December 9, 2025 • 18 mins
Electricity and water don’t forgive small mistakes. We walk through the real hazards hiding at the equipment pad and show how two simple safeguards—proper bonding and a working GFCI—stop shocks, fires, and scary surprises before they start. From tracing that lone copper wire to pressing the GFCI test button, we share the steps pros use daily and the stories that make those habits stick.
You’ll hear why a missing bonding lug can turn a wet pad into a danger zone, how stray voltage creates that telltale tingling in the water, and where older deck hardware can still bite. We break down what GFCI protection actually does in milliseconds, how to test it, and when to call an electrician. We also unpack rare but real failure chains—bad capacitors, overheating motors, and tired breakers—that can end in a burned-up pump, plus the quick checks that break that chain long before it gets hot.
• why bonding prevents stray voltage and shocks
• where to find the bonding lug and wire
• how wet pads and old deck plates add risk
• what a GFCI does and how to test it
• rare fire chains from capacitor and breaker failure
• warning signs of overheating motors
• dry-running pumps, boiling water, and burn risks
• safe handling and discharge of capacitors
• the minimal safety checklist for every service call
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Hey, welcome to the Pool Bay Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about pool pump
safety.
I'll go over things like bondingand some other typical hazards
around the pool pump they mayrun into.
It's a pretty safe part of theequipment, but there can be some
hazards associated with the poolpump itself.
(01:25):
Are you a pool service prolooking to take your business to
the next level?
Join the pool guy coachingprogram.
Get expert advice, businesstips, exclusive content, and get
direct support from me.
I'm a 35-year veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atswimmingpoollearning.com.
Probably the number one thingyou're going to find is improper
(01:47):
bonding of the pool pump.
Specifically, there is a bondinglug on the motor itself.
A lot of times someone willinstall the new motor or they'll
change out the pump, but theywon't reconnect the bonding
wire.
Sometimes the bonding wire getscut somehow.
It happens around the pool area.
Not exactly sure sometimes howthat happens.
(02:09):
Sometimes they snap too, andthis would cause a bit of a
problem.
Mainly is hazardous when thepool and equipment are pretty
close together within 20 or 30feet of each other.
And typically you're going tohave a problem with stray
electrical currents.
So basically, the bonding of thepump is to connect all the metal
(02:34):
components of the systemtogether.
The pump, the heater, any handrail rails, these are all
continuous electrical.
This is a continuous electricalnetwork, and this present
prevents voltage and potentialshocking.
You know, if you don't if youdon't have it bonded correctly,
(02:55):
you can actually feel theelectrical current in the pool
sometimes, but more or less youcan get shocked also by touching
the metal part of equipmentthat's not bonded correctly.
Not something that is supercommon, but it does happen with
unbonded equipment, and that'swhy it's important to have
(03:15):
everything bonded.
Typically, when they build it,the bonding grid is underground.
You don't see it, and it'susually connected.
Of course, the pump's connectedto the heater, other let other
metal equipment is connectedtogether to that, and then it
goes underground, and then it'sconnected usually somewhere by
(03:37):
the pool structure itself.
You can create a secondarybonding, it can be done, and you
can look it up and kind offigure that out.
But basically, when you see thepool pump in the equipment area,
there should be a bonding lug,and then you'll see the copper
(04:01):
bonding wire going to the poolpump, connecting to the heater,
and then going somewhereunderground, and you could
pretty much be you can prettymuch rest assured that that is a
properly bonded pool pump andit's not going to cause any
problems.
I did know of a person in mychurch who actually was doing
(04:22):
some work on his own equipment,and the pump was unbonded, and
there was a puddle of water bythe equipment, and he was
actually standing in it withtennis shoes, and when he
touched the equipment, heactually got a big enough jolt
that actually knocked him down,and he got injured from the
shock of that.
And so it can happen, you know,with water around there,
(04:45):
touching something unbonded,there's potential for a pretty
good, you know, jolt ofelectricity that could actually
knock you down.
I think what happens he pulledback really fast, and that made
him fall over and get hurt andum get shocked pretty badly.
