Pump hum and delayed start

[Jodester]

Hello, folks! I have a Hayward 2.0 HP Superpump for my 25,000 gallon in-ground pool. I have noticed that lately, when the pump first turns on for the day, it hums for a few seconds and then stops. When I happen to have been out there when this happens, I'll turn off the timer power switch, wait a few seconds, then try again. It still hums then stops. On the third try, I happened to notice that after it hummed and stopped and I'd turned off the power, I waited a little longer and thought I heard a slight "click" come from the pump. I turned the power back on after this and it started right up. My husband had noticed this same problem when one day he went to turn the pump on for the first time earlier than the timer normally would turn it on, but I think he said he left the power on and the pump did its hum-and-stop thing a few times by itself before successfully turning on. I'm guessing this happens often, since the pool does seem to turn on by itself every day without any help from me. (I guess I should try going out there when it's set to turn on and observe what happens several days in a row.) I should also add that whenever we have manually turned OFF the pump (say, to backwash or clean skimmers) and then turned it on again soon after, it starts up without any hesitation.

Any ideas what the problem is? I was thinking starter switch or capacitor.

[PoolDoc]

Check the pump for free rotation.

You can do this by
1. Turning the power OFF!!!!!
2. Opening the pump, removing the strainer basket, and reaching the impeller THROUGH the opening at the back of the basket chamber. If it doesn't turn freely, you may have failing bearings OR you may have debris, ranging from pine needles to coins to plastic toys to gravel that's causing problems. *

If you have free rotation OR aren't sure, this checklist looks pretty good: http://blog.intheswim.com/hayward-po...oubleshooting/
and describes a more definitive way to check rotation. If you aren't sure, after using the method I describe, go to the one they describe.

If you order parts, I'd recommend replacing everything: both capacitors and the switch AND getting a seal and set of gaskets, so you can open the pump if you need to do so. Remember to short across the capacitor terminals before handling them so yo don't get zapped.

Depending on your knowledge level, it would be better to order from somebody like IntheSwim or Inyo, who actually knows pools, than from Amazon. You have a better chance of getting the right parts that way.

Good luck!

* Super Pump have very high suction (one reason they prime easily) and their baskets tend to CRACK if they fill up with water flow blocking debris. When the basket cracks, it allows debris to reach the impeller. If you have a cracked basket

[Jodester]

Well, since after it hums then stops, then starts up about 30 seconds later just fine all by itself, doesn't that mean that there is nothing impeding the impeller? It continues to run fine all day after that, even if I shut the pump off to clean the skimmers and then restart it. It only does the hum-stop thing in the morning when it's been off all night.

[Pappy]

Well, since after it hums then stops, then starts up about 30 seconds later just fine all by itself, doesn't that mean that there is nothing impeding the impeller?

Not necessarily. Many times things move more freely when warm than when cool. This happens because different materials expand at different rates. And I also recommend changing everything, if you go that route at all. If you have access to an ammeter, check the amp draw, both when the motor is humming and when running and compare that to published specs.

[Jodester]

I'm pretty certain at this point it's the capacitor. That would explain why the trouble only happens at morning start up. Throughout the day, while it's running, enough power has been stored so if I turn off the pump to backwash or something, it turns right back on. Kinda like a car battery on its last legs may have trouble starting in the morning, but once the car has run and charged it up, you can shut it off and restart it as long as not too much time has gone by for it to run down. I have a second (identical) pump for my spa, which I'm not using right now because I have a leak somewhere in the spa return line, so I think I'll try swapping out the capacitors and see what happens. If that does the trick, I'll just buy a new one and replace it. I may just bring it to a rebuild guy, though -- it's a little noisier than it usually is (there's a higher-pitched hum going on) that I think might be the windings.

[PoolDoc]

If you have access to a motor rebuild shop that will do the work cheaply, that would be a great option -- you'd get an almost new motor for -- hopefully -- considerably less than a new motor.

But in my area, the main rebuild shop is no longer a high production facility (most of the big manufacturers have shut down or left) and they now charge nearly as much to rebuild fractionals as the price of a new motor. From a Pro's point of view, that's a no-brainer: use the new motor with a manufacturer warranty: more profit and MUCH lower chance of an unpaid warranty call-back!