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Poolheatpumps.com > Forums > Compressor runs 5 seconds and off.
 
 


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Frank Bowie
    06/12/10 at 08:58 PMReply with quote#1
Hi, I'm having a problem with a used heat pump I just purchased. After hooking it up, it ran fine and raised the temperature of the pool by 10 degrees fareinheit the first day. Day two, the fan was running, and when the delay passed, the compressor would start, but something stops it after 5 seconds. The fan then stops, restats and after the 8 minute delay it repeats the same thing over and over. I don't know if it's a sensor or maybe a bad relay??? Any help would be gratly appreciated.

Frank
Marcus Miller
    06/15/10 at 01:24 PMReply with quote#2
Dear Frank:
Thank you for writing to me. I hope that you and your family are well. It sounds like you have a water flow problem. That is the most common issue with new installations. Before you do anything clean your water filter and make sure 100% of the water is going through the heater. If that doesn't help please call the factory and they will walk you through trouble shooting it and will determine if you need a service call.
Please let us know what it was so we can keep track of these things.
 
Sincerely,
Marcus
1 800 741 9956
Frank Bowie
    06/16/10 at 08:26 AMReply with quote#3
It seems as if you hit the nail onm the head. I couldn't for the life of me figure why the compressor was shutting down, so I fiddled around a bit. And made an adjustment on the waterflow sensor. There is a knob to adjust the sensitivity. I thought that if it was a flow problem that the fan wouldn't even run, let alone the compressor. Anyway, all is working well now, the pool is at 84 degrees and just lovely. Thanks for your help.

Frank
Marcus Miller
    06/17/10 at 03:49 PMReply with quote#4
Dear Frank:
That is great that you are heating again. There still could be not enough flow though. Just because the switch is now responding, it could be responding to a lower water flow. Somehow we need to determine that the heater is getting at least 30 GPM and hopefully closer to 50 to 80 GPM. some people measure flow with a inline flow meter or others who are a bit more thrifty divert all the flow to 5 gallon buckets and see how many they can fill in a minute.
Cheers,
Marcus
1 800 741 9956
Al
    07/21/10 at 08:18 PMReply with quote#5
Hi Marcus.
I recently bought a used heat pump made by Pentair, my problem is that the kompressor goes on for a few seconds but then shuts off. Also I took note that the fan works when the pump is on but once the machine has been turned off the fan stops as well. I showed it to an AC mechanic and he diagnosed the product concluding that the line is blocked, which is why the kompressor turns of since the gas is not circulating. He tried jumping the high cut off switch and the kompressor would work but the pipe below the accumilator would heat up, and above the accumilator the smaller pipes dont get heated.

my questions is :

what is the best solution ?
and also
Did this Mechanic diagnose correctly?

thanks..
Marc Miller
    07/22/10 at 08:58 AMReply with quote#6

Dear Uroosaoza:
Thank you for writing to me. I am sorry that you having trouble with your Pentair heat pump. the new ones have been pretty reliable. I hate to move heaters once heat pumps are installed as funny things seems to happen when they are moved sometimes. When a compressor runs for a few seconds and then shuts down it is usually because of the low freon pressure or high freon pressure. It can also be the water flow switch, thermostat or time delay relay. Chances are it is a freon pressure switch though. If the high cut out switch is open (tripped) it can be a few reasons:

 
1: Too much freon
2: Water flow switch failed and compressor runs with not enough water flowing through the water pipes. (Water flow problem and bad flow switch)
3: Water valve shut on outlet of heat pump. So the water pressure is fooling the water flow switch into thinking water is flowing and heater runs until freon pressure gets too high because stagnent water can't absorb the heat.
4: Bad high pressure switch
5: Physical damage to liquid freon line obstructing the flow.
6: Freon filter drier clogged with dirt or water. (ice)
7: Capillary tubes or Expansion valve that feeds the freon to the evaporator clogged or not working.
8: Bad reversing vale on heat and cool models.
9: Trash in the heat exchanger. I have seen wood chips etc. Kinda rare though.
 
I am not sure why the mechanic couldn't figure it out exactly on the spot. Sounds like he is going in the right direction though. The accumulator comment threw me a bit. I think he meant the receiver. The accumulator is on the suction side of the compressor and is there to prevent liquid freon from getting into the compressor and damaging it as you can't compress a liquid. It is usually very cold and not warm or hot. The problem is probably is a restriction of some sort in the freon line but I would need to be there to tell for sure. It is simple for a HVAC guy to tell. Really shouldn't take more than an hour to get to the bottom of it. Maybe another couple to 3 hours to fix it depending on how serious it is. I would ask another mechanic to look at it. What you pay for the repair, or if you repair I guess depends on how much money you spent for the heater. Your pool will start cooling down in 2 or 3 weeks so this is a good time to get it ready if you are going to invest the money.
 
Please let me know how you make out.  I am very interested.
 
 
Sincerely,
Marcus
Jickis31
    09/24/10 at 11:41 PMReply with quote#7
I have a similar problem.Thanks for the info.





regards,
jickis31
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