Q: When shopping online for bearings, how do you choose which to buy?
I've never purchased bearings before and I now need about 10 of a specific size (17x40x12mm, 6203-2RS, double sealed, not shielded).
Googling for bearing quality standards, I find ABEC 3 & ISO P6 standards are common for bearing *tolerances* for pool pump motors.
But the ABEC/ISO ratings don't appear to cover materials selection, ball retainer type, grade of ball, the clearance between the balls and the races, and other manufacturer quality standards.
Worse yet, the ABEC-3/ISO-P6 rating isn't generally listed in most online ads for bearings when searching by trade size.
Given the same 6203-2RS bearing sells online for anywhere between $1.21 to $18.99 per bearing, I ask those who have actually bought motor bearings before ...
QUESTION: How do *you* choose your replacement bearings online?
I base on what the application is and what was the original.
Higher loadings and/or higher risk/cost of failure equates to using a known vendor (SKF or like, say and the associated cost). For inexpensive stuff or low loadings I've found the VXB stuff to be adequate and good value.
That pool pump motor bearing *size* is priced anywhere from $20 at pool stores, down to $2 on Ebay, and every price in between.
So the question is how to best choose amongst the choices?
That may be the simplest way to narrow the choices down. By brand, and then by price. Note: I called AO Smith (now Century Motors) and they said the original bearings were NSK 6203 double sealed; so NSK may be the way to go.
I don't (yet) know how to choose bearings, but, having taken quite a few economics & marketing classes, I find it hard to believe that the pool store $18 bearing is really the best bearing.
To give an example of something that I do know - at Sears, for $75, I can buy a US Seal PS-3868 pump seal, which I can just as well get for $10 at a whole bunch of places online.
I find it hard to believe that Sears' pump seal is any better (or even any different) than the same seal bought for $10. Point here is that, price is absolutely no indication of quality. Never was. Never will be.
(Note: Price, from Microeconomics 101, has much more to do with Marketing, Demand, and Competition (although Chinese goods also have a bit of Macroeconomic policy affecting prices).
Ooops. My mistake. Pool pump motors. 230v. I think they're about
4,000 rpm. Outdoor use. They run dry (if the pump seals are good). They run for about 8 hours a day. 3/4" shaft. Original bearings are NSK 6203 double-sealed, non shielded. Replacement bearings currently were 6203D which is a substandard bearing, IMHO.
Regarding the load, I'm not sure if the "load" for a pool pump motor is high or low. What do you think? They spin at about 4K RPM and they run for about 8 hours a day outdoors.
Standard electric motor rpm's are 1725 and 3450 for 60 Hz...yeah, that's about 4k, but might as well get it right... :)
I'm assuming this is a pretty low volume pump (as compared to irrigation or power plant applications, say); I've never had a pool so don't know just what they are.
You're good at not providing much in the way of parameters... :)
Mostly the difference between the low-priced spread and the higher is the static and dynamic load they're designed for--and that's the weight applied and how much they've got to resist on shaft movement from loading, etc.
Another key factor, is, of course, materials like SS and seals.
There certainly is some factor of which distributor you choose--most retail places are much higher than jobbing houses but it isn't all just gouging--it costs to keep inventory and brick and mortar and there is something for the service of being around the corner. But, yes, there is some but to say "never" is stretching it a lot was the point of even responding to that point at all.
I'm curious as to how-come there are so many of these???
Are all out at one time? For that usage I'd probably give the VXB a shot for a few and see how they hold up.
OK. Understood. The 1.65HP motor consumes 8.0A at 208-230VAC at 60Hz at 3450 RPM.
Of my six ~2HP motors, I'm rebuilding these two first: AO Smith QC1102 1.65HP motor 6203 double sealed NSK 6203WC3E CLKEEMSM AO Smith SQ1152 2.20HP motor 6203 double sealed NSK 62032RSGC3ETDEEMS9
If they were mine, I'd likely just go to the local distributor and buy replacement for them from their inhouse stock and not worry much whether were NSK or SFK or whatever. If were really interested in cheapest possible route, then again, I'd probably take a chance't on the VXBs.
Hi Oren, Sorry for not updating the team on the unrelated pump leak; that's a separate issue which has nothing directly to do with the motors.
That old pump leak was fixed with a US Seals seal, just as you had correctly surmised. Guess which seal I bought?
Note: This is a classic "you don't get what you pay for" example:
formatting link
Source by Pentair Part Number = $75 (x four pumps = $300) Source by US Seals Part Number = $10 (x four pumps = $40)
That old leak isn't the problem here. The new issue is that I am rebuilding the four old pumps that I have lying around (& thinking about rebuilding the two well pumps plus the one pressure pump in the pump house); so I have seven ~2 HP motors running most of the time (not counting the generator).
For rebuilding the seven motors, the key thing is to source the right bearings. Size isn't enough. Quality also matters.
Hence this quest for figuring out how to source quality bearings on the net for the pool and fountain pumps that I already took apart.
Sourcing bearings is something only someone who has done it will know as there are assumptions you're forced to makethat have nothing to do with the actual trade number of 6203-2RS (such as quality).
Thanks. That's the kind of pragmatic advice I need.
Sometimes it matters to go name brand; sometimes it doesn't. Only the experienced will know.
For example, I learned that the Craftsman chain saw (actually Poulan) sucked; it died at just over a year. So, in that case, I learned the hard way to go name brand (Stihl or Husky).
Yet, going name brand on pump seals (as I showed earlier) gets me a $75 pump seal (which, for four pumps, is $300). Going trade size US Seal (which is the same seal!), is $10 a seal, for a savings equal to the price of an entire new pump! :)
So, the experienced person (which I am now on pump seals) would never go to a pool store (or Sears) for a name brand pump seal by pool equipment part number.
