What size electrical junction box fits a 1-inch diameter cable anyway?

[gfretwell]

I understand that most people leave pool pumps and even shallow well pumps out in the weather but they will last many times longer if you can put them inside. My spa pumps are 25 years old and still going strong (in the garage) I ended up building a car port sort of thing over my pool equipment and it is doing a lot better now. Weather will kill these things pretty quick;y. If I lived up there in the frozen north my pumps would be cord and plug connected with unions on the pipes so I could take them inside when I closed the pool.

[Danny D]

The hard part, of course, is sourcing the stainless steel bolts.

For example, the "real" rust problem is these foot-long bolts!

It is beyond me how they can make bolts that thin, that long, and that vulnerable out of soft steel for a motor that is expected to be outside.

As per the suggestions here, I put anti-seize on the cap bolts, and, next time I remove the long bolts, I'll put anti-seize on them too!

[trader4]

Unless they are some hard to find size, HD or Lowes, ACE hardware. Also boat supply places, like West Marine

.

[Danny D]

If I could find replacement through bolts, my last three or four motors might have been more salvageable:

Googling, I found drastic removal of those super long "through bolts" referenced in this informative (but a bit obnoxious) video by Joe Tomorrow at

Of course, while cutting the heads off (as shown above) allows the motor to be disassembled, it still leaves the last threaded inch of the thru bolts stuck fast inside the motor housing.

I called wetheadpumprepair at 631-671-8302 and they said to use the contact form to locate the desired through bolts. As always, I will update you on what I find out so others can follow in our footsteps.

[Danny D]

I understand. And agree.

I've never built a shed, but that's exactly what I need. I would add some room to store the chemicals and equipment also. If I ever got industrious, it would even have a warm shower. I'm not sure if the heater requires special ventilation though.

[Danny D]

Lesson learned the hard way. (Seems I have a bunch of those...)

Don't disassemble a pump if you don't have to!

And thanks for the spelling on "Aye Karumba"; I never knew how to spell it. :)

[Danny D]

This is the original motor & 1/2-inch elbow, in situ:

Here is the elbow nut unscrewed, with the motor cap unscrewed:

You have, at best, about an inch of "slack" in the conduit:

That inch of slack is nowhere close to enough to spin the elbow:

And, there's not enough room to pull the wires out either:

That's because of the design of the motor end components, which block off more than half the puny half-inch opening to the elbow.

Even with a straight-through connector (on the spa pump), you still can't pull the wires out because of the design of the components in the end cap of the motor:

The wires just do not come out, even when pulling one by one:

Note: In that pic, I had removed & reinstalled the connector.

Without destroying anything, the only choice left is to spin the motor, which, I might add, still badly twists the wires:

The end result, after untwisting the thick wires, is this:

[gfretwell]

If you really want SS bolts through your motor, buy some #8 or #10 threaded rod and put nuts on both sides.

[gfretwell]

You really do not want your chemicals in the pump house. They outgas chlorine and will eat up the metal parts

[Danny D]

Thanks for that information as the bearing designation definitely still confuses me (if I wish to understand the various suffixes).

Googling, I see the shield is a non contact surface, while the seal is a contact surface (for what it's worth).

The old bearings were the 6203V NSK USA while the rebuilder (for about $150) put in the KBC 2145 6203D China bearings:

Googling, I find the AO Smith part number, size, & description is: 604005-001 ID=0.6693",OD=1.5750",W=0.470" double sealed high thrust

The nominal size for a 6203 bearing seems to be slightly different: 6203 ID=0.66993", OD=1.5748", W=0.4724"

But, maybe that's just a function of metric-to-english conversion: ID=17mm, OD=40mm, W=12mm

The actual 6203 apparently boils down to this: 6 = metric, single row ball bearing, deep groove 2 = light duty (e.g., 40mm OD, 12mm width) 03 = 17 mm bore diameter

The 6203 is so common, I find a confusing array of suffixes: 6203D

6203V 6203LL 6203ZZ 6203RS 62032RS etc.

From the advertising, these "seem" to be what the suffix indicates: 6203D (deep groove, ball, single row, rubber seal on one side) 6203V (deep groove, ball) 6203LL (same as 2RS) 6203ZZ (double, staked, non-contact, 300 series stainless steel shields) 6203RS (rubber seals) 62032RS (two rubber seals)

This is all so confusing... that I think I'll call AO Smith for advice.

[Danny D]

Funny you should mention that... as I called AO Smith technical support today (800-262-6484) to nail down thru-bolt specifications.

It turns out these bolts are, just as you suggested, #8x32, of varying lengths depending on the length of the motor itself.

