how do I hook up electric for a swimming pool pump?

Question

What gage wire should I use? Do I need a special box like on a spa? Or can I just run romex out to a post and put it on its own breaker in the house?

Answer 1

Wiring pools and spas is not for amateurs. I highly recommend hiring a licensed electrician.

There is another answer here that says to install romex through conduit. This is a NEC violation and will eventually fail. Romex CANNOT be installed in conduit.

Pools and spas are covered under article 680 of the 2005 NEC. I highly recommend purchasing this book and reading this article before continuing your work.

There are a lot of special requirements when it comes to pools. You are required to bond all metal parts of a pool. GFCI protection is definately required and a disconnect is required within sight of your pump. There are also numerous other requirements that effect this installation.

Water and electricity do not mix. If you are unsure of what you are doing, hire a licensed electrician before someone gets killed.

If you need further assistance, please visit -
http://electricalblog.gilchrist-electric.com

Answer 2

I have a pool and spa, and I installed a local breaker box next to the pool equipment. This saved a lot of steps and it allowed me to isolate the equipment right where I would be working on it. Because I had both pump, and lights on this breaker box, I ran a much heavier guage wire than 12 guage romex. I also did this because of the distance from the main breaker box to my pool equipment.

As a minimum you need a 12 guage wire for each circuit, and you should not run anything else on the circuit you use for your pool pump. I ran separate circuits for pool lights, and a separate circuit fro my pump.

If you run a line out to a post as you describe, I would recommend driving a copper ground rod next to the post where you mount your switches. It's particularly important to make sure you have a good ground when dealing with pool equipment.

As for a special box, if you're talking about a timer, I would highly recommend it. A timer makes it convenient to run your pool and flitration system when you're not at home.

Answer 3

Use what's appropriate guage wire, depending on the length of run ( at least 12 guage if it's a short one) in a conduit (buried or not depends on where you have to go) to the equpiment pad from your house panel (install a GFI there as well). It's a good idea to install a pony box by the equipment that will contain a GFI for the pump and space to add additional electrical for future needs. Most municipalities require a method to shut off the pump within arms reach of the pump or at least line of sight, so using a Sceptre weather tight switch outside of the panel, by the pump would be smart and saves having to constantly flip open the pony panel to get at the breaker for switching off the pump.
When you hook everything up, remember your grounding and make sure that you have the motor jumpered to operate at the voltage you are sending out there. Pool pump motors come factory set at 220 volts and if you are planning on running at 110, you need to move some wires in the motor's electrical compartment. It's not hard and it will be labelled.
If you are unsure of what you're doing, contact an electrician. Tell him that you want it wired to allow easy access to the pump, if you need to ever remove the motor for servicing. Believe me, when I say this, it'll save you a ton of aggravation later on, sparing you from cutting plumbing lines etc, just to dig out the pump to swap out a shaft seal.
Edit: I saw a comment in here that pool lights can only be 12/24 v dc. Nope. Most vinyl pools will use that, because it's cheap. Concrete pools run 500 watt 110 volt systems that will light up the neighbourhood.

Answer 4

I would not run romex outside without running it through conduit. But if you do that then 12 gage should be fine (depending on the amperage rating of the pump) My recommendation is that you get an electrician to install the connection but you can dig the conduit trench to save you a few bucks.

Answer 5

You need to know the amperage of the pump first before selecting any wire size. and that depends on if its 120v or 220v.
selecting the right wire size & breaker is important . so, make sure the breaker is sized right . breakers trip from heat so if the breaker is larger than the wire it could potentially burn before the breaker trips. and if running conduit outside you are going to have to use rigid pipe to a disconnect and then to a gfci.

Answer 6

Hook up what?please be more specific.For lighting.by regulation you are required to use 24 volts DC for safety reasons,for pump application you need to use waterproof enclosure IP 68.
Without power figure unable to talk on wire gage???

Answer 7

first call a pool stor and find out only from them
then go to hardwear stor and buy wire

Answer 8

u need to size the wire to the amps and voltage of the motor....and be sure u put it on a GFIC outlet.

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 9

Get a certified electrician to do it. Should be a pretty easy job.

Answer 10

check your local codes some places don't allow you to it yourself. they require an electrician to do it. they will also specify how they want it done. if you don't follow local codes your homeowners does not have to honer any claims.