Hayward Super Pump replacement

[mnevar]

I have a 12 year old super pump that just quit working when I opened the pool. It just hums. I got it going for a couple of days by manually turning the impeller (the impeller was 'stuck'. Took me a bit to get it unstuck). Yesterday, it was back to humming. I checked here and found the advice for cleaning the contacts. I did, but it made no difference. I put a piece of paper between the contacts and the humming sound stays the same, so I tried replacing the capacitor today. No difference. I tried turning the impeller manually again with no luck. It turns fairly easily, but not smoothly. Not sure if it should. When I put power to the motor, I can see the impeller turn a tiny bit before giving up.

Edit. I take that part back. When I turned it manually, all I was doing was loosening the impeller from the drive shaft. The shaft still turns when putting power to the motor, but only 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn.

If I replace just the motor, are there any online places that are recommended?

I was thinking of doing a whole pump replacement because I've seen talk here of 2 speed pumps and thought that would be more energy efficient, however I don't see this mentioned in any of the catalogs. Can you recommend a replacement pump if I go that way?

Edit. After some searching, I see the Super II and TriStar are 2 speed pumps. Any advise?

Current pump is 1.5 hp, wired for 220v.

Thanks,
Mark

[Poconos]

Welcome to the forum. We'll try to help.
Strange one. Sounds like the starter winding isn't getting any power. Could possibly be a broken wire in the starter winding or elsewhere. After 12 years that is still unlikely but possible. Something to try is momentarily shorting the centrifugal switch with a jumper and see if it starts. Careful that you don't contact the case and wear eye protection in case you do. If you want to dig further and have a VOM (multimeter) you can check the resistance of the windings to see if any are open. You've already ruled out the cap. Any signs of excesive heat on any of the terminals? Again, after 12 years a high resistance at a terminal could develop and heat and burn up a wire. Reading your post again, the part about being hard to turn is puzzling too. That much points to seizing but keeping the starter circuit open with a piece of paper points to what I mentioned above. As for recommendations, I have none. Sorry. Someone else can chime in on that. My 1 HP superpump is just over 12 years old too and when it's time for replacement I'll probably go with a 2-speed.
Hope this helps.
Al

[mnevar]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think the bearings are seized because when I tighten the impeller, I can get it tight enough that I turn the shaft (albeit, in the opposite direction).

[mnevar]

Update:

I went to a local store that's the best for parts and repair. Refurbished motor was 319. Used motor was 199. No guarantee on that. Complete pump was 599. Guy said he had never heard of using a 2 speed pump in anything under 50k gallons. His impression was you used the higher speed on them to turn over the water in large pools. I tried to explain what I understood about them, but he wasn't interested.

I researched 2 speed motors, but I could not find out how you actually switched speeds, so I gave up. I ordered a replacement pump from Amazon for 312 and created a new account so I could get a Prime trial. Paid the extra 4 bucks for next day shipping and I got it delivered this afternoon (Saturday). Total was 316.32. Just used the motor as I didn't want to cut new PVC.

[Poconos]

At least the problem is solved. That guy is totally wrong about 2-speed pumps. They can benefit any size pool. High speed is used for vacuuming, backwashing, draining, and other times when you want to do more than just circulate. Great power savings on low speed. Never dug into one but there is a switch on the motor that changes the winding configuration to cut the speed in half.
Al

[mnevar]

. Never dug into one but there is a switch on the motor that changes the winding configuration to cut the speed in half.
Al

That store did have a 2 speed re-manufactured motor there. The box was open, so I looked for some kind of switch, but I didn't see anything. I guess maybe the box was mislabeled. Anyway, at least the filter is running. Was getting nervous after 5 days and the temperature rising.