So that can happen.
So don't think that it being onthe bonded, in most cases,
(05:05):
you'll just get like a pins andneedle sensation when you touch
something that's not bonded.
In the pool itself, I didmention you can actually feel
the electricity in there.
Someone was at the pool show nottoo long ago.
They had this device, mainlythey would use it in ports where
there's boats docked there, andif you're swimming in that area,
(05:25):
you would know if there's strayvoltage.
I should look up the device, butit was pretty cool.
You can actually put it in thepool and you can see if there's
any electrical current insidethe water itself.
You may feel some, you know, alittle bit of tingling in the
pool, or when you touch therailing, you know, you may feel
a little get a little bit of aelectrical buzz there, and or a
(05:48):
small shock stepping on thedeck.
What's funny is back in the dayyou may have a pool like this
still on your route, but a lotof times they would put the all
the electrical connectors to thepool light on the deck
underneath this metal plate, andprobably not the best setup for
a pool area.
But if you are servicing anolder pool and you do see like
(06:11):
this little metal circle plate,it's probably the size of a
drain, basically, but it's asolid metal piece.
Underneath there is thecomponents for the the pool
light, and sometimes when thedeck is wet, people are walking
on it, wet feet, they'll step onthat and they'll actually get a
shock from that.
I've heard of that happening aswell.
(06:32):
So there can't be stray voltageeverywhere, so just make sure
that especially the pump is pumpand motor are bonded, so that if
you are working on it and youare working around it with
water, that you won't getshocked.
Normally, if it's bonded, youcan touch it and not worry about
(06:53):
it.
You can walk back there whenit's raining, and it's not going
to cause any kind of problems.
The other another thing would bethe GFCI.
Now, most modern pools, if notall of them, now have a GFCI
that's connected.
It's it's going to allow thepower to be cut immediately when
(07:15):
there's a problem with the pumpitself within milliseconds.
And you probably had this happenin your kitchen, and you have
you probably have this in yourbathroom.
So if you're like, if you're I'mjust gonna give you like a movie
type worst case scenario, ifyou're in your bathroom and your
your sink is full of water forwhatever reason, and you're
using a hairdryer, and you dropit into the sink and you're
(07:40):
holding on to it, the GFCI willkill the power to that entire
circuit before you have a lethalwell, potentially it's supposed
to happen.
I wouldn't try this or test it,before you have a lethal uh jolt
and it is continuously comingthrough because nothing is
turning off the circuit.
So the GFCI, as you can imagine,with that scenario, for the pool
(08:04):
pump, if there is an electricalshort or problem with it, the
GFCI is the first line ofdefense for that system not
having a continuous kind of opencircuit giving it power when
there is a problem with it thatcould potentially cause a fire.
Now I've only had two pumps inthe history I've been doing pool
(08:26):
service that have actuallycaught on fire and burned up.
I wasn't there when it happened,but I have told the story before
of one of them where theneighbor saw this the fire, the
the the brush around the poolcould catch on fire, and he
called the fire department.
And the failure there was thefact that the motor got really
(08:48):
hot, it was overheating.
The initial failure would be thecapacitor that would cut off the
power to the motor that did notwork, and so the motor kept
getting power, and then the GFCIwas faulty, so it wasn't
tripping, and it went all theway to the breaker of the house,
which when it got theovercurrent, the breaker did not
(09:11):
trip because it was a really oldbreaker system, and the breakers
were pretty much worn out, theywere not effective, and it just
got hotter and hotter, and thenthe motor caught on fire
basically and burned it, burnedup pretty badly.
Also burned the filter and itburned the automated system that
was attached to it.
The fire department put it out,luckily.
(09:32):
The other time I saw a motorcatch on fire, or after the
fact, I don't know exactly whathappened to it, but I think it
also had a failure.
It was a fairly new motor aswell, pump and motor.
So there was some kind of again,triple failure, and that can
happen, but it's somethingthat's pretty rare.
(09:53):
So the GFCI is there so thatit'll cut the power immediately
if there's a problem with thepump overheating or causing a
surge of electricity, and that'sthe first line of defense by the
equipment.
