I'm using a Cal Pump T4000. This pump has problems that can be fixed if you're handy. When I first installed the pump and put it in my pond, I noticed water was spraying out from the side. I lifted the pump up and saw that the seam was leaking. I contacted the company I bought it from and they shipped out a replacement. They told me to throw away the first one. I decided to take it apart because I figured there had to be a gasket issue. Sure enough, the gasket that seals the two halfs of the plastic housing was in crooked. I straigtened it out, put the pump back together, no leak. The new pump came in and I kept it as a back up.
After the first year the pump was fine. Then after the winter passed, and it was time to run the pump, my GFI outlet kept tripping. It would run for a few days, then trip the GFI. Then it started running a few hours and trip the GFI. I figured it must be broken so I replaced it with the back up pump. This pump worked great for the 2nd year.
Then the winter came. I turned it off. Spring time came and I plugged it in. The same exact thing started happening as the first pump. The warranty of 1 year was over. It was time to take the pump apart and see what was going on.
I started thinking that maybe because I left the pump in over the winter that it had something to do with the cold. Even after fixing the issue, I still feel it has something to do with the cold. I took apart the pump and noticed that the way this pump works is that it's basically a regular electric motor with an impeller. The non impeller part of the motor is inside a plastic housing with a metal ring holding it in. That motor housing is inside the housing of the pump. So basically, it's a housing inside a housing.
I unscrewed the metal ring holding the motor down. Below that metal ring is a rubber o-ring. As I pulled the motor out of the housing, out poured pond water. The rubber o-ring failed. This caused the GFI to trip.
I let the motor dry out for awhile and cleaned it as best as I could. I then started to reassemble the pump. I decided to put some aquarium sealant between the o-ring and the metal ring. I put the pump all back together, let it dry overnight and hooked it back up the next day. I plugged it into the GFI and it stayed on. It’s been running now for over 2 months and hasn’t tripped the GFI. I have since fixed the other T4000 I have the same way in case next year I have the same issue.
What I figure the problem to be is that with the Pennsylvania winters I have, the cold is too much for the rubber o-ring. The contracting and expanding must wear it out. I’ll find out next year if the aquarium sealant works.
I’d rather not take the pump out every fall.
After the first year the pump was fine. Then after the winter passed, and it was time to run the pump, my GFI outlet kept tripping. It would run for a few days, then trip the GFI. Then it started running a few hours and trip the GFI. I figured it must be broken so I replaced it with the back up pump. This pump worked great for the 2nd year.
Then the winter came. I turned it off. Spring time came and I plugged it in. The same exact thing started happening as the first pump. The warranty of 1 year was over. It was time to take the pump apart and see what was going on.
I started thinking that maybe because I left the pump in over the winter that it had something to do with the cold. Even after fixing the issue, I still feel it has something to do with the cold. I took apart the pump and noticed that the way this pump works is that it's basically a regular electric motor with an impeller. The non impeller part of the motor is inside a plastic housing with a metal ring holding it in. That motor housing is inside the housing of the pump. So basically, it's a housing inside a housing.
I unscrewed the metal ring holding the motor down. Below that metal ring is a rubber o-ring. As I pulled the motor out of the housing, out poured pond water. The rubber o-ring failed. This caused the GFI to trip.
I let the motor dry out for awhile and cleaned it as best as I could. I then started to reassemble the pump. I decided to put some aquarium sealant between the o-ring and the metal ring. I put the pump all back together, let it dry overnight and hooked it back up the next day. I plugged it into the GFI and it stayed on. It’s been running now for over 2 months and hasn’t tripped the GFI. I have since fixed the other T4000 I have the same way in case next year I have the same issue.
What I figure the problem to be is that with the Pennsylvania winters I have, the cold is too much for the rubber o-ring. The contracting and expanding must wear it out. I’ll find out next year if the aquarium sealant works.
I’d rather not take the pump out every fall.