Is there a pool pump fitting adapter to stop this incessant leak?

The entire setup is problematic and verrrrrry frustrating!

Half the time I can't even get to the wires inside the motor simply because the covers are frozen rusted on!

Here you see my last 3 (failed) attempts at removing the cover!

The other half the time, the cover comes off, but that super frustrating 90 degree 1" to 1/2" elbow requires you to spin the entire motor just to get the darn thing off!

I'm running off to Home Depot now ... does this look like a decent supply list for the electrical connections?

A. 3 feet of ½" conduit

Linking to the toilet-bowl cleaning thread, I'm actually considering dumping the entire pump in a pool of muriatic acid - but I'm plumb out of it at the moment.

I'll pick up four more gallons today of the HCl.

What do you think of me dumping the pool pump in it? I don't see any metal in the pump body.

I'm thinking that it's two joints to go bad, instead of just one.

Yeah, that's true. But properly done, the probability of a PVC joint leaking is extremely low. I can't think of a single one I've done that has leaked. The alternative, wasting God knows how much time looking for a fitting that avoids one more joint doesn't seem very appealing.

I'm considering dumping you in there.....

I promise I'll wear gloves (nitrile!).

:)

To that end, yesterday I bought the following based on that advice:

He said it's 12 gauge which is fine

Hard to tell from the pic. The wire size combinations they are good for should be on the package

I noticed that too. He needs enough to bond the motors back to the rest of the pool metal, ie keep the existing bond system intact. Rest of the stuff looks fine.

On another issue, he seems to be having problems removing the 90 conduit elbow from the motor. From what he's describing, ie having to rotate the motor to remove it, I'm wondering if instead of being fastened with a locknut, the motor case has threads in it and it's actually screwed into the motor case?

quoted text -

He's posted a lot of pics. Does that mean you've seen the nut in the pics? I would think using a nut would be the typical connection method, for obvious reasons. But if there is a nut, I don't understand why he says he has to rotate the motor to get the elbow off.

Thanks for doublechecking for me.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to get stranded, but, the existing wire is apparently 10AWG stranded - so that's why I got the same for the extension wire.

Here's a shot of the existing wires I took just now:

You'll notice that I need to cut off about 6 inches because they're all busted up from spinning the motor and tugging them through the tiny restriction of the 1/2 inch to 1 inch elbow.

You'll see that the darn wires, with the connectors crimped on, do not fit in the half-inch elbow easily - but that's the size of the pump opening - so not much can be done about it I guess.

Thanks for doublechecking as I've never done 220 volt wiring before - and this is the largest diameter wire I've ever done.

Here's a closeup of the package I just snapped to clarify:

It "says": 20AWG to 10AWG, Medium Direct Bury Waterproof Connectors

Of course, I could have gotten just regular wire nuts; but I figured these were better (what I really expected was that there was some kind of bolted down connection sort of like there is in a fuse panel).

Ah, thanks for asking as I hadn't mentioned it, but, you actually noticed it's not there.

I appreciate that you're thinking of what's to come!

Since I'm not sure where the pumps will actually end up, I figured I'd get that solid wire last since it's not a "functional" requirement. (Yes, I know, it's a safety requirement - so what I'll do is clamp to the existing bonding wire when testing or more likely - I'll run with the dark horses & just stay a few feet away while testing.)

I don't have the experience to have known to describe the difference, in advance anyway - but what you say is exactly what's happening! Gimme a sec to snap a photo to show what I mean, on the last three motors that were hooked to these very same wires:

The existing 90 degree 1/2" to 1" elbow is fantastically difficult to remove, such that the wires get all twisted and the insulation cracked so badly that I had to put wire goop on them where they go into the conduit (see circled area in this picture):

So, I plan on slicing the 1" conduit a couple inches back, and removing all the cracked wire and then putting the junction box down at that point.

You'll also notice I bought straight-through conduit connectors as I'm done with 90 degree elbows!

Is there a better way?

That settles it. There are threads in the motor housing. So, you're right, it makes it a PITA to remove.

It sounds like a reaonable approach to me.

But if it were me, I'd probably get out a 1/2"+ drill, ream out those threads and use a locknut to secure the elbow to the motor. Then I'd use a straight run of conduit back to the timer box. But, I have those drills :) In your situation, nothing wrong with what you're doing.

It took me a while to snap the pictures for you (see below).

There is no nut.

The darn elbow drove me crazy for a total of six motors so far (the first three are shown below):

Here's the problem:

1. You can't get the motor endcap off half the time so you can't even disconnect the wires in the first place due to the bolts rusting in place (why they use standard steel bolts on outdoor motors is beyond my comprehension).

Here are four "extra" motor caps, for example, from past motors I tried to extricate from the plumbing:

1. When you finally get the motor endcap off, and disconnect the three 10AWG wires, you can't easily get them through the restrictive 90 degree 1/2 to 1" elbow due to the size of the crimped on spade & lug connectors.

Here's the filter pump with the 90 degree elbow attached:

Luckily, the spa jet pump has a straight-through fitting:

Is there a better way than the straight through connectors that I bought at Home Depot?

I'm actually afraid of touching the control panel.

In fact, I do need to disassemble it to find the darn fireman switch to the heater (which is throwing an "open fault code").

But that's for another day ...

I'll say it bluntly that fear of the unknown is my reason. I'm afraid of touching anything in the $$$ control box. Someday I'll have to tackle it though, because I can't find the darn heater fireman switch - but that's for a later day ...

By the way, the motor cleaned up instantly with the muriatic acid. I was shocked how the deposits just frizzled away. (muuuuch quicker than with the toilet bowl deposits!)

Here's the motor being doused with the acid (outside!).

Notice the instantaneous action on the concrete:

Dousing with the hose washed almost all the deposits off:

Nope. It's threaded on in such a way as to make the job of removing it downright despicable.

I apologize that I caused confusion by not posting pictures taken earlier which showed the inside of the motor housing better. I just didn't know enough to clarify earlier.

Here's a sequence of closeup pictures I had taken a few days ago when I had removed the 1/2" to 1" 90 degree elbow:

1. With the endcap removed, you might be able to see that there is no nut on the inside of the motor:
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2. This closeup might show the inside a bit better:
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3. Even worse, in this picture, you can see that it's nearly impossible to get the three crimped-connector very stiff stranded wires out that teeeny tiny hole!
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4. The result is that I have to remove the motor to get any room at all to spin the 90 degree elbow off:
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I curse the guys who put it together in the first place. The good news is that the straight through connector "should" eliminate the need to spin the motor; and the junction box "should" allow me to remove the motor even when the endcaps bolts rust through.

BTW, what do you suggest I put on the endcap steel bolts so that they DON'T RUST solid?

i use anti-seize on things i want to unscrew at a later date. i've used this on steel and brass screws and setscrews on my grinders and tile saw, which are underwater all the time. it comes in a small tube or bottle. you can get it at automotive stores easily.

Hmmm... Lately I've been oiling them, to prevent rust, but I hadn't thought of the anti-seize paste (which I have a lot of from my automotive efforts).

I never thought of anti-seize as "anti rust". But it sounds like it should work!

i don't care if the outside rusts. i care if the threads or head rust to the other metal parts.

oil tends to dry out over time. antiseize is designed to not do so.