Pool pump motor died, how to keep water in decent shape

I added chlorine to the pool and hot tub the day after it went out. I walked around the edge manually stirring and agitating the water twice a day for couple mins. My chlorine levels maintained a high normal level when I tested. It worked out fine for me, but I think I only did it for 3 days before getting new pump installed.

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Pool pump motor died, how to keep water in decent shape

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I dealt with this about a month ago when my pump went out. I was without a pump for about 10 or 11 days.

I ran my robot vacuum a couple times a day. I also put a submersible sump pump in the deep end (without a water hose attached) to keep water moving. I added liquid bleach to keep my chlorine levels at around 8-10 (my CYA is 60). By the last day, the pool was slightly cloudy. Once the pump was installed, I ran it on super chlorinate overnight, and the next morning my pool was crystal clear.

I only wish I would have checked to see if my breaker was bad before the pool company said it was a bad pump. After the pump was replaced, it still didn't work. Turns out my circuit breaker went bad . I could have just changed the breaker the same day as it went bad and been just fine.

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Agreed. Just keep adding chlorine as needed.

It sounds like the bearings went bad, which can happen with use, but in my experience is usually related to water exposure due to bad seals.

Its not too bad a job to just swap out the bearings, and I recommend that you do so with the old motor and keep it ready to go for the next time.

To replace the seals or put in a new motor, you will need a replacement seal and probably a couple of o-rings as well. It is good to have all that on hand

I find myself replacing seals every 2 to 5 years on my pumps, and evidence of a leak is usually apparent before the bearings get wet, so the motor stays gotogo

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Thanks for the advice. Good thought on trying to swap out the bearings on the old pump. A lot cheaper than a new pump, and it would be a good project to do when it's cooler out.

I do have a fresh set of seals coming with the new motor. Probably should keep those on hand. I did notice there was evidence of a leak around the pump in the past few weeks. Now I know to take care of that before the bearings go bad.

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I would dump some liquid chlorine into your filter in the next few days to insure you dont have a problem in there.

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great advice! yep, the algae would be most likely to form in the pipes/returns and filter where the water isn't moving or getting any chlorine vs in the open pool.

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salt or chlorine pool?

i would think if you keep it super-chlorinated w/ liquid chlorine and scrub the hell out of it daily it will go away in a week or 2

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Chlorine. There were black spots growing. I threw chlorine in it routinely and finally caved and got a black algaecide. Now the black spots are white in color but they're not scrubbing up. I just got a wire brush and that doesn't even seem to move the needle much. I'm keeping after it but progress is super slow.

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get all organic things (leaves, etc) out as fast as possible.
- use liquid chlorine and maintain proper levels
- use the robot several times a day cleaning it out in between. (mine has a filter and it was picking up a lot of crap that the pump & filter normally get).
- move the water around any way you can... swim, brush, etc.

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Doing all this. Stupid crepe myrtle flowers are the biggest culprit at the moment. Skimming it all out and running my robot nearly constantly. Cleaned it out this morning and added liquid chlorine.

So far, so good.

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How did you get rid of the black algae? It's killing me right now.

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whatever they tell you to shock on the label x5. Check it after a week and do it again if it’s still there. Granular shock worked best for me. Try brushing the spots with a stainless brush.

Fix the old motor

My pool pump went out I just changed the motor part and not the entire pump.