $30/mo in the winter.

When my current pumps burn out (knock on wood), I’ll gladly pay the ~$1,500 to replace each of them. One of the coolest surprises on my pool was how little electricity it requires to operate.

 

[stephenson]

Thanks, All, for the great VS pump advice ... sister says she runs pump 7 hours a day in summer and 3 hours a day in fall and spring. Think we’ll stay with single speed for now.

The seal the motor shaft slides into on the bearing plate has a metal surface, right? Is it supposed to have slots in this metal surface the shaft contacts? This one has a lot of rust on the motor side and two tiny slots, alomost like cracks, but looks good on the water side ... would any of this cause the squeal? I swear it doesn’t sound like motor bearings ...

 

[JamesW]

If the motor got wet, the bearings are probably bad.

Can you safely test run the motor with it apart?

Do you have a picture?

 

[stephenson]

James - motor was dry. I will try running it separated and supported to see if I get the squeal ... is there much startup torque? I can hold it down with my foot?

 

[JamesW]

It will jump a little, but not too much.

Just be careful. Watch out for debris that can get ejected from the impeller.

 

[stephenson]

Hi All,

The GOKIT32 came in before I got a chance to test pump so I installed all the pump seals and O rings ...

No issues reassembling with old motor - primed and started up - seemed to run without squealing - sister out of town and I didn’t want to let it run without her at house so will run for a few hours when she returns and repot back.

 

[JamesW]

Without the diffuser oring, the water from the high pressure will recycle around the diffuser possibly creating the problem.

 

[stephenson]

I’m thinking that may have been the issue ... it was somewhat surprised to see how lose even the new one is ... not the best design given the downside of it slipping off.