Specifically, they are "8x32 UNC rolled thread" (whatever that means), of 0.272" in diameter, with only the last 1 inch threaded, and with a 1/4 inch hex head.

In case someone else needs it, here are the lengths for my motors: AO Smith QC1102 1.65HP(net) 09.38" long thru bolts (P/N 606202-071) AO Smith U27-881 1.65HP(net) 10.25" long thru bolts AO Smith U27-884 2.20HP(net) 10.25" long thru bolts AO Smith SQ1152 2.20HP(net) 10.75" long thru bolts

Googling for the AO Smith part number 606202-071, I find they're $4 each at

$3.30 each at $2.57 each at and they have a description of: A.O. Smith Motor Thru-Bolt, 8-32 x 9-3/8" x 2" Thread

So, like Oren with the huckleberries, when you say #8 stainless steel through bolts, I should come 'a runnin', cuz, you're on the money.

BTW, would there be any "galvanic" problem with stainless steel threaded into aluminum?

[Danny D]

One correction. We only need a 1/4" #8x32 nut on one side.

BTW, if anyone needs to know, calling AO Smith technical support turns out not to be an easy endeavor, until you try it once.

Googling, you'll find 800-433-2545 listed as the best number, but that turns out to be a division that was sold to waterheaterparts.com, and not the motor division.

They'll tell you that AO Smith technical support is at

800-527-1953, which it is, but not for motors. That company is now called hotwater.com.

Finally, that number above will tell you the *real* technical support number for A.O. Smith motors, which is 800-262-6484.

This is a company called "Regal", who has a division called "Century" (centuryelectricmotor.com) which owns the AO Smith brand.

[Danny D]

OK. Makes sense. thanks.

[gfretwell]

Not usually, unless you are dunking it in salt water. If you are worried smear some TefGel on it (the stuff boat guys use)

[Danny D]

Googling, I find the bearing suffixes are confusingly arcane.

There are "old" and "new" suffixes referenced here:

And single versus double shield codes explained here:

Prefixes and suffixes are explained here:

And this description was found on a.h.r:

D = molded Buna-N rubber lip seal with a steel insert which provides maximum protection against contamination; however, the high pressure of the lip seal itself results in greatly increased torque and friction losses that can cause heat build-up in higher speed applications. The seal material itself is rated to a maximum of 250 °F S = same as D except it's non contact DD = same as D but double shielded M = brass cage V = single, contact, nitrile rubber seal (keeps fluids out) Z = single, staked, non-contact shield of 300 series stainless steel. LL = ? seems to be the same as 2RS ? NR = snap ring and groove RS = single nitrile rubber seal TS = glass reinforced teflon giving good contamination protection VV = double non-contact seal ZS = same as ZZ but retained by a snap wire TTS = same as TS, but double shielded ZZS = same as ZS but double shielded ZZ = double, staked, non-contact, 300 series stainless steel shields ZZA = removable shield

2RS = double nitrile rubber seals DDU = double contact seals (apparently similar to 2RS)

[Danny D]

You're not kidding that bearing suffixes are confusing as all hell!

I suspect for my $150, the Chinese bearings my motor rebuilder put in are likely the cheapest he could get away with. So it behooves us to rebuild our own motors, where we can put in the best bearings.

The trick is to figure out *what* is the best bearing to use!

To get a handle on what the bearing needs to be, I called the AO Smith technical support hotline at 800-262-6484. The lady from Tennessee knew absolutely nothing about bearings, but she kindly read off the specs for me off the motor datasheets.

The bearings are made by NSK and they list the part numbers as: QC1102 1.65HP motor: 6203 double sealed NSK 6203WC3E CLKEEMSM SQ1152 2.20HP motor: 6203 double sealed NSK 62032RSGC3ETDEEMS9

Googling for those NSK numbers, I don't find anything useful. But, when I google the part number (604005-001), I can find it as: $19, 62032RS

So, now that gives me 6203D, 6203V, and 6203RS as the bearings, all of which are different - which is driving me crazy.

What I'm doing now is reading the NSK booklet titled: "The ABCs of Bearings", located here:

[DD_BobK]

try Liquid Wrench

consider replacing long / small diameter bolts with SS threaded rod (McMaster) & Loctited (red) nut at one end or loose nuts at both ends

footsteps.

[DD_BobK]

+1

galvanic corrosion requires an electrolyte... mostly absent in CA.

DDD- Plus galvanic corrosion follows the area rule...look it up.

[Rheilly Phoull]

Are you guys talking about a pool pump motor ? If so the 2RS suffix is all you need and is correct for the job being 2 sealing shields for both sides of the bearing (my ex profession) all the others are for special needs. Don't try to be too technical :-)

Cheers !!

[DD_BobK]

.....Don't try to be too technical :-) .....

+1