Wintertime electrical disconnect for in-ground pool pump?

[krick]

I have an in-ground pool with a 1HP Hayward Super Pump. It was brand new 3 years ago and last year, it started having intermittent trouble starting (hums and trips the breaker). I picked up a replacement start capacitor which should fix the issue for this season but I suspect that the reason for the capacitor failure in the first place might be due to the pump being outside (in a small pump house) over the winter subjecting it to freezing temperatures.

When I replaced the pump 3 years ago, I re-did some of the plumbing and added PVC unions so that I could more easily remove the pump in the future (I had to cut the old one out) but the electrical is hard-wired through some waterproof flexible conduit. I'd like to be able to disconnect the pump at the end of the season and bring it inside to better protect it from the weather but the electrical wiring makes that a hassle.

Is there some kind of code-approved electrical disconnect that I could use for this purpose?

 

[ajw22]

Pump capacitors are filled with oil and not affected by freezing.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Rick,

I used to have a couple of Hayward super pumps and they would go through one of two capacitors a year.

It is just their cheap capacitors, not being outside.

Jim R.

 

[krick]

Thanks, guys. Good to know. Luckily, the capacitors aren't that expensive. I wonder if there is somewhere you can get a higher quality capacitor that will last longer.

 

[CJadamec]

I pull my pump and bring it in the basement for the winter. While the pump should be able to survive living outdoors in the winter, it should almost certainly last longer if you can keep it out of the harsh winter weather. There are a lot of "ifs" and "should" here but, I take the extra 10 mins to pull my pump in the fall.

As for the wire going to the pump I simply turn of the breaker, disconnect the wires from the pump, tape the end of each wire with electrical tape, then hang the conduit over my breaker panel so that the open end is facing down and rain won't go into it.

 

[PoolGate]

You could probably mount an outdoor 220 volt outlet next to the pump and then wire an actual plug onto your pump. Then you just unplug it in the winter.