Another humming pump...........

[waste]

Hi, Jan. Happy 2012!

I'd say the bearings are indeed bad. If they are, I can't give you a time-frame on total seizure but it should still start as long as you can manually get the shaft to spin.

Do you have a small electric motor repair place nearby that will give you a 60+ day warranty on repacking the bearings? If not, I fear you are looking at a new motor for the new year.

Please keep us informed as to what's going on and we'll advise/ help, as best we can.

[PoolDoc]

Janet,

You might want to look at the economics of a 2-speed motor, like these:
http://www.a1poolparts.com/-strse-Mo...Categories.bok

A 2-speed motor will move 1/2 the water on low for 1/6 the electricity.

I wouldn't bother with the electronic multi-speed motors. As far as I can tell, they do not save any more than then regular 2-speed . . . IF you have sized your pump correctly. And they do cost a LOT more.

However, you often won't find ANY multi-speed motors (2 speed or more) in local stocks, so if you want to go this way, you'll want to order parts BEFORE your motor finally dies.

[Poconos]

Hi Jan,
If the bearings are squealing then I wouldn't bother trying to repack them, if that is even possible. Just replace. If the races aren't rusted in place then replacement should be relatively easy with the right equipment. As for how long before total failure? Anybodys guess.
Al

[PoolDoc]

As for how long before total failure? Anybody's guess.

What he said!

I've seen pumps that make a racket, but keep on going for a year or more. But, I've also seen them die almost immediately.

[aylad]

I can't let it go on for that long making that kind of noise--sounds much like a jet aircraft in the backyard! It's only a matter of time before my elderly neighbor, who doesn't like us anyway, starts complaining since it's on her side of our back yard. I was noticing this morning while I was at the barn feeding the horses that I could actually hear the pump over there--at least 2 acres away! I just hope I can get this algae bloom cleared up before it gives up and dies. Algae is dead, just filtering out the dead stuff, but still have a ways to go.


On a side note, normally when I have algae that I'm killing off, I never have CC....this time, the CC actually hit 4 ppm today during sunlight, but was down to 2 this evening when I added the next bleach dose. Ambient air temps were in the mid 60s today but the water is still pretty cold....wondering if cold water makes the CC more resistant to dissolution by the sun than warm water, or if some of my CYA has gone away and this is just the residual chlorine demand? Water is too milky to test for CYA right now but it'll be interesting to see if it lowered any.

Jan

[aylad]

OK, so far I've not been able to find anybody that stocks the bearings for my pump, let alone replace or repack them. However, I did find an exact replacement motor for $207 online, from a company that supposedly ships in 3 days. So far my current one is hanging in there, but it's loud as it can be. But...I'll try to make it last at least through the winter, since I'm about finished with the algae bloom and now it's just a matter of running it overnight if the temps get too low (current air temp today is 67--not looking like that's gonna happen anytime soon ) and in the meantime get the new one in so it'll be ready to go when this one finally dies.

Checked my CYA yesterday, it's down from 90 to 40 ppm (eek!). Chlorine demand is also way up--I'm losing 4-6 ppm a day, so looks like I've fallen prey to the dreaded ammonia. At least I can overcome it now during the winter while the water is still cold, and it won't take as much bleach as it would if the water temps were in the 80s!

Janet

[PoolDoc]

Yeah. I'm afraid the country club pool I take care of has also been de-CYA'd. I wasn't paying attention like I should have been what with the wedding, and then the issues with my sister.

Anyhow, I haven't checked yet, to see if it went to ammonia. I hope not! But, I'm beginning to realize that we need to provide pool owners with a clearer plan to avoid algae AND bacteria over winter, so they can prevent the whole CYA to NH3 and the subsequent monster chlorine demand in spring. And, we need a clear answer to the "how can I tell" question.