Pump Keeps Turning Off

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TeanyV

TeanyV

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Sep 10, 2016
74
Cincinnati, OH
Pool Size
32500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Good Morning,

This season, my first full season of pool ownership, I have been having some problems with my pool pump (Hayward Super Pump & Century motor). Last season (August-October) the pump run just fine. Now, if I run it overnight, it sometimes shuts itself off between 3 and 6am. By 10am, it will come back on. No breakers are tripped and power is running. We have a pool heater on the same switch and it has a light that indicates it is receiving power.

The first time it happened (June 19), the guy from the pool store tightened some wires in back because they were very loose and he thought that might be the problem (No Pump, Now What). Three weeks to the day of the first mystery shutoff (July 10), the pump turned itself off again overnight. (In the interim, I had run it overnight 2 days without problems.) It was quite old and had run hot since last summer, so we decided to replace it. I figured it was overheating.

Well, the new pump was installed last Tuesday (July 11). The pool store guy removed the motor and everything from the impeller to the mounting plate was stuck together, even after the bolts were removed. They took the pump back to the workshop to see what parts they could separate and said it had all melted together. The new motor went on with a new impeller, seal assembly, etc. This confirmed my suspicions that it was overheating.

Last night I was wrapping up a SLAM, so I ran the new motor overnight for the first time. This morning when I got up, it had turned itself off again.

There is another factor here that I think is big: In February, we had our second-story deck, which overlooks the pool, rebuilt. The pool electrical had been run out of the house and attached to the underside of the deck, then run down a post next to the pump/filter/heater pad. As part of the rebuild, we had to move the wiring to a new post about 10 inches away. The pool was not open at the time, so the electrician couldn't test the new wiring and switches. Last week, after the new motor went on, I asked the electrician to come out to check everything (i.e., amperage, voltage, wire gauge, etc.). He did and said everything was fine. But that was before the new motor shut itself off.

So, what could be causing this? The pump never shuts off during the day (I am here all day and keep an eye on the pool, so that's a certainty), which makes me wonder whether it's really overheating.

Any advice is welcome! I'm going to start making calls this morning, but I'm not sure who to call first (e.g., pool place or electrician).

~Teany
 
I'm shooting out this idea just because I recently read another poster with pump problems mention it- Whoever you decide to call first have them check the pump wires to make sure the pump is wired correctly for the voltage (110 v 220).

That's the only thing *i* can think of. I'm sure this is a worry to you as it would be to me.

Maddie :flower:
 
Hi Maddie,

Thanks. The electrician checked the voltage and the guys who installed the motor did, too, when they put it in. Both confirmed that we're wired for 230v, same as the last pump. I'm wondering if it could be a problem with the actual wire gauge, even though the electrician checked that. Could that pose this problem? Could it be some kind of power surge that's happening overnight? It's frustrating to not know enough to tell them what to look for.

I have a feeling that there will be some finger pointing and I'll wind up having to pay for the pool company to bring out their electrician to troubleshoot. Had I been thinking more clearly in February, I would have hire the pool place's guy anyway (instead of the deck company's guy). Ugh.

~Teany
 
Hi There,

When the pump shuts itself off, the switch is still in the on position and the breaker is not tripped. I turn the switch off, wait 1-3 hours, and go back and turn it on. (If I flip it off, then on right away, nothing happens. Not a sound.) It starts up normally and will run all day. I'm wondering if the overnight/early-morning shutoff is a clue or a coincidence.

~T
 
Last edited:
Hello,

The switch looks like an ordinary light switch. There's no timer in the circuit, either. We have been planning to install one but would like to get this issue resolved first. I'm scheduling a pool electrician to come out and take a look.

Here is a photo of the switch:

IMG_2689.jpg

Thanks for bearing with me and this dull yet mysterious thread. ;)
 
Ted527 said:
Pump motor has thermal protection in it.
When it shuts itself off it is probably overheating for some reason.

If it is a capacitor/ run motor it could be a weak capacitor.
Click to expand...

But would the thermal protection keep it off until power was cycled? I don't know how that works.

My next step would be to wait for it to shut off on its own and then have an Electrician troubleshoot. Otherwise it is a guessing game.
 

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Ted527 said:
If you're shutting power off then turning back on 2-3 hours later it is giving motor time to cool down, then it restarts
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking. It's strange though that it has only shut itself off overnight, not in the heat of the day. Also, when I find it's turned itself off, the motor is usually cool to the touch already, but that doesn't mean it's not hot inside.

