leifolson
06-26-2012, 10:24 PM
Hey everyone, first-time listener, first-time poster.
I just bought a house with a pool in East Mesa, AZ. Other than a broken water-fill valve that flooded the backyard, but was, otherwise, simple to replace, I've had little to no problems with the pool.....until the last couple of days.
Yesterday, I had an algae bloom, but it looks like that is under control. Then I was back washing the pool and when I went to close the valve by turning it and pulling it up into the closed position, it pulled right out in my hand and started spraying water everywhere. That too, was surprisingly simple to replace.
However, today, while the back was valve was closed, my wife went to turn the filter on so she could vacuum the pool out and the filter immediately began to back wash. No remember, it was in the closed position. She finally pushed the back was valve down into the open position but it wouldn't let her lock it. She then shut the filter off and was able to turn the valve into the locked position. She intended to leave it until I got home.
Then, unfortunately, the timer somehow got changed and turned the filter back on while my wife was in the house. She heard the filter turn on and heard it start to shoot out water from the back wash hose. She heard a loud pop as the hose exploded. Maybe it was twisted or something? Anyway, that is still not the crappy part, although buying a new back wash hose is not exactly something I was looking forward to this summer. The breaker popped and the filter shut down.
Needless to say, she decided not to touch anything else until I got home. When I looked at it, I flipped the breaker back on and the pump motor started up and the filter immediately began back washing. I ran into the backyard and unlocked and pulled the valve up into the closed position. It stopped back washing. Everything seemed to be working just fine, but then I noticed a horrid smell and saw that the pump motor had begun to smoke. Everything seemed to be working fine: the waterfall was waterfalling; the skimmer was skimming, etc...; but, the motor was still smoking. After a few moments, the breaker popped again and the motor shut off. I have since left it as is.
The pool store guy who has been exceptionally helpful with all of my pool needs up to this point thinks that possibly the bearings are going on the motor, or the thermal switch was going bad. Any thoughts? Obviously, without looking at the machinery it is difficult to tell what might be happening, but has anyone encountered something similar?
Below are some specs for the pool and equipment:
(1) roughly 20,000 gallons by my rudimentary calculations (it is lagoon-style, which makes measuring a bit awkward);
(2) Hayward Pro Series Plus Sand Filter (looks older--house is 12 years, but pool and equipment looks a bit newer than that;
(3) Hayward Pump (brand is not immediately apparent, although there is a tag on the side with a code: SP3015EECP, which seems to indicate a Hayward Super II SP-3000 Series from some preliminary Internetting);
(4) A.O Smith Motor, it is called The Californian Pump Series, Self Priming: Model# K48M2N123; SER 7100; 1.5 HP; 230 Volts; 3450 RPMS; 9.7 Max Load AMPS; 1.33 SF
I would post some pictures as well, but I don't seem to have permission to do so at this point.
Worst case scenario, I suppose, is that I have to replace the Pump. If that is the case, what would be my best "cost-effective" options? Next scenario is that I need to replace just the motor. Same Question? Best Scenario is that nothing is wrong and in a few days everything will go back to normal. ;)
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
--Leif Olson
I just bought a house with a pool in East Mesa, AZ. Other than a broken water-fill valve that flooded the backyard, but was, otherwise, simple to replace, I've had little to no problems with the pool.....until the last couple of days.
Yesterday, I had an algae bloom, but it looks like that is under control. Then I was back washing the pool and when I went to close the valve by turning it and pulling it up into the closed position, it pulled right out in my hand and started spraying water everywhere. That too, was surprisingly simple to replace.
However, today, while the back was valve was closed, my wife went to turn the filter on so she could vacuum the pool out and the filter immediately began to back wash. No remember, it was in the closed position. She finally pushed the back was valve down into the open position but it wouldn't let her lock it. She then shut the filter off and was able to turn the valve into the locked position. She intended to leave it until I got home.
Then, unfortunately, the timer somehow got changed and turned the filter back on while my wife was in the house. She heard the filter turn on and heard it start to shoot out water from the back wash hose. She heard a loud pop as the hose exploded. Maybe it was twisted or something? Anyway, that is still not the crappy part, although buying a new back wash hose is not exactly something I was looking forward to this summer. The breaker popped and the filter shut down.
Needless to say, she decided not to touch anything else until I got home. When I looked at it, I flipped the breaker back on and the pump motor started up and the filter immediately began back washing. I ran into the backyard and unlocked and pulled the valve up into the closed position. It stopped back washing. Everything seemed to be working just fine, but then I noticed a horrid smell and saw that the pump motor had begun to smoke. Everything seemed to be working fine: the waterfall was waterfalling; the skimmer was skimming, etc...; but, the motor was still smoking. After a few moments, the breaker popped again and the motor shut off. I have since left it as is.
The pool store guy who has been exceptionally helpful with all of my pool needs up to this point thinks that possibly the bearings are going on the motor, or the thermal switch was going bad. Any thoughts? Obviously, without looking at the machinery it is difficult to tell what might be happening, but has anyone encountered something similar?
Below are some specs for the pool and equipment:
(1) roughly 20,000 gallons by my rudimentary calculations (it is lagoon-style, which makes measuring a bit awkward);
(2) Hayward Pro Series Plus Sand Filter (looks older--house is 12 years, but pool and equipment looks a bit newer than that;
(3) Hayward Pump (brand is not immediately apparent, although there is a tag on the side with a code: SP3015EECP, which seems to indicate a Hayward Super II SP-3000 Series from some preliminary Internetting);
(4) A.O Smith Motor, it is called The Californian Pump Series, Self Priming: Model# K48M2N123; SER 7100; 1.5 HP; 230 Volts; 3450 RPMS; 9.7 Max Load AMPS; 1.33 SF
I would post some pictures as well, but I don't seem to have permission to do so at this point.
Worst case scenario, I suppose, is that I have to replace the Pump. If that is the case, what would be my best "cost-effective" options? Next scenario is that I need to replace just the motor. Same Question? Best Scenario is that nothing is wrong and in a few days everything will go back to normal. ;)
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
--Leif Olson