I just finished rebuilding my spa spillways and repairing a leak in the spa. Now I have a problem with my pool pump. I noticed that the amount of water that the pump was pushing is not what it used to be. I can tell that it has changed because the jets in the spa and in the auto clean system are not as powerful as they were. The reduction in flow did not happen immediately after the spa work was completed and we were very careful during the work to limit the amount of debris that went into the pool.
To try to address the problem I cleaned my filters but they were clean so that did not remedy the problem. The I installed a new diffuser and impeller on the pump. The pressure is steady at about 22psi. After I installed the new diffuser and impeller the pump would run for a few minutes with no change to the pressure and then it would trip the breakers. The breakers are two 20 amps and it's a 230 v 1 1/2 hp Whisper flow pump. The confusing thing is that it runs fine with the old diffuser and impeller but obviously the flow is still low. I even tried tried running it with the new impeller and old diffuse but it still tripped the breakers. I do not have an amp meter so I could not measure the motors power draw.
My question is, 'Should I upgrade to a 2hp pump or am I facing a partial blockage in the suction lines that is causing my pump to draw more current than the breakers can handle and therefore any upgrade would result in the same problem?'. I should point out that the flow does not change if I switch my suction to 100% skimmer, 100% floor or 100% spa. I currently run the suction between skimmer and floor. Also the pool originally had a 2hp motor but someone replaced it with the existing 1 1/2hp. Any suggestions and observation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and sorry for the long winded explanation.
To try to address the problem I cleaned my filters but they were clean so that did not remedy the problem. The I installed a new diffuser and impeller on the pump. The pressure is steady at about 22psi. After I installed the new diffuser and impeller the pump would run for a few minutes with no change to the pressure and then it would trip the breakers. The breakers are two 20 amps and it's a 230 v 1 1/2 hp Whisper flow pump. The confusing thing is that it runs fine with the old diffuser and impeller but obviously the flow is still low. I even tried tried running it with the new impeller and old diffuse but it still tripped the breakers. I do not have an amp meter so I could not measure the motors power draw.
My question is, 'Should I upgrade to a 2hp pump or am I facing a partial blockage in the suction lines that is causing my pump to draw more current than the breakers can handle and therefore any upgrade would result in the same problem?'. I should point out that the flow does not change if I switch my suction to 100% skimmer, 100% floor or 100% spa. I currently run the suction between skimmer and floor. Also the pool originally had a 2hp motor but someone replaced it with the existing 1 1/2hp. Any suggestions and observation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and sorry for the long winded explanation.