Peirek, waiting for it to happen again could be a good idea, too. I'll probably have to bring in a new electrician who specializes in pools because the one who did the rewiring is out of ideas.

I'm also going to call the energy company to ask them about overnight surges/brownouts.

~Teany
 
Ted527 said:
Cool to the touch pretty much rules out thermal safety tripping.
Going to have to leave it powered on and hope electrician can see if motor has power when its not running.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll let you know what I find out. The electrician who already came out has suggested a problem with the plumbing or size of the filter. While that would certainly be convenient for him, I'm wondering if he's onto something. I have a roughly 30,000 gallon, 24-by-40-foot rectangle pool with a Hayward S244T sand filter (300# and 3.1 square foot filtration area) paired with a 1.5hp (uprated) single-speed Hayward pump. We have two skimmers and three returns, plus the main drain. I know a bigger filter would be recommended. The previous owners had this one installed in early 2015. Could this be the source of my troubles?

~Teany

PS - The power company says that if it were due to low overnight voltage, I'd probably notice other appliances having trouble too (e.g., A/C resetting, digital clocks blinking, etc.).
 
Last edited:
Peirek, what do you mean? That it's a 230v switch that also controls two GFI outlets?

That one switch controls the 230v pump and the heater (heat pump), plus whatever would be plugged into those GFI outlets. On my breaker box, the pool heater is on one double switch and the pump is on its own double breaker. We've only run the heater three days this season and there was no trouble during that time. Is it weird that one on/off switch would go to two double breakers? I guess it makes sense to have them on the same switch because the pool pump has to be running in order to use the heater, but I don't know enough about wiring to know if that poses problems.

In my records it shows that the heater from the original build (2002) was gas powered. I'm not sure when the previous owners switched to an electric heat pump, but it must have been a while ago because the unit looks pretty old.
 
TeanyV said:
Peirek, what do you mean? That it's a 230v switch that also controls two GFI outlets?

That one switch controls the 230v pump and the heater (heat pump), plus whatever would be plugged into those GFI outlets. On my breaker box, the pool heater is on one double switch and the pump is on its own double breaker. We've only run the heater three days this season and there was no trouble during that time. Is it weird that one on/off switch would go to two double breakers? I guess it makes sense to have them on the same switch because the pool pump has to be running in order to use the heater, but I don't know enough about wiring to know if that poses problems.

In my records it shows that the heater from the original build (2002) was gas powered. I'm not sure when the previous owners switched to an electric heat pump, but it must have been a while ago because the unit looks pretty old.
Click to expand...

Sorry this makes no sense. The pump and heater MUST be on separate breakers and supply power independently to the pump and heater if wired correctly. That switch must be engaging either a relay or timer to control both. I agree the pump must be running for the heater to get power to keep from burning it up.

This is certainly an interesting setup and very curious what the root cause is.
 
Thank you for this tip! I have a pool-specific electrician scheduled for Monday morning (if they can't squeeze me in this week). I'll be sure to flag this for them. They're definitely on separate breakers but the same switch. I'm hoping there's a relay somewhere, perhaps installed to prevent people from accidentally turning on the heater when the pump is off. There's definitely no timer (I wish I had one!). I'm also going to take a peek at the records left by the previous owners to see if they illuminate anything.
 
Hello Fine Pool Folks,

I am writing to say that I am an idiot. Remember when I said this:

TeanyV said:
There's definitely no timer (I wish I had one!).
Click to expand...

Well, wishes do come true. There's a timer, and all the people who asked me, "Are you sure you don't have a timer?" were right. It was locked inside a little box that said "spa" in permanent market, so I assumed it was old electrical from the spa the previous owners removed years ago. My husband cut the diary-type lock and, lo and behold, a pump timer, ticking away. And it's set to run from around 8:00am to 2:30am. Weird, long hours, but it's also sort of like Christmas since I really, really wanted a timer and now don't have to pay $$$$ for troubleshooting. Turns out, those days that the pump "stayed on all night" were really just days we slept late. (Also, I cannot believe that every day for the two months before we moved in, I drove across town twice a day to turn the pump on and off manually when THERE WAS A TIMER!!!)

Well, this is good to know for future SLAMs, when I have to leave the filter on all night.

Now, I will go eat a bowl of ice cream so I don't feel so dumb.

~Teany
 
That makes so much more sense. Now what is the switch actually doing? I doubt it has any control over the timer, pump, or heater. Maybe there is a hidden light with a bulb burned out?

So there you have it, bring in the professionals and they just scratch their arse and give you a bill.

TFP is the best for sure.
 

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