I did specifically plan the location of the cleaner pump (the one at 45°) so that not only did the pipes not run over the top of the basket, but that I could get my (rather large) body all around it to service the heater and the other pumps.
So, while the octopus has grown, it now has the advantage of: a) Must easier access to the baskets and pump b) Easy disconnection of the pump and wiring c) Re-use of one pump for another with only minor effort
DDD- You're headed to pump repair or replacement now. :(
When you put in the new pumps you can re-wire the whole installation correctly and get rid of that dumb box / stepping stone Rube Goldberg arrangement.
A few parts, but it depends. IME, a shaft seal, impeller and O-ring. Inspect the shaft bearing behind seal for rust. No rust, it should be fine for now. The seal leaks and corrodes the bearing from chlorine (motors squeal). Not real expensive.
On all of the pumps I have worked on the ceramic seal actually seals to the impeller and the pump housing. The shaft is not sealed. They can be pretty nasty and still work OK. I have 3 pool pumps and a well pump that all have 5/8" shafts and use the same bearing (a sealed 6203). I went to an online bearing place and got 10 bearings for what one costs locally. I throw new bearings at any pump I rebuild now.
6203 is the important part. That is the size of the bearing You also want "sealed" bearings, not "shielded" bearings in a pump and don't lose the "slinger" that washer between the pump and motor that seems to have no purpose. It takes water migrating down the shaft and "slings" it away before it gets to the bearing. Other than that, the only trick is getting the bearing off the shaft. A bearing puller is a great thing to have. A piece of 1/2" schedule 40 pipe seems to be a good driver to put it back. You want to be sure the driver only pushes on the inner race.
Thanks for that information as the bearing designation definitely still confuses me (if I wish to understand the various suffixes).
Googling, I see the shield is a non contact surface, while the seal is a contact surface (for what it's worth).
The old bearings were the 6203V NSK USA while the rebuilder (for about $150) put in the KBC 2145 6203D China bearings:
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Googling, I find the AO Smith part number, size, & description is: 604005-001 ID=0.6693",OD=1.5750",W=0.470" double sealed high thrust
The nominal size for a 6203 bearing seems to be slightly different: 6203 ID=0.66993", OD=1.5748", W=0.4724"
But, maybe that's just a function of metric-to-english conversion: ID=17mm, OD=40mm, W=12mm
The actual 6203 apparently boils down to this: 6 = metric, single row ball bearing, deep groove 2 = light duty (e.g., 40mm OD, 12mm width) 03 = 17 mm bore diameter
The 6203 is so common, I find a confusing array of suffixes: 6203D
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6203V
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6203LL
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6203ZZ
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6203RS
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62032RS
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etc.
From the advertising, these "seem" to be what the suffix indicates: 6203D (deep groove, ball, single row, rubber seal on one side) 6203V (deep groove, ball) 6203LL (same as 2RS) 6203ZZ (double, staked, non-contact, 300 series stainless steel shields) 6203RS (rubber seals) 62032RS (two rubber seals)
This is all so confusing... that I think I'll call AO Smith for advice.
Googling, I find the bearing suffixes are confusingly arcane.
There are "old" and "new" suffixes referenced here:
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And single versus double shield codes explained here:
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Prefixes and suffixes are explained here:
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And this description was found on a.h.r:
D = molded Buna-N rubber lip seal with a steel insert which provides maximum protection against contamination; however, the high pressure of the lip seal itself results in greatly increased torque and friction losses that can cause heat build-up in higher speed applications. The seal material itself is rated to a maximum of 250 °F S = same as D except it's non contact DD = same as D but double shielded M = brass cage V = single, contact, nitrile rubber seal (keeps fluids out) Z = single, staked, non-contact shield of 300 series stainless steel. LL = ? seems to be the same as 2RS ? NR = snap ring and groove RS = single nitrile rubber seal TS = glass reinforced teflon giving good contamination protection VV = double non-contact seal ZS = same as ZZ but retained by a snap wire TTS = same as TS, but double shielded ZZS = same as ZS but double shielded ZZ = double, staked, non-contact, 300 series stainless steel shields ZZA = removable shield
2RS = double nitrile rubber seals DDU = double contact seals (apparently similar to 2RS)
You're not kidding that bearing suffixes are confusing as all hell!
I suspect for my $150, the Chinese bearings my motor rebuilder put in are likely the cheapest he could get away with. So it behooves us to rebuild our own motors, where we can put in the best bearings.
The trick is to figure out *what* is the best bearing to use!
To get a handle on what the bearing needs to be, I called the AO Smith technical support hotline at 800-262-6484. The lady from Tennessee knew absolutely nothing about bearings, but she kindly read off the specs for me off the motor datasheets.
The bearings are made by NSK and they list the part numbers as: QC1102 1.65HP motor: 6203 double sealed NSK 6203WC3E CLKEEMSM SQ1152 2.20HP motor: 6203 double sealed NSK 62032RSGC3ETDEEMS9
Googling for those NSK numbers, I don't find anything useful. But, when I google the part number (604005-001), I can find it as: $19, 62032RS
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So, now that gives me 6203D, 6203V, and 6203RS as the bearings, all of which are different - which is driving me crazy.
What I'm doing now is reading the NSK booklet titled: "The ABCs of Bearings", located here:
Are you guys talking about a pool pump motor ? If so the 2RS suffix is all you need and is correct for the job being 2 sealing shields for both sides of the bearing (my ex profession) all the others are for special needs. Don't try to be too technical :-)
The answer is easy only when you already know the answer.
The rebuilder apparently put in the wrong bearings then.
The rebuilder, for $150, put in 6203D bearings, even though the manufacturer seems to specify 6203-2RS, the difference between a seal and a shield being great (one is a contact surface, the other isn't, which is a big deal for a bearing when things spin for hours every day):
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But, now that I know the 6203D is the wrong bearing, and that the 6203-2RS is the right bearing, I do agree. The answer is now simple (now that I know the answer).
It's no longer technical. It's just a part number now.
As stated prior, everything is easy once you already know the answer. Until then, you need to be technical to find out the answer.
Here's the answer (as far as I know):
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If that's correct, then it's just a list; and there's no need to be technical. However, if that's not correct (and it might not be), then I need to get technical again ... until the list is fleshed out.
At the moment, I am trying to figure out the o-ring trade names.
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