Repair or replace Pentair 011018

[TPKnight]

Hi all, first post, but longtime reader of these great forums! I have a 3 year old Pentair 011018, the pump that apparently many of you have, and for 3 years it has been impressive on it's reliability and power consumption. But, being in Florida and getting a barrage of recent power surges/spikes, the pump is dead. It has power, but the display is blank. If I reset the breaker, the display stays on for 5 seconds or so, saying "Alarm - power failure" and then it goes blank. I have tried everything and cannot get it to stay on for more than 5 seconds. It isn't tripping the breaker, but just won't kick on.
As much as I don't want to replace it, I am afraid, at a minimum, the drive is bad. I am basing that on all the thread I have read over the past day. I love the efficiency of the variable speed, but for the price should I replace the entire pump? If so, what are some good (cheaper) alternatives? I have tried to price out the pump and the drive separately, and best case the drive alone is $700. Is it worth considering a 2 speed Hayward or Pentair replacement for a similar price?
Pool details are: 15K gallon, salt system (Pentair IC-40) and 200 sq. ft. cartridge filter. Everything was put in to service July 2014 (new construction pool).

 

[chiefwej]

You have learned a very expensive and valuable lesson, any VS pump should be protected with whole house type surge protectors.

I wouldn't spend $700 to repair a pump that you can buy for $800 new.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007E4VWNO/ref=asc_df_B007E4VWNO5078027/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B007E4VWNO&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167151535350&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17950008690077634154&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013442&hvtargid=pla-310203893213

There are cheaper pumps, but the one you have is one of the best VS pumps you can buy. Just be sure to protect it from surges. I actually added two surge protectors when I put in my VS pump. A larger one on my main service panel.
https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-CHSPT2ULTRA-Surge-Protection-3Rd/dp/B01AQAKRSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1500223791&sr=1-1&keywords=eaton+whole+house+surge+protector

And a smaller on on the pool sub panel.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052DMIUK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jimrahbe]

tfp,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all pool owners in mourning...

You should have a three year warranty... I'd call your Pool Builder or Pentair ASAP and see if they might cover it..

I have three IntelliFlo pumps.. If all three of them died today, I'd buy three new ones before the sun went down.. (I'd be broke, but happy... )

Oh.. and they all have surge protector in the sub-panel... A must in my opinion..

Thank for posting,

Jim R.

 

[TPKnight]

Appreciate the input. Plan to call Pentair again in the morning, as the 1-800-831-7133 number said they are closed today. As for the warranty, I was under the assumption it carried a 2 year warranty, but if it's 3 years I have 2 days left!!

 

[TPKnight]

Just ordered both surge units....tip of the hat to you, fine sir!

 

[chiefwej]

I think the current warranty is two years, but it used to be three years. Hopefully yours will be covered. I've had pretty good experience with Pentair's customer service. Good luck.

 

[TPKnight]

Update: I called Pentair and found out my pump has a 3 year warranty. They scheduled a repair company to call me for a visit, since they determined the failure was premature for a pump of it's age. In the meantime, I had my local pool company come take a look at the dead pump. Somehow they were able to perform a hard reset and got it working! I swear I tried every button combination and nothing worked for me, but he was successful! I am out $89, a far cry from the potential cost of a replacement! PHEW!! Now I can call and cancel the warranty visit and get to install the surge protector ASAP. I didn't get to speak firsthand with the repair technician, but I will try to obtain his reset method for the future.
Thanks again to all for your advice!

 

[chiefwej]

There is a reset button on the control panel, but I'm sure you tried that. It would be interesting to know what a "hard reset" is and how to do it. I checked the manual and couldn't find anything under the troubleshooting section.

 

[TPKnight]

Well, we cruised along fine for the past 2 months just fine, but today the pump was not running. I checked the LCD screen and it was blank, so I cycled the main breaker off and back on and the display flashes "Power Failure! ALARM" then goes blank. This is the same thing that happened before but somehow my local pool company was able to get it back on. They never confirmed the exact process they followed to get me back up and running, but I am thinking this may become a problem. I plan to call Pentair to get the warranty claim started....darn it! I did try to perform the reset by holding down all 4 top buttons and cycling the power, but no luck.