I knew when I bought this thing that it was not the best spa ever made. But the price was OK and over the 5 years I have owned it, I have really enjoyed it. Recently, the motor would make a little noise and cavitate a bit. Turns out the main 2-speed pump assy was not long for this world. Guess the bearing failed which made the wet end start to leak and now the thing is toast.

The skinny on the spa: Icon/Image 739 (300 gal)
Balboa 2000 controller
dual 4.0 hp pumps ( "UltraJet")--2" ports, 2-speed
Pretty much bone stock, save for a cool LED light show. New filters, 230V.
Chemistry kept proper weekly

To look at the pump, I believe it to be a center discharge unit--it has one port on axis with the rotor and one port that is to the side. Most 4HP pump units I see are "side discahrge" units and I'm a little mixed up on why that is. I can take a picture if required.

Bottom line is that I have a good shell, a good controller and a dead pump (it turns but not freely). My goal is to replace these lesser quality parts with better ones within reason as they fail.

So what is the best pump for me? I have seen pump assys from $250-$500 and just want the darn thing to work relaibly. So, who makes the "good stuff" and how best to find the exact unit I require?

This forum has been a great help in the past and I thank you in advance for your expertise! The sooner the better--I need to relax!

Trey

No real such thing as 'good stuff'.

You're pretty much going to get off the shelf pump motors. Either AO Smith, Emerson, GE, or possibly even Franklin.

They all have about the same hit or miss longevity.

Some will go for 15 years+. Others may fail miserably in 3-4. But the short term failure rate is usually due to failed bearings - due to operator mismanagement of water quality, which eats the seals causing the failed bearing problem.

Otherwise, you could have capacitors going bad which is not unusual. Everybody tries to get stuff that works (parts) cheaply in their components. Capacitors are no exception.

Unfortunately - to the commercial electric industry, the motors that are used in the pool and spa biz are considered 'throw-away' motors. Motors that are cheaper to replace than to repair.

So it's kind of up to you to either get the small problems with your motors fixed, or throw them away and buy new 'throw away' versions. Anything more than that will cost you quite a bundle - much more than your spa is worth.

Ymmv.