Hey all!

I figured this is as good a place to ask as any:

A couple of days ago I noticed the pool pump wasn't running. I checked the main panel and it turns out the circuit breaker popped.

So I figure, maybe it was a freak thing.. had a storm the night before, who knows. So I reset it. All is good. The next day it only runs for part of the day, circuit popped again. So, it starts, runs fine.. then at some point, it will pop..maybe an hour later, maybe the next day.

I know I shouldn't be resetting it because a popped breaker is a sign of a problem.

Looks like all the wires in the timer have a good connection, connections in the pump are internal.

Could the circuit breaker actually go bad? (something in the main panel) Any recommendation on how to find the problem?

(Keep in mind that I have a meter but I'm no electrician )

THX for any tips!

Hi Jason,

Could be the pump motor is going bad or it could be a bad breaker. You might start w/ the breaker, they are only $10-15. If the breaker still trips then you have a problem w/ the motor. Let me know if it's the motor, I have an account at Western Pool, they repair pool pump motors.

find out whose swimsuit got sucked into the filter...

To test the motor you need a amp probe. An amp probe will measure how many amps the motor is pulling. If the motor is drawing more amps than the breaker rating it will trip. Does the motor feel hot when it is running?

Mark,

Thanks for the tip. Not sure about the heat on the pump.. it was daylight.. sun out.. pump is metal.. you know how it goes here. No AMP probe plus I'm limited on tools.. Just moved in with the fiance and half my crap is in storage.

I can try the breaker swap this weekend as it should be an easy swap.


AA,
I wish it were that easy.

Hi Jason

Mark's right, it could be either a weak breaker or a motor problem. The clamp-on meter would be useful. I used to have one and I can check tomorrow if I still have it, in case you need it. Sometimes the motors develop a shorted turn on a winding and they will run too much current. Often the starter cap will go bad or a piece of crap will get stuck between the impeller and the seal, but this causes it to not start up every time. And you said it starts fine so that must not be the problem. Check with me if you want to try a meter.

Jason,

Congrats on moving in with the fiance.

As for the storage thing, you might as well just get rid of all of your stuff now. Once you get married your stuff is all history anyway. The only stuff I have pre-marriage is in the garage.

Try firing the pump up for a few minutes at night to see if it gets hot.

QUOTE

As for the storage thing, you might as well just get rid of all of your stuff now. Once you get married your stuff is all history anyway. The only stuff I have pre-marriage is in the garage.

Yeah... guess what else is being stored in my buddy's garage for now?

HINT.. <- see avatar to left


I'll check the pump later tonight.. Guy as an amp meter I can check the pump amperage with.

See if you can find a long screw driver and use it to listen to the pump end like a stethoscope to find if there are any rubbing sounds or hard to hear noises since the motor generally makes the most racket. On our pool and jacuzzi both I had pump/motor failures due to the shaft seal wearing out and then the impeller starts rubbing and that puts huge amperage loads on the motor. When I opened the cases you could see the wear marks inside.

hello, i worked on swimming pools for years, as an installer and service tech

the things i would check is all wire connections esp at the breaker where it is tripping, a loose connection can heat up the breaker to the point hwere it trips. also to check the motor end you either have a small plate that comes off with 2 screws or the whole back cover comes off with 2 screws. did you check to make sure that the timer is not shutting it off and tripping it at the same time. you laso might want to rutn on the brealer and pump and let it run for a few mins, then put you hand on the breaker to see if it gets hot too. also dont think that the breaker above or below the one for the pool cant heat up another breaker to the point where it trips

As a fellow Arizonan, my first question would be "how old is the pool?"


My next suggestion based partly on the answer to the first, would be "turn off the power to the pump the pool light, etc,
then probe the conduit with a screwdriver (just like a teener) at the ground level and just below for RUST, that's right
rust, at both the panel and the pool equipment..

My father-in-law just had a similar experience with his pool, approx 28 years old, pool wiring faulting to ground due to corrosion of the rigid conduit.

John

Thanks for all the comments guys! I know where to go for mechanical help!

The pool is only 7 yrs old but you never know. I'll take all this into consideration and see what I can find.

I had a pump motor get fried last winter in the "big" SoCal storms, which put the pool equipment partly underwater cuz the drainage just couldn't keep up. It would pop the breaker the instant power was applied. Had to swap out the motor -- it was >10 yrs old anyway and here they run 365 days a year so that's a lot of hours. If there is some chance that water, a mouse, or whatever got inside and shorted out the motor coils then it could be that

QUOTE (AZ914 @ Sep 14 2005, 03:20 PM)

Thanks for all the comments guys! I know where to go for mechanical help! The pool is only 7 yrs old but you never know. I'll take all this into consideration and see what I can find.

If it is only seven years old it ain't corroded conduit.

John

Cant a clogged filter cause the pump to over heat?

????????????

Jeff

best pump ever:

ITT Marlow

had this pump on the family's pool (I was in charge of keeping everything good)

for around 16 years or longer...

finally failed due to a main seal....

Is your pump on a dedicated circuit or do youhave other electrical equipment sharing the circuit?

My pump shares a curcuit with several kitcken outlets, so if we use a high resistance appliance like a toaster, the circuit breaker pops. It's a pain in the ass that we've lived with for several years, I need to have a dedicated citcuit installed one of these days.

My point is that your problem may lie elsewhere besides the pump.

QUOTE (STL914 @ Sep 15 2005, 09:40 AM)

Is your pump on a dedicated circuit or do youhave other electrical equipment sharing the circuit? My pump shares a curcuit with several kitcken outlets, so if we use a high resistance appliance like a toaster, the circuit breaker pops. It's a pain in the ass that we've lived with for several years, I need to have a dedicated citcuit installed one of these days. My point is that your problem may lie elsewhere besides the pump.

Tucson code requires the pool pump to be on a separate breaker. Even the pool lights must be on a separate breaker. If it was wired otherwise then someone must have paid-off the inspector.