So it should have an operatingGFCI.
You can test them, you know,there's a test button, and if
you're testing it, it doesn'treset.
(10:14):
I would, of course, have anelectrician right away go out
there, and usually that's tiedinto the pool lights as well, so
it can become a dangeroussituation if the GFCI is not
working at the equipment pad,and I would have an electrician
again be out there right away tocheck that and to get the GFCI
replaced so that you don't haveany kind of catastrophic
(10:35):
failure.
And like anything, these motorsdo go bad.
You know, they may have failureof the insulate insulation, not
installation, insulation.
The wiring, of course, can archas they get older.
And without the GFCI, it's adangerous situation that
eventually could lead to a fire.
Like I mentioned, you know, thecurrent could also energize the
(10:57):
the bonding grid to a pointwhere there's a danger.
And of course, if you go backthere and it's wet, and there's
a major electrical problem withthe current arching that could
cause a potential dangerousshock to you.
So those are two things that Ithink always need to be checked
(11:19):
and working at the equipmentpad, the GFCI, make sure that's
working, and the bonding is alsoimportant at the equipment area.
In most cases, you'll never havea problem with the electricity
or getting shocked if everythingis working correctly.
But these two instances wherethere have been fires at my
(11:40):
accounts should be a reminderthat this potentially can
happen, and you've probably hadsomething similar happen at your
service accounts.
Normally, if everything'sworking, the GFCI will cut power
to the pump and everything willjust stop working, basically.
Pool lights also, if there'swater in the light, it'll kill
the GFCI.
Usually it'll trip it andthat'll turn the pool light off
(12:02):
as well.
A couple hazards that you don'treally think about too much, and
this usually happens on theolder pumps, the older single
speed pumps, is that when it isgetting ready to burn out, or
when you're having when it'shaving some issues, maybe the
bearings are wearing out, thatpump, the pump motor part gets
actually extremely hot to thetouch.
(12:23):
And I've heard of people burningthemselves on it.
Definitely, you know, there'sbeen people that have been
injured from it getting superhot, so that does happen.
And I've personally felt somethat have been extremely hot,
you know, thermal overload orthe windings are overheating,
the metal shell can be extremelyhot.
So just be aware of that, also.
(12:44):
That you don't want to be justrandomly touching the back of
the motor, especially if younotice that the motor is getting
really hot, and if you noticethat the pump is making weird
noises or the motor is makingweird noises, be aware that can
be hot to the touch.
Here's another caution as well,and this has happened to me out
there.
Sometimes the water level getslow in the pool and the pump is
(13:08):
running dry.
So you'll get to the you get tothe service account, you'll go
back there.
For some reason, this hashappened to me a couple times,
and both have been PentaWhisperflow pumps.
So there's no correlation there,it's just that that's the two
times this has happened.
So I get back there, the pump'sbeen running dry for quite a
while, and the system has beenon for a few hours.
(13:29):
I'll go to take the pump lid offto prime it.
So I turn the system off, I'llhit the lid to get it off, and
really, really hot boiling waterwill come gushing up over the
top of the lid.
Now, fortunately, and this issomething that I really
recommend you do as well.
I wear these nitro gloves that Iget on Amazon.
(13:49):
They're really great for whenyou're doing repairs and working
around chemicals, but they alsowill prevent you from being
scorched and burned.
In this instance, I was wearingmy gloves so I didn't get
burned, but this water actuallykind of boiled out and came over
the top of the pump when I gotthe lid out, lit off because it
was just super hot in there.
So there is a lot of heatgenerated by the pump and motor,
(14:12):
and if there's no water beingpulled, the water inside the
pump itself can get super hot.
Now, another thing that happenedat these pumps is when I took
the pump basket out, it wasreally tiny, like a little
shrunken head that you see inyou know in the cannibals, you
know, they'll shrink heads downand warm around their neck.
This pump pot, this pump basketlooked just like that.
(14:34):
It was totally shrunken andmelted from the heat.
So be aware that is a dangerwhen the pump overheats if it's
running dry.
