Do you have to oil swimming pool pump?

[No]

Hi,

Do you have to oil swimming pool pump? I just realized now that I never did that, and I noticed that previous owners left "Lamp oil" in the pool house. If you do, how do you oil it?

Thanks

[Patch]

No, you don't have to oil the motor. Lamp oil has nothing to do with motors. It's fuel for lamps with wicks.

[UnFriendly Fire]

Unless you have a pump model "Lamp", this oil would be for a hurricane style LAMP, probably for light, at night, at the pool. As for oiling the pump, this should be a self contained unit requiring no oil. It is a wise idea to prime the pump before starting it to keep from burning up bearings.

[No]

Thanks for info,

I got scared there for a minute as I decided that I was abusing my pump :-).

[Steve B.]

The pump bearings don't require oil. If you want to add life to your pump pull the impeller and replace the ceramic seal behind it.. This seal spins with the motor and when they wear you will get a water leak in to the bearing causing failure. Atleast half the dead pool pumps I have seen have been caused by this.

Steve B.

[B Thomas]

where do i get ceramic seal and is it hard to put in? my pump is making a loud whining noise. i was unable to shut it down for winter, my dad and husband have been very ill in hospital. i am very concerned because i cant leave it off in 0 degrees

[gfretwell]

The noise is probably a bearing. Replacing the seal is not that hard if you are familiar with taking pumps apart but the bearing will require a bearing puller. Usually you can pull the motor and moving pump parts out without disturbing the plumbing. At that point you can take that whole assembly to a pool store and have them fix it. Unfortunately most of the pool stores here will not replace bearings, they want to sell you a new motor. It is really not that hard but you need to understand a little about taking them apart without breaking anything.

[trader4]

Who leaves a pool open in winter climates where it gets to 0F? At those temps, I doubt running the pump is gonna avoid disaster. You'd probably need the heater running too and that would cost a fortune. And if the power goes out for even a few hours, then what? Winterize the system and close it for the winter.

[Danny D.]

I have a long thread on this, with tons of pictures.

I'll see if I can dig it up, but everything GFretwell said is on the mark.

You have two bearings, which are cheap (five bucks each or so). They're commodities. You can even get them at auto parts stores, but, the best price will be online (if you can wait for shipping).

Then you have one seal. Again, it's a commodity. You have a choice of two basic types, neither one of which matters in reality, especially for a typical chlorine pool. So, don't worry about the ceramic or rubber composition, at this stage in the game.

What matters is that both these things (bearings and seals) are commodities. The bearings are what makes the whining noise, but, you will rupture the seal when you take the pump apart (ask me how I know).

Each part will cost you about $5 if you shop around; but I've seen (and documented) seals at Sears for $45 alone! You really do NOT want to pay the price for seals at a Pool Store, but, if you really want it, then just get the seals from them.

In sort, the bearings are making the noise. It's easy for a homeowner to fix this. The only special tool is a cheap bearing puller and an even cheaper pipe to push the new bearing back on. Bearings are commodities (just get the same size & quality). Seals should be replaced whenever you open the pump up. Seals are also commodities. Again, just buy the same size and quality. If you have time, get both online. Otherwise, get bearings at auto parts stores and seals at the pool store.

Look up my huge threads on the topic for probably a hundred pictures or so including very detailed writeups about bearing quality, numbering system, R&R, etc.

[Danny D.]

BTW, I grease my pump shafts when installing new bearings, but other than that, I don't "oil" a pump motor (and I have lots and lots of them at my place).

You probably "could" silence whining bearings with oil, but, bearings cost less than a quart of motor oil does, so, why would you bother?

And, seals wouldn't make noise. They'd just leak.

[gfretwell]

... but not for long and why would you tear it down far enough to get oil in it and not replace the bearing? They pretty much all use a 6203 and there are 3 or 4 different seals that would cover almost all of them. Online is the way to go when buying these kinds of parts unless you are close to a real bearing store. The last time I ordered I got 10 bearings online for what 2 would have cost at a store, (I ended up getting 20) They also what they use in the aerators at the country club my wife manages. I end up fixing lots of motors.

[CRNG]

On Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:38:11 -0500, [e-mail] wrote in

Exactly.

[Dean Hoffman]

I wonder if a well service/plumbing shop would do the work for her at a reasonable cost.

[micky]

Someone whose father and husband are very ill in the hospital.

The others stuck to the topic and didnt' offer compassion, but neither did they offer sarcasm or criticism.

