Super II Pump Replacment Decision
I'm a relative newbie who's been able to keep the water nice and clean. But I have a "serious" equipment decision to make at this time and would appreciate any input. This last winter, a pipe came lose lose on top of my Hayward Super II Pump. I ran it at night because it was freezing that night (Orlando FL). When I woke up the pool was empty to the skimmer. I don't do my own plumbing, so I called a pool guy. Fixed. There were some other minor leaks that I wanted to fixed while we were at it, so he came back and replaced some parts, O-rings and stuff, all good, no extra labor cost. Just a minor leak remained. He said it was the pump gaskets/seals. I decided not to do anything because it was a very minor leak. A couple months later, I couldn't open the pump skimmer lid. It was like bolted down, and I had never had this problem before. Asked my pool guy who came back and opened it, again for free. Problem is, after he was done with that, there was now MAJOR leaking around the pump. He said it was those gaskets/seals, even though it was much stronger now. So, reluctantly, I said OK, replace all the seals/gaskets. NO IMPROVEMENT in leakage. He says it's most likely that I have a leak in the pump housing, which he just couldn't have known because 99% of the time, you replace the shaft seal, it's fixed. Of course my instinct is, he broke that when opening the lid. But I'm not pissed at him, it may not be his fault per se, just that maybe it happened when he put the pliers.
Anyway, so the decision I'm asking about is, replace the housing or replace the entire pump? It seems like the pump is 11 years old, the motor is from 2010. The housing costs about $200, the pump depending on where I buy it is about $400 (eBay - side question, is eBay OK for this??) to $450. My pool guy would let me buy my own either housing or pump and put it in for "free", as long as pay him for the seal/gasket replacement labor. I'm leaning toward getting the entire pump replaced and then keeping the old one for parts, in particular I would have a brand-new seal kit and a relatively new motor, which I could keep in reserve and then just put in when this motor goes. It might take 5 years or more to realize the savings, but in the end, it would be a much better deal than just getting the housing now, wouldn't it? And what if the new housing didn't fix it, then what? Might as well get the whole thing - parts on their own seem way more than the whole. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!!!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks