Motor won't start

[woodwish]

This is really on my hot tub but I figured the folks on this forum would have an answer. My hot tub has two 5 hp, 220 v, capacitor start motors. One works fine but the other won't start. It is the one connected to the heater so it is the important one. It hums loudly but the shaft never starts turning, and after a few seconds the thermal overload kicks in. The motor is very hot to touch and I have no idea how long it has been doing this, haven't had any hot tub time in a few days. I have to drain it before I can really do much to it, which it is doig now. Once it is drained does anynocy have any suggestions on what to do next? I don't know if something is jammed in the impellors (very unlikey), capacitor is bad (?), of the motor is just shot. Hoping for a cheap solution before I unhook all of it and buy a new motor!

 

[RonMc1954]

It sounds to me like the starter switch. Which is a centrifical switch in the rear of the motor. If this switch does not release when the motor stops it will do exactly what you are discribing. Try this, lightly tap the back of the motor with a hammer then turn it back on and see if that works. Telling you how hard to hit it is difficult, try it lightly if that does not work try a little harder. That is not a permanit fix but it will tell you what is wrong.
Or you could send me a plane ticket[] I guess not.

If you feel comfortable taking the motor apart I could walk you through this fix, it's not tough.
Ron

 

[DWK5150]

The motors do go bad ie the bearings go out in them and get really tight. At work we have been replacing motors on the whirlpools but they are commercial units that are also 5 years old and pretyt much run from 6am till 9pm every day.

 

[Jim Boyd]

A quick thing to try. On the backside of the motor there is a cover over the end of the shaft. This end has 2 flats for a wrench. Try turning the shaft by hand, if hard to turn replace motor. If it turns easily try turning on the motor and spinning the shaft by hand, in essance kick starting the motor. If that works and the motor runs quietly replace the start capacitor. If the whole back end of the motor is the cover refer to Ron's post.

Jim Boyd
Boyd's Pool Service
Montgomery, Texas

 

[TomServo]

If you do have to replace the motors, check surplus center for units. Dunno about 5 HP, that must be an Olympic sized hot tub to need 10 HP! I see they have some 3 HP pump motors, nothing bigger.

 

[Randy_]

Electric motors can be rebuilt if they are not totally fried. The bigger the motor the more the economics are in your favor. If it turns out that the problem is not easily remedied, call your local motor shop and see what they have to say.[^]

 

[TomServo]

Ray: Forgot to mention, If your pumps are currently glued into the pipes, after you cut the pipes out... do yourself a huge favor, and go buy some PVC union joints and a couple ball valves. It'll probably cost you $60 if you're at 2" or 3" pipe, but you'll thank yourself for it next time the pumps need repair. If you can, do them up exactly the same and you could just swap the pumps next time the heater pump has problems.

Maybe you meant .5 HP not 5?

 

[DWK5150]

Originally posted by Randy_
<br />Electric motors can be rebuilt if they are not totally fried. The bigger the motor the more the economics are in your favor. If it turns out that the problem is not easily remedied, call your local motor shop and see what they have to say.[^]

This isnt always true. I just had a 75 hp motor burn a winding and well the cost to rewind it is 200 less than a brand new motor with a warranty not including new bearings on the armature either. When your spending $2,600 on a motor you want a warranty.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Originally posted by TomServo
<br />Ray: Forgot to mention, If your pumps are currently glued into the pipes, after you cut the pipes out... do yourself a huge favor, and go buy some PVC union joints and a couple ball valves. It'll probably cost you $60 if you're at 2" or 3" pipe, but you'll thank yourself for it next time the pumps need repair. If you can, do them up exactly the same and you could just swap the pumps next time the heater pump has problems.

Maybe you meant .5 HP not 5?

Good tip on the ball valves[] I didn't catch the 5hp, seems way too big, .5 seems more in line.

 

[woodwish]

Too dark when I got home today to work on it, may be next Saturday before I attack it again. Lots of good advice, I appreciate it. The pumps do have quick connects and are interchangable except one is single speed and the other is dual speed. The bad one is the dual speed, low for circulation through the heater and also for filtering on a timed cycle. I did take a flashlight out there and looked again, I agree it should more likely be .5 hp but it says 5 hp. The more I think about it the 5 hp can't be right, but it does use a dedicated 50 amp circuit to power both pumps and the heater when running at full speed. They are big pumps, but I'll check them closer.

 

[TomServo]

Ray: if they're .5hp, surplus center has some for somewhere around $40... I think they even had those nice 2 speed types - always nice to have a low power "idle" pump to keep the water sloshing around. even 1/2HP pool/jacuzzi pumps are quite large - the same size as a 1 or even 1.5HP pump often times. a 5 HP pool pump should have a 3" outlet.

 

[Mikey]

Originally posted by DWK5150
<br />

Originally posted by Randy_
<br />Electric motors can be rebuilt if they are not totally fried. The bigger the motor the more the economics are in your favor. If it turns out that the problem is not easily remedied, call your local motor shop and see what they have to say.[^]

This isnt always true. I just had a 75 hp motor burn a winding and well the cost to rewind it is 200 less than a brand new motor with a warranty not including new bearings on the armature either. When your spending $2,600 on a motor you want a warranty.

Um, burnt windings are generally considered "fried". What is being talked bout here is some bad bearings, which can normally be fixed with $20 worth of parts.

I had a 5 horse motor lose it's bearings a few years ago. Problem is, the shaft/windings then hit the case and F'd everything up. I had to buy a new motor in that instance.