[trader4]

Do you even have any experience with a pool in freezing climates? It makes no sense to talk about changing a ceramic seal on a pool pump in 0F weather. In those climates you winterize the pool eqpt and you don't keep the pump running 24/7 in the hope that it will prevent something catastrophic from happening that could cost $10K or more to fix. If she can't drain and winterize it, then it's unlikely she's going to put in a ceramic seal in 0F weather and do it fast enough so that the eqpt doesn't freeze. If you call up any pool service pros, that is the answer you're going to get. They will tell you that they close pools for $300 and they do it in Sept or Oct in climates where it gets down to 0F. The electric bill will be a hell of a lot more than that to keep the pump running on the *chance* that it will keep a catastrophe from happening. In fact, if this post is real, then the sound being heard may very well not be a pump seal, but some freeze related disaster.

And you conveniently cut off my reply where I explained what to do:

"Who leaves a pool open in winter climates where it gets to 0F? At those temps, I doubt running the pump is gonna avoid disaster. You'd probably need the heater running too and that would cost a fortune. And if the power goes out for even a few hours, then what? Winterize the system and close it for the winter. "

I suppose if someone came in here and asked how to cook with gasoline in their kitchen, I should just stick to that and tell them how to do it. In fact, I suspect the post is probably a troll. You really are becoming the new village idiot.

[SteveF]

Comical how simple questions turn into bullshit tangents, here.

OP: This broke, can I fix it on the cheap?

NG: How did you let that happen, are you stupid or something? Doesn't matter, you are an idiot and I will now inform you of my brilliance and while doing so not provide a cheap alternative...oh, and you are an idiot and do you not know of my brilliance?

:-)

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm amazed how rapidly threads drift. Speaking of threads, wonder if the guy ever did find a chart of drill sizes for thread taps.

I took my Chicago / HF impact driver today on a call, but didn't get to use it to rattle threads loose.

Chicago and Drill Master batteries, not interchangable.

HF coupons sure can save a bit of money. They do have a store card, but it's not really required.

I like how the CE charger from HF blinks when charging. Lets me know when to take the battery off.

Honey, did you see my car keys? And my alzheimers pills? Stop screaming, I'm only a few feet off the road.

[trader4]

Do you have any experience with swimming pools in climates where it's now 0F in winter?

A: It's nuts to not winterize the pool eqpt and close the pool for a number of very good reasons. And it's hard to believe that someone living in that environment doesn't know it.

B: Trying to keep the pump running 24/7 when it's 0F out is very likely not going to be sufficient to prevent a disaster, you'd probably have to keep the pool heater on too. Just running the pump 24/7 is going to cost a couple hundred a month. If you run the heater too, now it could be thousands a month. And all that assumes you have power available constantly. If you lose power for a few hours, you're screwed big time, maybe $20K+ worth. I wouldn't be surprised that the real problem is something already freeze related, and not just a ceramic seal.

C: Which makes more sense? Some newbie who doesn't know what a ceramic pump seal is trying to take apart a pump when it's 0F? What exactly happens to the pool eqpt, while the pump is apart? How many hours does she have before everything freezes and she has a $20K disaster? How about she can't figure out how to get it back up and running, once it's apart. Or just winterize the freaking pool like the rest of the world? Winterizing it *is* the correct solution to the problem. If she doesn't believe me, she's free to call any pool company who will tell her the same thing.

I suspect the post is a troll. But for sure, you're another village idiot.

[Danny D.]

Whoa! Let's rein this horse in! :)

To the OP, I think you have two problems, only one of which I can help you (but the team can help with both).

PROBLEM 1: Winterizing a pool (it's 75 degrees here in California so I can't help you with that particular problem).

PROBLEM 2: Your pump is making noise

You really shouldn't have both of them at the same time, since they really are two different problems, so, I will decouple them from each other and ask the team to help you on the winterizing problem.

Meanwhile, on the pump noise problem, all of what I abbreviate below has been said so I'm just summarizing:

1. Pump is making noise; most likely it's the bearings.
2. The motor has two bearings. They're cheap. each.
3. The bearings have a number, e.g., 6203RS, on them.
4. Google for 6203RS & you'll see tons.
5. Replacing the bearings entails taking apart the motor.
6. Taking apart the motor entails opening the pump.
7. Opening the pump entails replacing the pump seal.
8. The seal is also cheap, about to each.
9. Pump seals are specific to the pump, but ubiquitous.
10. Google for ps-200 pump seal for example.
11. Ceramic or not, it doesn't matter all that much.

My recommendation?

You have three choices:

1. Call a repair guy to come to your pool & fix it. Cost? Dunno. Never did that. Maybe 0?
2. Bring the motor to a motor repair shop & bring the pump plate to a pool shop and let them fix it. Cost? Dunno. Maybe about 0?
3. Do it yourself. Cost is about for tools if you don't already have them. Then about to for the pump seal and about the same for two bearings. So, about .

$50 or $100 or $200 are your three options, as I see it, depending on how much work you want to do yourself.

[Danny D.]

I'm unfamiliar with winterizing, as, all I do to winterize my pool is drain the solar heating panels.

What, in very general simple terms, do people do to winterize a pool in freezing climes?