Polaris booster pump rebuild

[TexasPoolGuy]

I wrote the wrong dimension for some reason. It was 17mm ID, not 18mm.

regards

[biker2]

I did some more checking after your reply and found the motor to be an
AO Smith B625 made for Polaris.

I found a site with replacement bearings at about $10 each, I am still undecided should I rebuild or replace the unit. A new motor is about $130, a new Hayward booster pump is $165 complete ( I don't know how good their Booster motors are).

GB

[TexasPoolGuy]

Only parts you need to rebuilt are the rotating seal kit and bearings, unless your impellor is damaged, which can happen. Effort is probably several hours. Hopefully you know safe working practice w/ electrical circuits. It's not a place to guess about power on/off.

good luck

[biker2]

Follow up for everyone who responded. I ordered new bearings from an on line company after finding the correct bearing size which is 17x40x12 (MM). I used the best double sealed bearings I could find which costs $5 each. Even with a complete seal kit and new impeller the total overhaul was about $40.

I put in the entire pool electrical including a second 200 amp breaker box in the house so I figured turning off the breaker to the booster was a smart Idea. I took the Booster into my workshop.

First the rear bearing was OK but I replaced it anyway. The front bearing by the shaft was shot. Without a bearing puller this job would be difficult, luckily I had one that was long enough. I didn't see any real seal on that motor keeping out bugs and weather?

To make a long story short it took about 2 hours to do everything slowly and greasing everything back up for the next failure. One of the screws seized but luckily it was only the hold down for the front bearing. I managed to just tap the hold down to the side without drilling out for a replacement screw. Greasing all the screws will help for the next overhaul.

The Polaris has never run quieter. My wife said are you sure its working? I don't remember the unit running that quietly when it was new.

GB

[TexasPoolGuy]

Thanks for the followup.

These pump/motors are not bad units. The seals will leak eventually, but every rotating seal will do the same once the rpm-hrs are up. My pump runs 12hrs/day, 365 days per year for 4380 hrs/year service. I had seals last 5-7 yrs w/o leakage, thats over 20000 hrs service life. Many turbine engines won't do that many hrs w/o an overhaul.

Only thing I might change is to create some type of deflector device (rotating disc?) on the shaft between the end bearing and the pump. This would prevent water getting to the bearing and allow an easier repair. Still, it's not too tough to replace the bearing.

My main pump has a rear bearing noise that's been going on for about a year, and I've put off pulling the pump. The worst part for my pump removal/installation is releasing the wiring from the pump and unscrewing the conduit by rotating the pump. There isn't room for an interior conduit nut and the conduit threads into the pump shell. A real PIA.

I ***ume all your thru-body bolts released w/o problems? I'm hoping my remaining two come away easy when I replace the rear bearing.

regards

[TexasPoolGuy]

I have been dissatisfied w/ the noise from my main circulation pump for some time and decided to pull the pump and motor down. Pump seal was not leaking and I found both bearings in good condition. I had earlier puchased a 10-roll lot of bearings on ebay for $10+shipping and reinstalled two of these bearings. I kept my old bearings in case these China productst are no good, but noticed the ones in the pump were from China also.

I did the work in place w/o disconnecting the wiring which resulted in much easier repair. I laid a work pad of hard cardboard down and pulled the armature w/ bearings out. The 3 bolts (not 2 as I earlier said) were still in good shape and released easily due to previous use of anti-sieze.

After reassembly, and restart I was disapointed to find the noise level only slightly better. I now believe the impellor may be making the noise. Hard to tell.

regards