When you're removing that pumplid, be aware that really
boiling hot water can come outof that and burn your hands.
So, again, not something that'ssuper common, but something that
can happen out there.
(14:55):
Everything I'm telling you herehas happened to me personally,
so it could happen to you aswell.
And I'm sure not many of you hadthis happen to you, but you can
actually have a capacitorexplode or pop.
A star capacitor can do that, ora run capacitor.
I've had this happen before tome.
I think the worst one was whereI had this happen where the pool
(15:18):
pump was up against a brickwall, and when I went to go turn
on the pump, the capacitorpopped, but the noise was so
loud because it kind of vibratedoff the wall that it hurt my
ears, and so this can happen aswell, too.
So just be aware that acapacitor, if there is a surge,
can actually pop and explode,and this can also happen when
(15:38):
you're going to replace itbecause the capacitor does store
energy, so you want to becareful when you're replacing
these, also it can give you apretty good shock, too.
I haven't had this happen to me,but I've heard of people having
this happen where the capacitordoes still have an electrical
current there, and so you candischarge capacitor with an
(16:01):
insulated screwdriver across theterminals, and you can also they
also sell a uh resistordischarge tool that you can also
uh use.
Just avoid touching theterminals directly, and you
know, usually the capacitordoesn't have any power at that
point, but sometimes they dohave stored power, so just be
aware that there is some storedpotential electrical power still
(16:25):
in the capacitor, even if youhave the pool pump off or if you
think the capacitor is bad, thatcan still happen.
But yeah, these are all kind ofthings that can happen around
the pump to be aware of that Iwould consider to be on the
dangerous side of things.
Pool service is relatively safe,but of course, components can
malfunction, and if you don'thave the proper safety
(16:48):
mechanisms like bonding and aGFCI, it can potentially be a
very dangerous situation backthere.
And of course, these rareinstances where things pop and
explode do happen as well.
I've had a um what is it, runcapacitor explode in the back of
a pump as well, right in frontof the customer when I went to
go turn on the pump, he wasstanding next to me, and I was
(17:10):
we were just talking about howhow old this equipment was
getting, and I went to go turnit on, and it actually popped,
and then flame started comingout of the back of the motor,
which was pretty cool and apretty easy sell for me.
That yes, you need a new motorat this point.
If you're looking for otherpodcasts, you can find those on
my website, swimming poollearning, swimming
(17:30):
poollearning.com on the banner.
Click on the podcast icon.
That'll take you to a drop downmenu of uh 1800 podcasts for you
there as well.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program, you can learn
more at PoolguyCoaching.com.
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have you rest of your week andGod bless.
Hey, welcome to the Pool Bay Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about pool pump
safety.
I'll go over things like bondingand some other typical hazards
around the pool pump they mayrun into.
It's a pretty safe part of theequipment, but there can be some
hazards associated with the poolpump itself.
(01:25):
Are you a pool service prolooking to take your business to
the next level?
Join the pool guy coachingprogram.
Get expert advice, businesstips, exclusive content, and get
direct support from me.
I'm a 35-year veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atswimmingpoollearning.com.
Probably the number one thingyou're going to find is improper
(01:47):
bonding of the pool pump.
Specifically, there is a bondinglug on the motor itself.
A lot of times someone willinstall the new motor or they'll
change out the pump, but theywon't reconnect the bonding
wire.
Sometimes the bonding wire getscut somehow.
It happens around the pool area.
Not exactly sure sometimes howthat happens.
(02:09):
Sometimes they snap too, andthis would cause a bit of a
problem.
Mainly is hazardous when thepool and equipment are pretty
close together within 20 or 30feet of each other.
And typically you're going tohave a problem with stray
electrical currents.
So basically, the bonding of thepump is to connect all the metal
(02:34):
components of the systemtogether.
The pump, the heater, any handrail rails, these are all
continuous electrical.
This is a continuous electricalnetwork, and this present
prevents voltage and potentialshocking.
You know, if you don't if youdon't have it bonded correctly,
(02:55):
you can actually feel theelectrical current in the pool
sometimes, but more or less youcan get shocked also by touching
the metal part of equipmentthat's not bonded correctly.
