Pool Equipment Rusting after 6 months

[Jan S]

New to pool ownership in SW Florida. Need to validate what pool installer and Pentair are telling me. My pool equipment is showing rust. I had to replace washers, which were severely rusted. One of the washers/screws that keeps equipment firmly on concrete pad, broke when installer tried to remove. I was told to pretty much live with it. The only solution is to take apart the system in an attempt to remove this rusted part.

Second related issue us the Pentair motor is showing rust as well. Pentair told me that only happens if not correctly bonded. Pool installer tells me it is normal for SW Florida and it is bonded correctly. My neighbors have same equipment and have no demonstrated rust and they installed 15 months ago.

After 6 months, this does not feel right. Any suggestions from the gurus out there?

 

[JamesW]

Do you have a picture of the silver barcode label from the front of the pump?

Maybe a few extra pictures of everything as well.

 

[Jan S]

Does this help?

 

[JamesW]

Is there a silver barcode label on the front of the pump with the date of manufacturing?

The wire connected to the bond lug is supposed to be bare, solid #8 copper. So, that's not correct. It might not be causing problems. I would disconnect it and check for ac and dc voltage between the wire and the pump. Then, reconnect it.

Where does the other end of the wire connect to?

Do you have a picture of the whole system?

 

[Fuldo]

That rust seems premature but is only aesthetic and should not affect function. It seems to me that if the mounting hardware rusted that badly then your environment is fairly corrosive. That is no big surprise considering your location that is probably just a few miles from the coast. I had the same pump but a 1 HP version that died a couple of months ago. It was seven years old and had much worse rust that that. The installer never anchored it so there's no mounting hardware to corrode. I did find out that the long screws that hold the motor together rust inside and bind if removed and that often results in the screws breaking as mine did. This makes the pump very difficult and not worth repairing. I suspect you're best off living with it and hoping for the best.

 

[Jan S]

See the pictures below. Wire runs to heater and into ground.

 

[JamesW]

There should be a silver sticker on the front of the pump with a barcode and a date. If your pump doesn't have that, I suspect that you have a rebuilt pump.

I'm pretty sure that the pump is not an original new pump. In my opinion, it's built of individual parts. The motor might be used. Pentair can tell you when the motor was made from the serial number. It's probably a few years old.

The pump is not correctly bonded. The wire is insulated green wire, which is usually used as a ground wire.

The connection between the bond wire and the pump wire is not correct because the wire is insulated and not making contact with the copper in the wire.

 

[Fuldo]

The green insulated wire appears to be stripped-back and the bare wire connected to the pump. The wire appears smaller than what is now required for bonding wire. I've seen this type of wire used in Florida for pump motor bonding, it may have met bonding requirements of years past depending on where it goes and what it's connected to. Is this a new installation or just a recently installed pump?

 

[JamesW]

The wire should not be insulated and the connection to the bond wire is not stripped, which means that there is no electrical connection.

There is an insulated wire between the pump and the heater. The ends are stripped, but look in picture #4 where the bare bond wire connects to the insulated wire with a split bolt. That part of the wire is not stripped.

I think that the motor was made on the 079th day of 2018.

Also, notice the color difference between the pump lid and the body.

 

[mguzzy]

Looking at the first picture .. is that a "plastic" slab? And is that a drywall screw securing the pump?.hmmmm The original washers should have been stainless steel, they should not have rusted.

 

[Newdude]

I’m hung up on the 2 different colors. Was it always that way or did it fade ? If I didn’t know better my gut would say it was 2 different halves. The motor might be older than the basket. Or it could have been a bad paint/coat job by the factory. That would explain the fading and bulk of the rust in the edges of the air vents. Also could be excess condensation. Is it typically wet from dew/humidity, or dry as a bone ? If it’s usually dry I’d go back to blaming them missing a step while painting the housing.

 

[Newdude]

Also check and nearby sprinklers if you have them. You might be accidentally spraying it 4 times a week. Sorry. I always have a lot of ideas. One of them might be right someday.

 

[Fuldo]

James is very observant and he's correct that the green wire probably isn't connected to the bare wire so both the pump motor and heater probably aren't connected to the bonding circuit. A quick continuity test between the bare wire and the pump bond screw could confirm this. I suppose it's possible it's a special insulation piercing connector or maybe the installer stripped just a patch of insulation off in that area but it doesn't appear so. It's anybody's guess where the bare wire goes unless this is a new installation. The different colors of various pump parts is strange. It's hard to believe they all came as a set as recently as 6-12 months ago.

 

[Jan S]

Looking at the first picture .. is that a "plastic" slab? And is that a drywall screw securing the pump?.hmmmm The original washers should have been stainless steel, they should not have rusted.

It is a concrete slab. The washers were not stainless, which has me questioning the entire set up.

 

[Jan S]

See the ones that were removed

 

[Jan S]

Also check and nearby sprinklers if you have them. You might be accidentally spraying it 4 times a week. Sorry. I always have a lot of ideas. One of them might be right someday.

I checked and the sprinklers dont hit the system.

 

[mguzzy]

I hope they didn't try to sell you a refurb pump/motor.. 6 mos out it is hard to challenge that. And those are NOT stainless... they are Rustful!

 

[Jan S]

The green insulated wire appears to be stripped-back and the bare wire connected to the pump. The wire appears smaller than what is now required for bonding wire. I've seen this type of wire used in Florida for pump motor bonding, it may have met bonding requirements of years past depending on where it goes and what it's connected to. Is this a new installation or just a recently installed pump?

This is brand new installation, effective Novembet 28, 2018.

 

[Jan S]

This is brand new installation, effective Novembet 28, 2018.

the entire set up has had issues: installed wrong timer, which broke. 7 leaks. Rusting handrail into pool. Was rusted from day 1.

 

[Jan S]

the entire set up has had issues: installed wrong timer, which broke. 7 leaks. Rusting handrail into pool. Was rusted from day 1.

Light in pool not wired correctly and took 8 weeks to fix.