I have bought a replacement circulation pump motor (BN61, 182912) for my hottub. But, I am stumped on how to disconnect the wet end from the motor.

There is what looks like a nut on the impeller, but my socket wrench kept slipping on it and I couldn't loosen it.

Depending on how much corrosion there is ? You can try a pair of needle nose vise grips and lock a grip on the steel shaft. Then us a fat screwdriver to pry the impeller vein clock wise through the top of the pump.. Allot of them are near impossible to get off so you have to break them off. Make sure the wet end is still bolted to the motor. Use a old towel to cover the impeller. Hit the impeller with a hammer being careful not to hit center shaft. Chip it away and you may have to chisel some pieces away until you can slide the wet end off the shaft. Clean the shaft with a wire wheel and a drill then lubricate with a silicone lubricant. Then just buy a new wet end and reinstall.

Good luck.

OUCH! I wouldn't strike anything against the impeller, wet end, or shaft! Also, jamming a screwdriver into the vanes of the impeller will 90% of the time render the impeller useless. I have another post elsewhere on the forum regarding wet end removal, but I will repost here for you.

First, separate the wet end. Take the front cover off.

Second, remove the rear cover from the motor. You should be able to see the shaft exiting the rear of the motor. Note* some motors simply have a small round cover that you just pop off without removing anything else to expose a slot a large screwdriver will fit into. In these cases you can skip the information about the switch removal and tool useage and simply place a large screwdriver in the slot to turn.

With the back of the motor exposed, unscrew the centrifigual switch assembly and gently move out of the way.

On the front of the motor, impeller exposed, jam a rag between the impeller and the housing, while turning the impeller clockwise (as you look straight on to it). The rag will effectivly jam in between the housing and the impeller.

With an adjustable wrench or combination wrench (or what ever you choose to work best for you) grasp the rear shaft, and start rotating counter clockwise. While rotating, fold over a flap of the rag over the impeller (as they are sharp) and grasp the impeller with the other hand.

It might take a couple tries to get the hang of what's going on, but the impeller will pop off this way without damage. This has worked in every situation I have come across.

Simple drawings included to help:

OK, I didn't realize that they can be so hard to take off. I am replacing the motor and was hoping to save the wet end and impeller. I'll try those tricks and may have to buy new impeller if it gets damaged.

Well, I used the rag to jam the impeller and tried to turn the motor shaft using the slot at the back. It was so tough to turn that I just stripped the slot. I then tried to jam the impeller and use a vice grip on the shaft. That also did not work and it just slipped on the shaft.

I appreciate your help, do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks.

LoL......I not advocating taking a sledge hammer to the wet end, Plus I specified hitting the impeller and not in the middle of the shaft. It will break off pretty easily without damaging the wet end or the motor. Especially if oxidized and made of plastic. Not a big deal!

Personally I wouldn't recommend someone disassembling their pump motor unless absolutely necessary. I also don't believe the rag method has anywhere near 90% effectiveness on badly eroded impeller shafts. Guess it all depends on how many pumps one has to fix. Anyway I made a video for you on how to remove a stubborn pump impeller in less than 15 seconds. Not sure if any one will dis-approve of this method or not .......but when you have 30 pumps on a bench facing repair you adapt to any necessary effective means to trim time. The video has been edited to trim it size but the whole procedure only takes about fifteen seconds with very low probability of messing anything up.

http://dbeams.home.mindspring.com/Untitled-2.html

Hi Bobcat,

I find that if you lock down the shaft of the pump, and then end up stripping the impellar nut, The impellar will probably win the battle.
I also proceed with a demolition of the old wetend assembly. You can clean up the pump motor shaft, and re-install a new wetend for roughly the cost and aggrivation of trying to save an impellar.
I install the new wetend just by threading it onto the shaft as one complete assembly.

http://spapartsnet.com/Pump-Parts/Wet-Ends/

( go aquaflo if possible )

You can try to use a good penetrating oil on the shaft/impeller junction. If you do choose to try a little lube, spray it on liberally, and repeat after an hour. After a few hours, the lube may help to get that impeller off. Use something like Knock'r Loose or Screw Loose (available at automotive stores). WD-40 can work but won't dissolve the rust as easily as the other two brands.

Since you are replacing the motor anyway, i'm sure you probably don't care much about how bad you wreck the old motor. Feel free to lock the rotor in a vise!

Granted, all the time you spent dealing with this pump, you could have ordered a new impeller (and shaft seal) and been done with it LOL. Sure, it's a lot easier to just break out the old impeller, but IMHO if you are going to do that, why not just get a whole pump/motor assembly?

Pork, I LOVE your video!!! This evening when the kids are in bed and I have some time, I'm going to go run for my hole saw!

Bobcat,

Normally when a pump impeller is seized to a motor shaft its because the pump seal set has been leaking which causes the motor shaft to rust. This can also causes damage the plastic impeller shaft . They normally crack due to the rust build up between the shaft and stem. I understand your were trying to save the whole wet end so that you may swap it onto your new motor but you still would have needed new pump seal set even if you got the pump impeller off in one whole piece. If you were to break it off you will then have needed a new impeller also. A new pump seal set and impeller are about half the cost of a complete wetend If your looking to save money? I'm willing to bet the reason you needed a new motor in the first place was from water damage due to the pump seal set leaking into the motor.

I have to agree with Charger however on his quote

Granted, all the time you spent dealing with this pump, you could have ordered a new impeller (and shaft seal) and been done with it LOL. Sure, it's a lot easier to just break out the old impeller, but IMHO if you are going to do that, why not just get a whole pump/motor assembly?

Most times the cost and aggravation of trying to save a wet end cost more in time and hassle then just going ahead and buying a complete pump and motor.

Good Luck