Pump Ran Dry Now Motor Won't Start

[mas985]

Did you replace the seal? That can cause extra friction and prevent the motor from starting. Also, there should be no bearings noise either so if you feel or hear anything, that could be causing extra load on the motor so it won't start.

[RandyM1911]

Thanks for the reply but it looks to be to far gone. I took the whole thing apart and the front bearing is shot. There's a lot of rust and corrosion at the front end. It looks like the pump must have been leaking into the motor for some time based on the amount of corrosion. Looks like I'm into a new unit.

[aylad]

That happened to me at the end of last year, but I was able to just replace the motor and seals but keep the rest of the pump.. Saved me about $350 that way, if it would work for you...

[RandyM1911]

Exactly what I did. Retail store of the builder I used was very fair with the pricing. I bought a new motor, seals, gaskets & impeller (just in case) and cleaned up all of the other parts thoroughly before reassembly. Fired right up and sounds sweet, much better than the old motor before the failure. I put a gallon of shock in the pool and ran the pump overnight so the SWCG could replenish the chlorine that was essentially gone after four days of no operation. Free chlorine levels came right up and the chemistry looks good across the board.

Other than a couple of green algae spots on the liner (which will scrub out), it doesn't seem any worse for the wear. Only my wallet was damaged in the process but a valuable (and expensive) lesson was learned as well. That being, if you let someone use you pool while you're away, even if it is a family member or someone you really trust, don't let them touch anything. No valves, no timers, no adjustments, nothing. Leave it as you found it or don't use it at all.

[aylad]

Yep, that's a valuable lesson. Here's the other end of that one...if you see a leak around the pump, even a very small one, don't ignore it--go ahead and change out that shaft seal. Ignoring it will eventually produce the same result that you had.....ask me how I know!

Glad you got it up and running again. Funny how that stuff always happens when it's hot outside, huh?

[RandyM1911]

True enough!

Although I can't say that I ever noticed any leaking around the pump at all. The majority of the corrosion was behind the motor mounting plate where it attaches to the front of the motor. Also under the front of the motor where the air cooling slots are located. But none of that was visible until taking everything apart.

I did notice some bearing noise in the motor this season and had planned to pull it (the motor) to have the bearings replaced after closing the pool in the fall. The bearing noise was noticeable but not horrible and I'm sure it would have made it to the end of the season (mid-September for me) had the seal failure not occurred. I may still rebuild the old motor and either keep it as an emergency back-up or see if I can sell it on E-bay. I can tell you that going forward I will be much more attentive to the sound of the pump motor and I'll be on the lookout for any signs of leaks or corrosion.

In the meantime, thanks for the help and the words of encouragement. It's nice to know I'm not alone out here!

[PoolDoc]

Although I can't say that I ever noticed any leaking around the pump at all. The majority of the corrosion was behind the motor mounting plate where it attaches to the front of the motor. Also under the front of the motor where the air cooling slots are located. But none of that was visible until taking everything apart.

You may want to check during a rainstorm, to make sure something is not causing water to splash up into the motor.