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Thread: Pool pump electrical cord

  1. #1
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    Pool pump electrical cord

    My daughter's pool pump, which was hard wired, failed due to exposure to weather over the winter after several years. We are going to purchase a new pump today 1-1/2 Hp. I would like to make the new pump removable with a cord and plug. What type of plug and what size wire cord should I use to connect it to the electrical panel that is located just 4 feet away from the pump location. It will be running on 220.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  2. #2
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    Lee,

    While running at full load, the pump you described will draw between 8 and 10 amps at 220 volts. Purchase cable that is rated for at least 15 amps (14 AWG) to allow for the surge when the motor is started. If the pump has a ground wire, your connectors and extension cable should carry that connection to a verified ground point. The cable and connectors should all be suitable for use in damp locations and connections should be raised off of the ground.
    (Look up Hubbell watertight or Leviton Wetguard series)

    Be sure that the receptacle is protected by a ground fault interrupter - either within the receptacle or at the circuit breaker.

  3. #3
    That you asked the questions you did tells me you don't have sufficient knowledge about electrical systems to ensure a safe installation. And that you came to a woodworking forum to ask for electrical help supports that belief. Any electrical power feeding pool equipment must be installed properly or people can die. You may feel tampering with the new pump is justified but I suggest you at least call your local inspector and ask what you asked here. Sorry for the scolding but I take things like this seriously. I've seen too many installations that were DIY and on the brink of failure, and hurting somebody, just because they wanted to save a few bucks. You don't want to have to accept that kind of blame. Do it right. Call in a professional. Please.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  4. #4
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    We were able to locate an identical replacement motor and installed it exactly the way the old one was.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 05-25-2015 at 6:21 PM.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    We were able to locate an identical replacement motor and installed it exactly the way the old one was.
    Good call, Lee.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    Good call, Lee.
    I agree. For a permanently installed pump, no reason to put a plug in the wire which would be subject o corrosion over the years in an outdoor environment. Last thing you want is for the ground pin for any pool equipment to corrode and loose effectiveness.

    Well, that being said, I did install a twist lock on my elevated spa so I didn't have to worry about the heater getting turned on in the winter with no water in it. But the plug is well protected from water under the raised deck and fed from a dedicated GCFI in the breaker panel. 20 amp 110 v version, slow to heat but still working after 20 years. Before I plug it in for the season I put a bit of dialectic grease on the prongs. It sure beats the old 20 amp straight pong plug with built in GCFI that came with it and literally burned up within 2 years. I've wired a few 50 amp 220 v spas and they always get hard wired with conduit and the appropriate GCFI breaker.
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 05-26-2015 at 7:53 AM.
    NOW you tell me...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    Well, that being said, I did install a twist lock on my elevated spa so I didn't have to worry about the heater getting turned on in the winter with no water in it. But the plug is well protected from water under the raised deck and fed from a dedicated GCFI in the breaker panel. 20 amp 110 v version, slow to heat but still working after 20 years. Before I plug it in for the season I put a bit of dialectic grease on the prongs. It sure beats the old 20 amp straight pong plug with built in GCFI that came with it and literally burned up within 2 years. I've wired a few 50 amp 220 v spas and they always get hard wired with conduit and the appropriate GCFI breaker.
    I had a spa installed once and the electrician insisted that there had to be a disconnect located within a certain distance from any spa and outside the splash zone. There is also a dedicated breaker at the main panel. There are lots of ways to shut off power without adding a plug. At least that is the way they are installed in California.

    Steve

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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post
    I had a spa installed once and the electrician insisted that there had to be a disconnect located within a certain distance from any spa and outside the splash zone. There is also a dedicated breaker at the main panel. There are lots of ways to shut off power without adding a plug. At least that is the way they are installed in California.

    Steve
    When I installed my Hot Springs spa 20 years ago it was intended to be installed with a receptacle on a dedicated 110 v 20 amp circuit, with the plug out of the splash zone. As stated it was delivered with a GCFI plug. I don't know if the code or the manufacturer's recommendations have changed since then.
    NOW you tell me...

