My Whisperflo 1 HP motor finally died after 15 years. The replacement VS pump will not be installed for another week. The summer sun is unforgiving out here in Northern California. Not to mention it has been hot. I’m doing all I can to prevent algae. I can’t leave it unfiltered for another week. Since I hardly use my sheer descent pump, I’m thinking of temporarily swapping the motors. They are both Whisperflo. The difference is the sheer descent motor is 2 HP. Can I swap them temporarily? I have a feeling the answer is no but thought I should ask anyway.
Whisperflo Motor Swap
- Thread starter Flipsonic
- Start date
Thanks JamesW. Any precautions I should take before I swap them? Is it straight forward - unbolt the motors, swap them, rewire the power, and bolt them back on?
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It should be pretty straightforward. You could just pull out the whole back end and install it without taking it apart. That would increase the power to 2 hp. If you don't want the increase in power, swap the impeller to the smaller one. You should not need to remove the motor from the sealplate.
Thanks. Do I remove only the bolts identified on the pic below? Will water come out?
Why not just swap the entire unit, basket and all, instead of messing around with the motor?
Don't remove those bolts. Remove the 6 outer bolts and pull back the assembly. Water will come out. You can remove the 2 drain plugs to drain the water before you start.
Remove the diffuser and impeller from each assembly and put the smaller pool impeller on the motor and reinstall.
Remove the diffuser and impeller from each assembly and put the smaller pool impeller on the motor and reinstall.
If the pumps had identical unions, that would be a good idea. If not, you would have to do some plumbing, which is probably best avoided at this point.
Also, note that it looks like the pump has been leaking, which means that the seal is probably bad. You can replace it if necessary.
The entire unit will be replaced with a VS pump. But it will not be installed until next week. Since this is a straight forward motor swap, why not filter the pool while I wait for the replacement.
You aren't understanding me. If you have two units that, as James W stated, have identical unions it would be infinitely easier, I would think, to just remove the entire dead pump and insert your other pump, basket and all, while waiting for the replacement. If you swap out the motor you will probably need a new seal and, possibly, other things (gaskets, etc.).
The Whisperflo doesn't come with unions. So, unless both pumps were installed with identical unions, you would have to replumb.
They were installed 15 years ago and they didn’t use unions. I’d rather just swap the motors for now and not do any plumbing. It’s just to get me by for a week. Thank you both for your assistance.
You might not have to change the wiring if the cord will reach the new location and the switch is not specific to the pool.
In this case, yes I have to change the wirings. They are not long enough and are specific for each pump. The pool pump is timer activated and the sheer descent is manual switch activated. I guess I’ll have to bolt the dead motor on to the sheer descent to keep it a closed system.
SUCCESS! And no leaks. Much better feeling now that I know my pool is getting filtered. Thanks again JamesW.
