danster44 Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 I converted my pump to a 2 speed unit last year by installing a 2 speed motor (1.5 HP) and an Intermatic digital controller -- by my calculations probably knocked about $40 off my monthly utility bill because we now run most of the time on the low setting (1/4 HP). Anyway, fast forward to 14 months later (this month) and the motor has been turning off (apparently from the thermal cutoff for overheating) -- well I've searched for troubleshooting the issue, and the common 3 causes are 1) motor is getting old, failing 2) motor vents are clogged up 3) bad wiring connections. none of these proved to be the culprit -- so I changed the capacitor -- it appears that this has solved the problem. Just curious why no where in the web databases does anyone say that a faulty capacitor can cause the motor to overheat. Hope this helps someone in the future, before spending an arm & leg on a service call, and potentially a new motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugman1400 Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 I converted my pump to a 2 speed unit last year by installing a 2 speed motor (1.5 HP) and an Intermatic digital controller -- by my calculations probably knocked about $40 off my monthly utility bill because we now run most of the time on the low setting (1/4 HP). Anyway, fast forward to 14 months later (this month) and the motor has been turning off (apparently from the thermal cutoff for overheating) -- well I've searched for troubleshooting the issue, and the common 3 causes are 1) motor is getting old, failing 2) motor vents are clogged up 3) bad wiring connections. none of these proved to be the culprit -- so I changed the capacitor -- it appears that this has solved the problem. Just curious why no where in the web databases does anyone say that a faulty capacitor can cause the motor to overheat. Hope this helps someone in the future, before spending an arm & leg on a service call, and potentially a new motor. Was it a Run capacitor or a Start capacitor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danster44 Posted September 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I converted my pump to a 2 speed unit last year by installing a 2 speed motor (1.5 HP) and an Intermatic digital controller -- by my calculations probably knocked about $40 off my monthly utility bill because we now run most of the time on the low setting (1/4 HP). Anyway, fast forward to 14 months later (this month) and the motor has been turning off (apparently from the thermal cutoff for overheating) -- well I've searched for troubleshooting the issue, and the common 3 causes are 1) motor is getting old, failing 2) motor vents are clogged up 3) bad wiring connections. none of these proved to be the culprit -- so I changed the capacitor -- it appears that this has solved the problem. Just curious why no where in the web databases does anyone say that a faulty capacitor can cause the motor to overheat. Hope this helps someone in the future, before spending an arm & leg on a service call, and potentially a new motor. Was it a Run capacitor or a Start capacitor? I would guess it is both, but apparently to cause an overheating issue it must be a "run cap" -- it is absolutely amazing: pump ran all night without stopping on the high setting with the new CAP. So I have a $20 fix to a perplexing issue, but I had to figure this out -- nowhere does anyone allude to this phenomenon -- I just figured this (change CAP) was something I could do before I called out an expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugman1400 Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I converted my pump to a 2 speed unit last year by installing a 2 speed motor (1.5 HP) and an Intermatic digital controller -- by my calculations probably knocked about $40 off my monthly utility bill because we now run most of the time on the low setting (1/4 HP). Anyway, fast forward to 14 months later (this month) and the motor has been turning off (apparently from the thermal cutoff for overheating) -- well I've searched for troubleshooting the issue, and the common 3 causes are 1) motor is getting old, failing 2) motor vents are clogged up 3) bad wiring connections. none of these proved to be the culprit -- so I changed the capacitor -- it appears that this has solved the problem. Just curious why no where in the web databases does anyone say that a faulty capacitor can cause the motor to overheat. Hope this helps someone in the future, before spending an arm & leg on a service call, and potentially a new motor. Was it a Run capacitor or a Start capacitor? I would guess it is both, but apparently to cause an overheating issue it must be a "run cap" -- it is absolutely amazing: pump ran all night without stopping on the high setting with the new CAP. So I have a $20 fix to a perplexing issue, but I had to figure this out -- nowhere does anyone allude to this phenomenon -- I just figured this (change CAP) was something I could do before I called out an expert. Was there anything abnormal about the appearance of the cap? Did it look swollen or were any of the terminals burnt? Also, did you happen to test the cap with a meter or anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danster44 Posted September 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I converted my pump to a 2 speed unit last year by installing a 2 speed motor (1.5 HP) and an Intermatic digital controller -- by my calculations probably knocked about $40 off my monthly