2002 seizing

[kelhuffman]

Hey Roger, yesterday one of my Turbelle 2002s started seizing when on 30% power on the multitimer. Essentially the fan stops at the lower speed making a short squeak like plastic on plastic. When the power goes back up it turns back on. So I put the low end at 60% and it was fine but is now seizing right at the end of the 7 second cycle right before full power turns it on again.

Is this a bearing issue? The units are only 11 months old with about 10 months of use.

Thanks for your input as always.

 

[rvitko]

While it is hard to rule anything out and hard to diagnose without seeing the pump. I would say this, if it was a mechanical problem, at some point due to increased amp draw and excessive heat the thermastatic switch will trip and the pump will turn off. It is not impossible for it to be the bearings, frequently people over submerge the pump and the salt creep wreaks havoc on the bearings. I have seen some pumps need new bearings within about 18 months. More usual is 2-3 years. The pump portion should be about 1-1.5" below the water level. It is also possible that some salt residue has formed on the felt seal and is creating friction against the pinion assembly. Furthermore and most likely, I recall you live in California, if you have a brown out or even a slight surge in power consumption, AC or vaccuum cleaner, the motor may be simply starved for power, try turning up the potentiometer slightly to maybe 40% of power, here in Austin in peak summer heat 30% usually meant no power.

 

[kelhuffman]

Thanks for the input Roger. Any of these issues seem plausible. Late last night I awoke to the sqeak of the plastic fan seizing again, this time at 70%. So clearly its getting worse. I unplugged the pump altogether. What do I need to to attempt to repair the pump?

 

[rvitko]

I think first I would dissassemble it, for this you need a magnetic tipped slotted screwdriver. You will also need a phillips head driver. Heed the magnetic part the cable restraint will have you cursing otherwise when you try to reinstall it. Pull the pump off the shaft tube. Undo the three housing screws and then the cable restraint. Then you will have four lock tabs to undo then you will be holding the motor. Undo the four slotted screws that retain the shaft housing and the motor supports. Check the pinion, this will pull off with a gentle twisting motion. The fan pulls off as well. Check to see the armature spins freely. DO NOT OIL OR CLEAN THE BEARINGS- you will ruin them by doing this they are packed with grease and it will run out everywhere. DO NOT BEND OR FORCE THE ARMATURE. Clean all plastic parts with warm soapy water- do everything you can to preserve the tag with the production date, put a piece of tape over it before getting it wet. This is useful to a technician if any issues come up for that run and if you lose your receipt this is required for warranty work. I think you will find it is some obvious fouling and not anything to complicated. Your manual has a parts breakdown that is useful. Expect the process to take about 1 hour for the uninitiated.

 

[kelhuffman]

Well that was a learning experience! Took the pump completely apart as instructed and cleaned. The impeller housing assembly was most likely the issue because I noticed that the fan was ocillating up and down slightly (I had the other 2002 for reference) at slower speeds before seizing. When I took apart the impellor assembly there was a whole other ecosystem in there including a couple of very hard shelled snails!

The pump is working great again and flow rates are up. I cleaned the other one too and its stirring up the sand again. However, this exercise was not without some rookie mistakes. I broke the lip of the pinion when trying to remove it and I broke the plastic shaft set when trying to put it back together. Superglue is an amazing product so the pump is working fine. But I should order these two pieces from you just in case, no??

 

[kelhuffman]

It is also possible that some salt residue has formed on the felt seal and is creating friction against the pinion assembly.

one last thing, that comment you made above is probably correct too as the pinion I broke also has circular wear marks or grooves on it.

 

[rvitko]

Yes, order kit 4002.25. It will include new washer and spacer for the impeller, new shaft, new pinion and spring and new screws for reassembly of the housing. They run about $14. Usually this problem is caused by running the pump to deep. You might try stacking up some plates of cork tiles driled to accept the pump to serve as both a spacer and a vibration dampner. If you only submerge about 1-2" of the shaft you will be just fine in the future. On the bright side now you know how and you saved your pumps from worse damage.

 

[kelhuffman]

Thanks. Does that kit include the felt pad?

 

[rvitko]

No, the little felt seal is $1.49. In all but the worst cases it can be rinsed and reused.