make_shift

our 1999 - 648 platinum is still going...

I have bought the new pump, I looked at the capacitors, it has 2, never been changed, eventually the windings will burn, etc, so I am going with the new pump.

How old is the pump and what kind is it? Lower end pumps/motors have a life expectancy about 4-6 years and changing the bearings will be a temporary fix while changing the pump/motor will give you another 4-6 years. Higher end pumps will do better. ultra 2hp - 2speed pump 230v, it's been really solid, 10 years, but has been off for about 3 (winter and such)

wondering if anybody would comment on this for me. I have a spa pump that is squealing, I replaced the pump seal, that's not the source of the squealing, I think it may be the bearings in the pump, my question, with practical experience, is it better to buy a new pump or have a pump repair shop replace the bearings - the new pump is great, but it's like 3x the cost of bearings, so if bearings would last too, that would be best - I think... this is the first problem I have had with the pump!!

fyi : reporting back, put a scoop (from brom-ox container) of bromine booster in, bromine level is ok, been in 3X since, I will keep monitoring and report back if something changes, like bromine levels drop off.

I have a genesis bromine generator, I just ran out of brom-ox oxidizing agent, it doesn't have 'ingredients' on the side anywhere, I have a container of 'bromine booster' - this also doesn't have ingredients on it - I am told they are the same thing, can somebody confirm...if I need to get brom-ox again, I will, just want to make sure. thanks.

I live in SW Ontario, buy an Arctic Spa or Hotsprings, I have a Hydropool, and they are ok too, but I know people have better luck with the others, make sure the water you put in is good also, I have really hard water, I have to get a tanker to bring water every 9-12 mths when I change water.

thanks for the replies, I will try a couple of things, upon further reading, this is an excellent explanation of the caps and what they do for the motor http://books.google.ca/books?id=fb04YPy-XI...tor&f=false I have 2 pumps that both have caps, I will have to verify they are both identical in the 2 pumps, I will swap them, and if thermal still trips out, I will try to leave some opening (a bit worried about how long I leave the door open for, with rain and vermon...) hopefully somebody will also find this helpful, I will report back the results.

oh, it's a 5hp 230v, ultrajet pump

I have a hydropool 638, it's a vintage 1998, the pump is 2 stage, circ is stage 1 and stage 2 is jets, the pump is original, I just changed the pump seal this year, it seems if I put a new filter in, it works for a few weeks, then the same thing happens, not sure what the cap does for the motor, could it be the cap?

after about 1-2 hours on re-circulation,pump is kicking out on thermal, it's very hot to touch, I shut off breaker, wait a half hour and try again, it works, and sometimes kicks out again, I think it might be the filter...is there anything else I can try?

the only way ours last any length of time, is that we remove them everytime we get out...pita, but it works.

don't bother jacking it up, if you suspect a faulty piece of plumbing, let the tub leak out - you will have to remove power so you don't suction air when the level drops too much and wherever the water line stops, that' s where you need to look at the jets at that level, or possibly the skimmer, then if you can narrow down what side the leak is coming from by watching where the water makes a puddle, start removing foam from there. and work towards that jet. it is messy, I have done it 1000x

Everyone I talked to that has one, they all failed and did not protect the spa. The power companies are pretty good but I know things happen. If it lightning you are worried about, have a good earth ground. Lightning will do more than just fry a spa if it hits close we had a very good electrical install with a separate box for gfci and separate electrical disconnect outside, we recently had a major lightning strike close by, where the gfci tripped and I popped a fuse on the genesis bromine generator (go figure) but everything else on the spa was fine...don't know if that helps, but that's the idea of having a rroperly installed gfci, it's not asurge supressor per say, but the idea is current leaking back to earth - trip. Unless you have really crappy power quality, just get a properly wired gfci.

Sounds to me that the spare motor you were given is no good. It will run hot if you losing voltage. If you test it while it is running and it is between 218-245 volts ac you got a bad motor. Another question was this a motor swap or complete pump swap I would agree, I would think your spare should be running 'cooler' if anything, it has a higher current rating...