Not something that is supercommon, but it does happen with
unbonded equipment, and that'swhy it's important to have
(03:15):
everything bonded.
Typically, when they build it,the bonding grid is underground.
You don't see it, and it'susually connected.
Of course, the pump's connectedto the heater, other let other
metal equipment is connectedtogether to that, and then it
goes underground, and then it'sconnected usually somewhere by
(03:37):
the pool structure itself.
You can create a secondarybonding, it can be done, and you
can look it up and kind offigure that out.
But basically, when you see thepool pump in the equipment area,
there should be a bonding lug,and then you'll see the copper
(04:01):
bonding wire going to the poolpump, connecting to the heater,
and then going somewhereunderground, and you could
pretty much be you can prettymuch rest assured that that is a
properly bonded pool pump andit's not going to cause any
problems.
I did know of a person in mychurch who actually was doing
(04:22):
some work on his own equipment,and the pump was unbonded, and
there was a puddle of water bythe equipment, and he was
actually standing in it withtennis shoes, and when he
touched the equipment, heactually got a big enough jolt
that actually knocked him down,and he got injured from the
shock of that.
And so it can happen, you know,with water around there,
(04:45):
touching something unbonded,there's potential for a pretty
good, you know, jolt ofelectricity that could actually
knock you down.
I think what happens he pulledback really fast, and that made
him fall over and get hurt andum get shocked pretty badly.
So that can happen.
So don't think that it being onthe bonded, in most cases,
(05:05):
you'll just get like a pins andneedle sensation when you touch
something that's not bonded.
In the pool itself, I didmention you can actually feel
the electricity in there.
Someone was at the pool show nottoo long ago.
They had this device, mainlythey would use it in ports where
there's boats docked there, andif you're swimming in that area,
(05:25):
you would know if there's strayvoltage.
I should look up the device, butit was pretty cool.
You can actually put it in thepool and you can see if there's
any electrical current insidethe water itself.
You may feel some, you know, alittle bit of tingling in the
pool, or when you touch therailing, you know, you may feel
a little get a little bit of aelectrical buzz there, and or a
(05:48):
small shock stepping on thedeck.
What's funny is back in the dayyou may have a pool like this
still on your route, but a lotof times they would put the all
the electrical connectors to thepool light on the deck
underneath this metal plate, andprobably not the best setup for
a pool area.
But if you are servicing anolder pool and you do see like
(06:11):
this little metal circle plate,it's probably the size of a
drain, basically, but it's asolid metal piece.
Underneath there is thecomponents for the the pool
light, and sometimes when thedeck is wet, people are walking
on it, wet feet, they'll step onthat and they'll actually get a
shock from that.
I've heard of that happening aswell.
(06:32):
So there can't be stray voltageeverywhere, so just make sure
that especially the pump is pumpand motor are bonded, so that if
you are working on it and youare working around it with
water, that you won't getshocked.
Normally, if it's bonded, youcan touch it and not worry about
(06:53):
it.
You can walk back there whenit's raining, and it's not going
to cause any kind of problems.
The other another thing would bethe GFCI.
Now, most modern pools, if notall of them, now have a GFCI
that's connected.
It's it's going to allow thepower to be cut immediately when
(07:15):
there's a problem with the pumpitself within milliseconds.
And you probably had this happenin your kitchen, and you have
you probably have this in yourbathroom.
So if you're like, if you're I'mjust gonna give you like a movie
type worst case scenario, ifyou're in your bathroom and your
your sink is full of water forwhatever reason, and you're
using a hairdryer, and you dropit into the sink and you're
(07:40):
holding on to it, the GFCI willkill the power to that entire
circuit before you have a lethalwell, potentially it's supposed
to happen.
I wouldn't try this or test it,before you have a lethal uh jolt
and it is continuously comingthrough because nothing is
turning off the circuit.
So the GFCI, as you can imagine,with that scenario, for the pool
(08:04):
pump, if there is an electricalshort or problem with it, the
GFCI is the first line ofdefense for that system not
having a continuous kind of opencircuit giving it power when
there is a problem with it thatcould potentially cause a fire.
