red79 Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hey guys, the main pump motor in my old HydroSpa seized because water had been leaking onto it, and a friend of mine had a similar motor lying around. Here are the specs on the 2 motors: Original: 230v, 3 HP, 3450RPM 12.0/4.4 amp Spare: 230v, 3.1 HP, 3450RPM 17.5/8.8 amp I know the replacement is rated for a much higher current, so I am not surprised that when I swapped it in it ran very hot--running for a few minutes before tripping the thermal cutout, then restarting. The housing becomes almost too hot to touch. Is there any way that I can adapt my system, or the new motor, to play nice together? I'd rather not shell out for a numbers matching replacement if there's any way I could avoid it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ps558 Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hey guys, the main pump motor in my old HydroSpa seized because water had been leaking onto it, and a friend of mine had a similar motor lying around. Here are the specs on the 2 motors: Original: 230v, 3 HP, 3450RPM 12.0/4.4 amp Spare: 230v, 3.1 HP, 3450RPM 17.5/8.8 amp I know the replacement is rated for a much higher current, so I am not surprised that when I swapped it in it ran very hot--running for a few minutes before tripping the thermal cutout, then restarting. The housing becomes almost too hot to touch. Is there any way that I can adapt my system, or the new motor, to play nice together? I'd rather not shell out for a numbers matching replacement if there's any way I could avoid it. Thanks! 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
make_shift Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Hey guys, the main pump motor in my old HydroSpa seized because water had been leaking onto it, and a friend of mine had a similar motor lying around. Here are the specs on the 2 motors: Original: 230v, 3 HP, 3450RPM 12.0/4.4 amp Spare: 230v, 3.1 HP, 3450RPM 17.5/8.8 amp I know the replacement is rated for a much higher current, so I am not surprised that when I swapped it in it ran very hot--running for a few minutes before tripping the thermal cutout, then restarting. The housing becomes almost too hot to touch. Is there any way that I can adapt my system, or the new motor, to play nice together? I'd rather not shell out for a numbers matching replacement if there's any way I could avoid it. Thanks! 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotwater2 Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Hey guys, the main pump motor in my old HydroSpa seized because water had been leaking onto it, and a friend of mine had a similar motor lying around. Here are the specs on the 2 motors: Original: 230v, 3 HP, 3450RPM 12.0/4.4 amp Spare: 230v, 3.1 HP, 3450RPM 17.5/8.8 amp I know the replacement is rated for a much higher current, so I am not surprised that when I swapped it in it ran very hot running for a few minutes before tripping the thermal cutout, then restarting. The housing becomes almost too hot to touch. Is there any way that I can adapt my system, or the new motor, to play nice together? I'd rather not shell out for a numbers matching replacement if there's any way I could avoid it. Thanks! The spare motor is drawing almost double the amps from the original, it's over heating because the wiring in the control pack is not a heavy enough gauge to carry the higher amp draw. The amps on the motor indicate how much power it draws when running. The volts on both is the same which is fine. A replacement motors amp draw must be the same or less then the original, it can not draw more as the system and wiring will not have been designed for it. It's like installing a 500 watt light bulb in a lamp that was designed for a 250 watt bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red79 Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 The spare motor is drawing almost double the amps from the original, it's over heating because the wiring in the control pack is not a heavy enough gauge to carry the higher amp draw. The amps on the motor indicate how much power it draws when running. The volts on both is the same which is fine. A replacement motors amp draw must be the same or less then the original, it can not draw more as the system and wiring will not have been designed for it. It's like installing a 500 watt light bulb in a lamp that was designed for a 250 watt bulb. I considered this, but it does not explain why the motor itself is getting hot--it would explain the control pack overheating (which, as far as I can tell, it is not), but not the pump motor itself. ps558, I just swapped the motor--I carried over the wet end from the old pump. I spoke to a technician at a hot tub service shop, and he agreed that it was probably a defecvtive motor. He said that this type of malfunction was relatively common, people often report this type of trouble with brand new units. He recommended taking it to a motor repair shop to get it repaired under warranty. Thanks for everyone's thoughtful replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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