It may be either way with bearings: a. Name brand rules? b. Trade size rules?
I'm just not an experienced person on bearings yet; so, I don't know which sourcing algorithm is the one you guys use.
Note: It may be helpful to note that I've had my pumps rebuilt before; and, for $150, they put in the *wrong* bearings! (they put in the 6203D bearings!) That might indicate that it doesn't matter all that much. :)
If it's a piece that isn't of any particular importance as far as either safety or income I'll take a "whatever" choice that meets minimum requirements of function. Like a pool pump--what's the worst if it doesn't last--a little time w/o it and replacing it again? I'll take the chance occasionally if it is a large price differential.
OTOH, on the air seeder there are about 120 of a given style but I buy the JD-green replacement w/o even thinking about it because when I need to be planting I can't afford downtime.
If your application were a critical component such as, perhaps, a sump pump that is necessary for routine rainwater in a sump I'd not have suggested the VXB as I really don't know much about 'em other than I've used a few as replacement pilot bearings on a couple laminate trimmer router bits. But, that was a deal where could buy 10 of theirs at not much more than half-again over the NSK (and the local distributor didn't have it in stock, anyway) so rather than pay $8-10 shipping for a single $5 item I spent a couple more $$ and got the 10 on a flyer. If it craps after 30 minutes, well I can go through 9 more before I'm down and since that's never anything that is going to be a critical operation any more, it's a chance I'll take.
Those are the general ideas behind how I pick/choose.
BTW, in my earlier response that I don't care about NSK, SFK, ..., etc., I meant I don't care amongst the well-known names. I'd not put VXB on that list nor some of the others I've never heard of.
Who knows, some of those others may actually be manufacturing for the big boys, but ya' just don't know if they are or not or even if they are that these aren't seconds or somesuch at the bargain rates. Or, they may just be fly-by-night knockoffs...no way to really tell that I know of.
It's probably the highest price the market will 'bear.' (Sorry, too hard to resist!)
As you have indicated, you find all the information you can about what you need, search and then evaluate the options.
Ebay's cheap but there's a lot of junk being sold on Ebay that's mislabeled, misrepresented or worse. Some 2500mAH AA NiMHs I bought from Ebay measured out to be 500mAH batteries. A Formula One bracelet charm I got for my wife had an "authenticity certificate" but it was hilariously fraudulent and the item was not licensed by F1. CCTV cameras that say "Sony" in the listing heading actually (if you're lucky) merely contain a Sony DSP chip but are made by some fly-by-night company.
The problem I would have buying bearings from Ebay is that you really don't know if they are counterfeit and made from metal that will not stand up to prolonged use. The AA batteries were a real eye-opener for me. They were deliberately marked fraudulenty with a clear intent to deceive. But they were cheap. Too cheap. That should have been the tip-off.
The latest example of Ebay fraud at work was a Kree flashlight they advertised on their Daily Deals page that wasn't a Kree but a cheap knock-off that didn't even work. There was no way, without destroying the unit, to even verify that there was at least a Kree LED in the flashlight. So in such cases you have to depend on the honor of the seller. That mostly rules out Ebay. (-:
So I am not surprised that they list your bearing for $2. I would be surprised if it's any good.
I have to agree with Trader about Amazon. If I get something counterfeit or misrepresented by the seller, Amazon makes good on it right away and sends a postage-paid return label. Amazon really laced into the vendor selling 18 gauge speaker wire as 14 gauge and gave me full credit for the item. Their customer service is astounding, especially compared to Ebay. Prices are generally higher, as vendors obviously factor in the cost of providing the level of support Amazon demands, but as they say, you get what you pay for. For anything serious, I tend to shy away from Ebay.
Recently I needed a locator "beeper" for my keys and my two Roombas that tend to die under beds and in other hard-to-find places. The major difference between Amazon and Ebay became clear to me. Amazon lists product reviews alongside the item. I could quickly tell that the cheap locators had no range and that buyers were generally unhappy with them so I went for a more expensive item that had much more positive reviews. Works great! You can sort of do the same thing combing through Ebay's feedback, but it's not nearly as simple or useful.
Oh, I forgot the wheelchair lift I bought from Ebay that was infested with bugs. Apparently it was sitting in someone's damp, moldy garage for years and remained unopened before being shipped to me. The infestation was SO bad the item was ruined. And yet Ebay wanted me to pay for return shipping of a very heavy item.
I countered saying if it was a brick and mortar sale, I would have inspected the package, found the damage to the box and insisted on opening it before paying for it. Eventually, they gave me a gift certificate equal to the return shipping, but not until I wasted a lot of time photographing the damage, writing up the issue and saying I was going to post it to a consumer website. The seller *had* to have seen the insect damage to the box and shipped it anyway. So if it's a bearing whose failure could cause serious collateral damage, I'd go somewhere other than Ebay and choose a vendor with a reputation for quality and good customer service.
I'd NEVER buy simple parts like bearings online when there is a choice of 5 or six bearing supply houses in any decent sized city that can SHOW you the bearing before you buy it, and tell you exactly what brand, number, and class of bearing it is. They can even explain the difference between classes and tell you which bearing is the better bearing for your use without going overboard. If there is no bearing or industrial supply conveniently close, call one from reasonably close and have them drop the bearing in the mail or deliver it on the next truck they have coming your way - even if it means having them drop it off at the local farm equipment dealer, machine shop, or who-ever buys regularly from them. You pay by credit card over the phone, and pick it up at the drop-off point.
After over 45 years of buying parts for all kinds of machinery I have developed a tactic that works well for me. Never buy the cheapest or the most expensive unless you have fewer than 3 options.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.