Now I've only had two pumps inthe history I've been doing pool
(08:26):
service that have actuallycaught on fire and burned up.
I wasn't there when it happened,but I have told the story before
of one of them where theneighbor saw this the fire, the
the the brush around the poolcould catch on fire, and he
called the fire department.
And the failure there was thefact that the motor got really
(08:48):
hot, it was overheating.
The initial failure would be thecapacitor that would cut off the
power to the motor that did notwork, and so the motor kept
getting power, and then the GFCIwas faulty, so it wasn't
tripping, and it went all theway to the breaker of the house,
which when it got theovercurrent, the breaker did not
(09:11):
trip because it was a really oldbreaker system, and the breakers
were pretty much worn out, theywere not effective, and it just
got hotter and hotter, and thenthe motor caught on fire
basically and burned it, burnedup pretty badly.
Also burned the filter and itburned the automated system that
was attached to it.
The fire department put it out,luckily.
(09:32):
The other time I saw a motorcatch on fire, or after the
fact, I don't know exactly whathappened to it, but I think it
also had a failure.
It was a fairly new motor aswell, pump and motor.
So there was some kind of again,triple failure, and that can
happen, but it's somethingthat's pretty rare.
(09:53):
So the GFCI is there so thatit'll cut the power immediately
if there's a problem with thepump overheating or causing a
surge of electricity, and that'sthe first line of defense by the
equipment.
So it should have an operatingGFCI.
You can test them, you know,there's a test button, and if
you're testing it, it doesn'treset.
(10:14):
I would, of course, have anelectrician right away go out
there, and usually that's tiedinto the pool lights as well, so
it can become a dangeroussituation if the GFCI is not
working at the equipment pad,and I would have an electrician
again be out there right away tocheck that and to get the GFCI
replaced so that you don't haveany kind of catastrophic
(10:35):
failure.
And like anything, these motorsdo go bad.
You know, they may have failureof the insulate insulation, not
installation, insulation.
The wiring, of course, can archas they get older.
And without the GFCI, it's adangerous situation that
eventually could lead to a fire.
Like I mentioned, you know, thecurrent could also energize the
(10:57):
the bonding grid to a pointwhere there's a danger.
And of course, if you go backthere and it's wet, and there's
a major electrical problem withthe current arching that could
cause a potential dangerousshock to you.
So those are two things that Ithink always need to be checked
(11:19):
and working at the equipmentpad, the GFCI, make sure that's
working, and the bonding is alsoimportant at the equipment area.
In most cases, you'll never havea problem with the electricity
or getting shocked if everythingis working correctly.
But these two instances wherethere have been fires at my
(11:40):
accounts should be a reminderthat this potentially can
happen, and you've probably hadsomething similar happen at your
service accounts.
Normally, if everything'sworking, the GFCI will cut power
to the pump and everything willjust stop working, basically.
Pool lights also, if there'swater in the light, it'll kill
the GFCI.
Usually it'll trip it andthat'll turn the pool light off
(12:02):
as well.
A couple hazards that you don'treally think about too much, and
this usually happens on theolder pumps, the older single
speed pumps, is that when it isgetting ready to burn out, or
when you're having when it'shaving some issues, maybe the
bearings are wearing out, thatpump, the pump motor part gets
actually extremely hot to thetouch.
(12:23):
And I've heard of people burningthemselves on it.
Definitely, you know, there'sbeen people that have been
injured from it getting superhot, so that does happen.
And I've personally felt somethat have been extremely hot,
you know, thermal overload orthe windings are overheating,
the metal shell can be extremelyhot.
So just be aware of that, also.
(12:44):
That you don't want to be justrandomly touching the back of
the motor, especially if younotice that the motor is getting
really hot, and if you noticethat the pump is making weird
noises or the motor is makingweird noises, be aware that can
be hot to the touch.
Here's another caution as well,and this has happened to me out
there.
Sometimes the water level getslow in the pool and the pump is
(13:08):
running dry.