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    When I installed my Hot Springs spa 20 years ago it was intended to be installed with a receptacle on a dedicated 110 v 20 amp circuit, with the plug out of the splash zone. As stated it was delivered with a GCFI plug. I don't know if the code or the manufacturer's recommendations have changed since then.
    We have a Hot Springs we bought in 1994. I had to run rigid conduit from the dedicated panel to the tub (with sealtite on the last 2'), pull a ground wire through through the rigid pipe and install a jumper wire across the sealtite. The inspector was also considering having me install a ground rod at the tub but after some "conversation" about all the redundancy, he "let me slide". I've done commercial installations that had lesser grounding requirements.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post
    I had a spa installed once and the electrician insisted that there had to be a disconnect located within a certain distance from any spa and outside the splash zone.
    With all due respect, because I wouldn't want their jobs:

    I've come to my own conclusion that electrical code is pretty much the same as IRS rules: Nobody actually knows them. Whenever I've had a question about what will work and what won't for a certain electrical situation, not once have I ever found any group of electricians agreeing on the answer. As an example, ask a half dozen electricians if it's okay to run romex thru conduit along a sheetrocked garage wall. You'll get 3 yes's, 3 no's, and 12 reasons why...
    ========================================
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    When I installed my Hot Springs spa 20 years ago it was intended to be installed with a receptacle on a dedicated 110 v 20 amp circuit, with the plug out of the splash zone. As stated it was delivered with a GCFI plug. I don't know if the code or the manufacturer's recommendations have changed since then.
    My installation was for a hardwired 220V spa at 30A or 40A. The small portable spas with 110V plugs have much looser requirements.

    Steve

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    I've come to my own conclusion that electrical code is pretty much the same as IRS rules: Nobody actually knows them. Whenever I've had a question about what will work and what won't for a certain electrical situation, not once have I ever found any group of electricians agreeing on the answer. As an example, ask a half dozen electricians if it's okay to run romex thru conduit along a sheetrocked garage wall. You'll get 3 yes's, 3 no's, and 12 reasons why...
    It's not that nobody knows the codes (some guys in my local practically memorize them), it's the fact that there are certain situations that no one can predict the outcome and yet so few professed experts will admit that. The codes are nothing more than a guideline. They send you in the right direction but they never guarantee that if you follow the codes, you get a certain result, every time.

    I liken the mastery of electricity to being more like the practice of medicine. This works for that patient but makes another patient worse. I have yet to see anyone predict some of the bizarre outcomes I have seen where "electricity will do what it will." After the fact, everyone is an expert, and they will beat their chest professing their electrical genius. But there was nothing in any book, or any paper, or any research that cautioned that particular bizarre incident would actually occur. The reasons are, there are too many parameters and we don't have all the data.

    It's a practice.

    We believe we can completely control the flow of electricity. We can't. We can do a pretty good job, but we're not there yet. Nikola Tesla, we're not. BTW, he's my Buddha, my Gandhi, my hero.

    I've worked with some pretty smart people, some have doctorate degrees, some are just plain geniuses, and some simply design photon accelerators. I've asked them all. The answer is the same. "We dabble in the practice of electricity."

    I'm okay with that.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    With all due respect, because I wouldn't want their jobs:

    I've come to my own conclusion that electrical code is pretty much the same as IRS rules: Nobody actually knows them. Whenever I've had a question about what will work and what won't for a certain electrical situation, not once have I ever found any group of electricians agreeing on the answer. As an example, ask a half dozen electricians if it's okay to run romex thru conduit along a sheetrocked garage wall. You'll get 3 yes's, 3 no's, and 12 reasons why...
    Kev

    The "code", as Julie will tell you, is a set of guidelines and instruction for the safe installation of an electrical subsystem.
    In the 70's when I was going through school, it was taught that the code exists to protect the integrity of the conductor.

    The code also has to marry in and conform to BOCA, Building codes, and each area of the US can have BOCA rules that effect and dictate the installation of wiring based on geographic region. An electrician in California, will give you a different answer to the same question as an electrician in say Chicago. Why? BOCA. Both are correct, and neither is wrong.
    I will promise you that any licensed, experienced, electrician, knows the codes that are applicable to their particular area(s) of work. They may not know them all, but they know where to get the answers, and have a good general idea. If their telling you to do something in a particular manner, it's because it is probably safer, and they know the inspection requirements in their area.

    Add into this that some areas are on different code revisions, and the answers can be even broader in interpretation and application, and everyone can be correct.
    It can get confusing fast.

    I gave up my license in the early 90's, and only do my own work now. Back then you had to keep up with your hours, and I couldn't do that because I had a full time job and couldn't get them in. Now it seems you only have to pay to take a test each year to keep your license active.

    As for the question of Romex in conduit; Give US Wire, or SouthWire, a call and ask them about it.
    (I don't know why you would want to run Romex in metal conduit, or use metal conduit, along a finished wall myself. There's a much easier way to do it. )
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

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