utility bill because we now run most of the time on the low setting (1/4 HP). Anyway, fast forward to 14 months later (this month) and the motor has been turning off (apparently from the thermal cutoff for overheating) -- well I've searched for troubleshooting the issue, and the common 3 causes are 1) motor is getting old, failing 2) motor vents are clogged up 3) bad wiring connections. none of these proved to be the culprit -- so I changed the capacitor -- it appears that this has solved the problem. Just curious why no where in the web databases does anyone say that a faulty capacitor can cause the motor to overheat. Hope this helps someone in the future, before spending an arm & leg on a service call, and potentially a new motor. Was it a Run capacitor or a Start capacitor? I would guess it is both, but apparently to cause an overheating issue it must be a "run cap" -- it is absolutely amazing: pump ran all night without stopping on the high setting with the new CAP. So I have a $20 fix to a perplexing issue, but I had to figure this out -- nowhere does anyone allude to this phenomenon -- I just figured this (change CAP) was something I could do before I called out an expert. Was there anything abnormal about the appearance of the cap? Did it look swollen or were any of the terminals burnt? Also, did you happen to test the cap with a meter or anything? No -- the old CAP looked very "normal" -- I did shunt the contacts to make sure it was discharged before I removed the connections -- I don't know if the capacitor material is liquid or film, but there was no evidence of any "leakage" -- I wonder if the prior month 30 day string of 100+ degree days had an effect on the CAP??? Anyway, replacing the CAP restored my system to normal operation. Just FYI: I run 3 hrs on HIGH and 8.5 hrs on LOW -- pump comes on @ 7 AM every morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFiremanFirst Posted October 5, 2011 Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 Yes, heat can kill a cap! Run capacitors are metal... In our industry we often call run capacitors start capacitors, however my customer corrected me when I replaced his! The other thing to keep in mind! It is always a good idea (recommended) that your pool start on high speed, then drop to low speed. Not low first then high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugman1400 Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Yes, heat can kill a cap! Run capacitors are metal... In our industry we often call run capacitors start capacitors, however my customer corrected me when I replaced his! The other thing to keep in mind! It is always a good idea (recommended) that your pool start on high speed, then drop to low speed. Not low first then high! A Run cap and a Start cap are two different things but, may reside in the same can (dual cap) and share a common. I'll leave it up to you to figure out why they call it a Run cap and a Start cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFiremanFirst Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Yes. You're right! They are 2 different things. A run capacitor is oil filled and a start capacitor is paper packed. start capacitors are tied to a solenoid or they would blow if used as a run capacitor. And yes you can find dual caps. My point was not to get into a disagreement with someone that needed to flex their neurons. My point was... In the pool industry... We often times use the term start capacitor incorrectly, and to date I have not ever seen a start capacitor on a pool motor. Run capacitors multiple voltage start capacitors provide a kick, that is why. I suppose my point is, why ask if it were a start capacitor or a run capacitor? I certainly have not seen it all, and I'm intrigued if you have ever seen a start capacitor on a pool motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugman1400 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Yes. You're right! They are 2 different things. A run capacitor is oil filled and a start capacitor is paper packed. start capacitors are tied to a solenoid or they would blow if used as a run capacitor. And yes you can find dual caps. My point was not to get into a disagreement with someone that needed to flex their neurons. My point was... In the pool industry... We often times use the term start capacitor incorrectly, and to date I have not ever seen a start capacitor on a pool motor. Run capacitors multiple voltage start capacitors provide a kick, that is why. I suppose my point is, why ask if it were a start capacitor or a run capacitor? I certainly have not seen it all, and I'm intrigued if you have ever seen a start capacitor on a pool motor? My pool has a 1HP motor so, no start cap for me but, perhaps a start cap would be needed for higher HP motors. Perhaps Pool Clown or other folks who do this for a living would know.....otherwise, I've seen a truckload of double humped motors....just not at a pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolGuyNJ Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Pull off the back cover. the start cap is likely there. FWIW, the paper filled caps are called electrolytic capacitors. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Pull off the back cover. the start cap is likely there. FWIW, the paper filled caps are called electrolytic capacitors. Scott And the other cap(call it what you like) is in the hump on the motor(not all motors will have this one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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