So you'll get to the you get tothe service account, you'll go
back there.
For some reason, this hashappened to me a couple times,
and both have been PentaWhisperflow pumps.
So there's no correlation there,it's just that that's the two
times this has happened.
So I get back there, the pump'sbeen running dry for quite a
while, and the system has beenon for a few hours.
(13:29):
I'll go to take the pump lid offto prime it.
So I turn the system off, I'llhit the lid to get it off, and
really, really hot boiling waterwill come gushing up over the
top of the lid.
Now, fortunately, and this issomething that I really
recommend you do as well.
I wear these nitro gloves that Iget on Amazon.
(13:49):
They're really great for whenyou're doing repairs and working
around chemicals, but they alsowill prevent you from being
scorched and burned.
In this instance, I was wearingmy gloves so I didn't get
burned, but this water actuallykind of boiled out and came over
the top of the pump when I gotthe lid out, lit off because it
was just super hot in there.
So there is a lot of heatgenerated by the pump and motor,
(14:12):
and if there's no water beingpulled, the water inside the
pump itself can get super hot.
Now, another thing that happenedat these pumps is when I took
the pump basket out, it wasreally tiny, like a little
shrunken head that you see inyou know in the cannibals, you
know, they'll shrink heads downand warm around their neck.
This pump pot, this pump basketlooked just like that.
(14:34):
It was totally shrunken andmelted from the heat.
So be aware that is a dangerwhen the pump overheats if it's
running dry.
When you're removing that pumplid, be aware that really
boiling hot water can come outof that and burn your hands.
So, again, not something that'ssuper common, but something that
can happen out there.
(14:55):
Everything I'm telling you herehas happened to me personally,
so it could happen to you aswell.
And I'm sure not many of you hadthis happen to you, but you can
actually have a capacitorexplode or pop.
A star capacitor can do that, ora run capacitor.
I've had this happen before tome.
I think the worst one was whereI had this happen where the pool
(15:18):
pump was up against a brickwall, and when I went to go turn
on the pump, the capacitorpopped, but the noise was so
loud because it kind of vibratedoff the wall that it hurt my
ears, and so this can happen aswell, too.
So just be aware that acapacitor, if there is a surge,
can actually pop and explode,and this can also happen when
(15:38):
you're going to replace itbecause the capacitor does store
energy, so you want to becareful when you're replacing
these, also it can give you apretty good shock, too.
I haven't had this happen to me,but I've heard of people having
this happen where the capacitordoes still have an electrical
current there, and so you candischarge capacitor with an
(16:01):
insulated screwdriver across theterminals, and you can also they
also sell a uh resistordischarge tool that you can also
uh use.
Just avoid touching theterminals directly, and you
know, usually the capacitordoesn't have any power at that
point, but sometimes they dohave stored power, so just be
aware that there is some storedpotential electrical power still
(16:25):
in the capacitor, even if youhave the pool pump off or if you
think the capacitor is bad, thatcan still happen.
But yeah, these are all kind ofthings that can happen around
the pump to be aware of that Iwould consider to be on the
dangerous side of things.
Pool service is relatively safe,but of course, components can
malfunction, and if you don'thave the proper safety
(16:48):
mechanisms like bonding and aGFCI, it can potentially be a
very dangerous situation backthere.
And of course, these rareinstances where things pop and
explode do happen as well.
I've had a um what is it, runcapacitor explode in the back of
a pump as well, right in frontof the customer when I went to
go turn on the pump, he wasstanding next to me, and I was
(17:10):
we were just talking about howhow old this equipment was
getting, and I went to go turnit on, and it actually popped,
and then flame started comingout of the back of the motor,
which was pretty cool and apretty easy sell for me.
That yes, you need a new motorat this point.
If you're looking for otherpodcasts, you can find those on
my website, swimming poollearning, swimming
(17:30):
poollearning.com on the banner.
Click on the podcast icon.
That'll take you to a drop downmenu of uh 1800 podcasts for you
there as well.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program, you can learn
more at PoolguyCoaching.com.
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have you rest of your week andGod bless.
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