Hello,
First, thanks to everyone on this site for helping me keep my head as a novice pool owner! This will be our 5th season as pool owners (bought a house with pool built in 2002) and have had ongoing issues with pump motors (Hayward SuperPump 1.5 hp). I think this is because we had been using a timer and our system wasn't holding prime. In the morning, it would usually take 30-60 seconds for the pump to really get going, which I didn't realize was a big deal until we had to replace our motor two years in a row. The potential problem: Our yard is on a hill and the pad is slightly "uphill" from the pump, about 12-18 inches above the pool deck. The local pool place said that this is what's probably causing the prime issue. Since then, I've been turning the pump on and off manually and closing the valves, then reopening them in the morning when I turn the pump back on. Doing that, it starts up right away. It's not a big deal, but I'd love to be able to use the timer, especially when we're on vacation.
This past Saturday was in the 90s and the pump got loud and labored. This is the same pump that ran dry last year, so maybe it was just a matter of time. By labored, I mean there's a buffetting/grinding sound, like a rhythmic wown-wown-wown. I turned it off for a few hours and put an umbrella over it, and the motor sounded fine later in the day. Basically, I'm expecting that we'll need to replace the pump again this year (our 3rd replacement in 5 years) but I want to make sure that the timer/hill was really the problem. It would be a bummer to replace this, then have the same problem in 1-2 years. What do people here think?
I'm very tempted to replace this with a dual-speed and just run the thing on low all the time (except when vacuuming, using the slide), then not have to think about the timer. Unfortunately, the local pool place doesn't do variable/dual speed motors, so I'd need to DIY this. I'm comfortable with the chemical side of things, but I'm scared to death of the equipment pad. (Also, switching to a dual-speed might be out of the budget now that we just replaced the 18-year-old heater.)
Thanks,
~Christina
First, thanks to everyone on this site for helping me keep my head as a novice pool owner! This will be our 5th season as pool owners (bought a house with pool built in 2002) and have had ongoing issues with pump motors (Hayward SuperPump 1.5 hp). I think this is because we had been using a timer and our system wasn't holding prime. In the morning, it would usually take 30-60 seconds for the pump to really get going, which I didn't realize was a big deal until we had to replace our motor two years in a row. The potential problem: Our yard is on a hill and the pad is slightly "uphill" from the pump, about 12-18 inches above the pool deck. The local pool place said that this is what's probably causing the prime issue. Since then, I've been turning the pump on and off manually and closing the valves, then reopening them in the morning when I turn the pump back on. Doing that, it starts up right away. It's not a big deal, but I'd love to be able to use the timer, especially when we're on vacation.
This past Saturday was in the 90s and the pump got loud and labored. This is the same pump that ran dry last year, so maybe it was just a matter of time. By labored, I mean there's a buffetting/grinding sound, like a rhythmic wown-wown-wown. I turned it off for a few hours and put an umbrella over it, and the motor sounded fine later in the day. Basically, I'm expecting that we'll need to replace the pump again this year (our 3rd replacement in 5 years) but I want to make sure that the timer/hill was really the problem. It would be a bummer to replace this, then have the same problem in 1-2 years. What do people here think?
I'm very tempted to replace this with a dual-speed and just run the thing on low all the time (except when vacuuming, using the slide), then not have to think about the timer. Unfortunately, the local pool place doesn't do variable/dual speed motors, so I'd need to DIY this. I'm comfortable with the chemical side of things, but I'm scared to death of the equipment pad. (Also, switching to a dual-speed might be out of the budget now that we just replaced the 18-year-old heater.)
Thanks,
~Christina
