Pump Died.....

[mrswilson]

Good morning!
Our pool pump died. It’s an older Pentair superflo single speed 3/4 HP. With 1 1/2” plumbing that goes
to 2 inch. See attached pic. I would like to upgrade it to a 2 speed at least. No water fountains or spas. Not concerned with automation just would like to to be more energy efficient. I also have a booster pump 3/4 hp. I also have 8 return jets and two skimmers.

Both pumps are connected to the old school mechanical timers.

I would like to stay with Pentair so I was considering the Pentair 3422001 Superflo
1 1/2 HP? Is this is a good choice for my set up? Additional pool equipment details are in my signature......

Any advice would be appreciated!!! Thank you so much.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Sara,

The SuperFlo VS is a great pump if you don't plan on automation... A 2-speed SuperFlo would probably be a better choice because then you don't have all the electronics to worry about.

The fact that the VS is 1.5 horse power does not matter at all, because that is max HP and you would normally run it at a slow speed and only use 1/4 or 1/2 horse power most of the time.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[Flying Tivo]

I would definitely suggest a 2 speed as minimum or VS intelliflo. Superflo are a older in technology. Look into your electric Co. if they have rebates for VS pumps. I would not upgrade the booster pump, more so i would cancel it and get a robot. The money you will save will pay for the VS+Robot, that is if you have high energy rates in your area.

Felipe

 

[JamesW]

The pump doesn't look that old. How old is it? The label on the front should have a date of manufacture.

The SuperFlo VS is a good choice for California due to the high electricity costs.

Is your power supply 120 or 240?

A new SuperFlo will go right in with the unions, so pretty easy.

What's the blue device on the pipe? Is it a magnet?

 

[mrswilson]

The pump doesn't look that old. How old is it? The label on the front should have a date of manufacture.

The SuperFlo VS is a good choice for California due to the high electricity costs.

Is your power supply 120 or 240?

A new SuperFlo will go right in with the unions, so pretty easy.

What's the blue device on the pipe? Is it a magnet?

Date on pump says 9/22/2011.....

Power supply is 120v

I have no idea what the blue thing is. I was wondering the same thing myself. Here is a picture closer up.

 

[peirek]

Not sure I read exactly what failed. You say pump but do you mean motor? Maybe the start capacitor? Please provide a little more detail on what failed.

Replacement motors (2-speed recommended) will be lots cheaper. Keep in mind the 2 speed, in order to be automated between speeds, will require an additional mechanical timer ($100).

 

[mrswilson]

I would definitely suggest a 2 speed as minimum or VS intelliflo. Superflo are a older in technology. Look into your electric Co. if they have rebates for VS pumps. I would not upgrade the booster pump, more so i would cancel it and get a robot. The money you will save will pay for the VS+Robot, that is if you have high energy rates in your area.

Felipe

Yes. Good idea. I’ll look into the rebates. The booster pump was replaced 3 years ago and my Polaris 280 is only 2 years old so I don’t see myself replacing it anytime soon. But those robots look pretty amazing!

 

[mrswilson]

Sara,

The SuperFlo VS is a great pump if you don't plan on automation... A 2-speed SuperFlo would probably be a better choice because then you don't have all the electronics to worry about.

Jim R.

Yeah not worried about automation. The pool needs new plaster and tile so that’s where most of our pool reno budget will go! [emoji4]

 

[mrswilson]

Not sure I read exactly what failed. You say pump but do you mean motor? Maybe the start capacitor? Please provide a little more detail on what failed.

Replacement motors (2-speed recommended) will be lots cheaper. Keep in mind the 2 speed, in order to be automated between speeds, will require an additional mechanical timer ($100).

Oh sorry. Yeah motor failed. Everything else seems to work fine. So you are saying I could just buy a 2 speed pump and new timer instead of replacing the whole unit? This unit was manufactured in 2011.

 

[JamesW]

The motor looks like it might be a newer replacement. How did it fail?

You might just need a capacitor.

 

[mrswilson]

The motor looks like it might be a newer replacement. How did it fail?

You might just need a capacitor.

The motor has a loud squeal when it runs. And when you turn it on it “knocks” then will generally start but runs really rough. Not a consistent “purr”. Hope that helps!

 

[JamesW]

I would start by removing the outer bolts so that you can pull out the motor assembly and check the impeller.

Don't remove the 4 bolts that hold the motor to the seal plate.

 

[peirek]

Sounds like bearings or possibly something in the impeller? Yes you can have just the motor replaced. Bearings are not hard to do if you are handy or an electric motor shop can do a rebuild. 2011 is not that old.

 

[mrswilson]

I would start by removing the outer bolts so that you can pull out the motor assembly and check the impeller.

Don't remove the 4 bolts that hold the motor to the seal plate.

Ok thanks. I’ll look so that! Pouring rain here today but I’ll remove those bolts tomorrow.

 

[mrswilson]

Sounds like bearings or possibly something in the impeller? Yes you can have just the motor replaced. Bearings are not hard to do if you are handy or an electric motor shop can do a rebuild. 2011 is not that old.

Ok my husband is handy. I’ll have him look at it. Thanks so much for the suggestion.