Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

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bareyes
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Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby bareyes » Wed 18 Feb, 2009 13:25

Hi, Please help. We've had a lot of rain lately and all of a sudden, my pool pump keeps tripping on the main breaker every 30 minutes. any ideas on what causes this problem and how to resolve it?


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Larry
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Re: Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby Larry » Tue 24 Feb, 2009 12:29

It sounds like your pump is drawing more current than it did previously.

If you think the problem might be related to the rain, then consider this:
  • the pump's motor or bearings have begun to rust causing the motor to strain
  • the circuit breaker or thermal overload protector may be short circuiting because of water or corrosion
  • debris from the rains has worked its way into the pump's impeller housing, causing the motor to overwork
guest

Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby guest » Wed 01 Apr, 2009 13:35

Just a thought as mine used to do the same- it would trip after running for a short while.... check to make sure the wires attached to your breaker are VERY well connected. My electrical engineer uncle was visiting when the breaker tripped, so he took the breaker out and turned the screws holding the wires at tight as he could get them. They had not been noticably loose, but he tightened them down as hard as he could. This squashes the wires providing more surface contact area for a better connection. That was 2 years ago and it hasn't tripped since.
Tobert
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Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby Tobert » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 03:21

I just got my pool and also just found these forums.

I'm currently in the middle of a huge project to replace all the wiring to my pool because the old ones rotted out and started tripping the (ancient GE 15 amp) breaker. I should have said "breakers" there, but apparently a crafty electrician rewired the booster pump to run off the same leads as the main pump when the booster's wires shorted out somewhere underground. The wires were run through metal conduit and I'm told that Phoenix has some of the highest soil acidity in the country and eats conduit in a couple years.

If the previous more likely and cheaper suggestions don't work, you might need to test the power leads for shorts. You'll need to check for both grounding and cross-lead shorts. In my case, I think the wire had rotted away to the point where resistance would go up after running for a bit and the breaker would throw. I'm lucky I didn't burn the pump up.

If you have no idea how to do this, find somebody who does. 220 volts AC (or even 110 for that matter) is not something to be trifled with.

I should be able to finish the installation tomorrow with all-new wiring for both pumps and the lighting. The new wire is going into 1" PVC conduit, so it should last much longer this time. That reminds me, I should get the camera out ...
not a pool guy

Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby not a pool guy » Sat 02 May, 2009 08:29

My answer may not help you specifically but I'm posting to help others searching this answer too. I recently installed a spare pump I had in my shed for 3 years, it ran for about 5 seconds and then would trip the breaker. I called an electric motor shop and they graciously agreed to do a service call, thank God. So no disconnecting the motor and pump for a bench test. They cleaned the points and it was good to go. Seems that the points were sticking and causing the motor to want to stay in it's initial "rev it up" mode to get the motor up to speed. This was causing the motor to draw too much amperage for too long, tripping the breaker. Hope this help, let's go swimming...
Guest

Pool pump breaker keeps tripping

Postby Guest » Fri 21 Aug, 2009 14:03

I had the same problem. After reading this post I check the wiring leading to the circut breaker and noticed that it had overheated and no longer had a good contact. I reconnected the wiring to the circut breaker which fixed the problem.

Thanks for the tip.

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