Pump running dry after hard freeze

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AO smith/Century makes motors not pumps.

But the inlet to the impeller is cylindrical short tube so it would feel like the inside of a pipe.
 
Got a picture?

The impeller might be sheared off. If the motor turned on while the impeller was lock by ice, it could shear the impeller.

Try filling the strainer with a hose and look under the pump to see if the water is leaking out.

You might need to open the pump to check the impeller.
 
JamesW said:
Got a picture?

The impeller might be sheared off. If the motor turned on while the impeller was lock by ice, it could shear the impeller.

Try filling the strainer with a hose and look under the pump to see if the water is leaking out.

You might need to open the pump to check the impeller.
Click to expand...

Gotcha! No water leaking from the pump, at least in a big way. Will follow up on the impeller tomorrow, thanks!


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So I tore down the pump (Challenger, with AO Smith B855 motor) and the impeller was clean as a whistle, and was able to turn it with my fingers. Pump makes a sound, but no water throughput. The Booster pump (B625 motor) is pushing water through the Polaris and moving it, so at least that line is working. No obvious water leaks on the discharge side. Pool water level is steady. Any other ideas on what might be going on? Any way to check if the pump shaft is actually spinning? Or check for reasons loss of suction on the above ground or below ground suction side? It's weird because none of the returns (main, spa, near skimmer, far skimmer) return water, so I'm thinking the pump is unable to turn the shaft.


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JamesW said:
Maybe a suction side air leak.
Click to expand...

Okay. Does it have be a major leak to stall flow? I relubed the o-ring on the basket and in the pump. The only other place I can think is the valve seals on the return lines.

Could this be because of a collapse of a return line(a) due to freezing? Although the lack of suction remains even when I isolate individual lines, so ultimately it looks like the pump has lost its mojo somehow.


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Can you try the filter in recirculate and see if that changes anything? Have you checked all valves to make sure they allow flow?

IF the suction line were blocked, the pump would be cavitating. However if the pressure side was blocked, the pump would be very quiet but the filter pressure should be high UNLESS there is a blockage between the filter and pump.
 
mas985 said:
Can you try the filter in recirculate and see if that changes anything? Have you checked all valves to make sure they allow flow?

IF the suction line were blocked, the pump would be cavitating. However if the pressure side was blocked, the pump would be very quiet but the filter pressure should be high UNLESS there is a blockage between the filter and pump.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the insights. I've run the pump with the Valve in recirc, but nothing changes. I don't know how to check the valves, but they all worked until this incident.

One possibility is the filter gauge went faulty after the hard freeze. Any sense in backwashing the filter or taking it apart to check?


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Ok, finally caved in and called a pool guy. Turns out the impeller had come loose from the shaft. The central part of the impeller that screws on to the shaft was cracked. Apparently this is a rare occurrence, and more likely due to a power surge than the recent freeze, although could imagine how the water in the pump froze and cracked the impeller when the pump started.


If one of my arms were not out of commission, I could have gotten to the impeller pretty easily myself. Just need to take off 3 screws to get to it. [emoji851]

Expecting the new impeller to go in the next day or two. Thank you all for your help and insights.



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