UST1102 1-Horsepower Up-Rated Round Flange Replacement Motor (Formerly A.O. Smith)

Bought this for our pool. Our old motor died and replacements are pricey. There are cheaper brands out there but the word from people we know with in-ground pools & professionals who care for them -- those cheap motors are lucky to go two years. AO Smith is quality. Century bought them so that is why we bought this motor. It has been in operation for 2 weeks and is performing well. We do our own install work. Our old motor was really loud but we knew it was on it's last legs. This one is quiet. All is good so far. If any problems arise I will update this post.

Worked great. Still using it.

This motor was a perfect fit/replacement for my older Century motor (C48K2N143B1) that was on my Hayward SP1607Z1M Super pump. My old pump had water get in the front of the motor housing and it either trashed the bearings and/or something that was part of the winding/brush assembly. It sounded like a rock tumbler & was extremely hot to the touch and started to discolor the paint & peel the label. I elected to replace it prior to a surprise/complete failure. Some things to note when shopping for a replacement motor, based on what I learned in my journey to save several hundred $ by not replacing the entire pump assembly. You must match your motor frame of your new motor to the old one; it's abbreviated FR on the motor label. In this motor case it's a 56J. Ensure you match the pump horse power and service factor, or else you will need to potentially buy a new impeller rated for the new motor size. I would also recommend you buy a seal kit for your pump prior to assembly. The old seals are likely leaking by the time the pump fails (mine definitely were) and new seals will protect your investment. Installing the new motor was relatively easy. You need a 7/16" box end wrench for holding the rear of the drive shaft while tightening the impeller on the end of the drive shaft. This has standard threads, so righty tighty/lefty loosey... It did take a little work to get the impeller off the old motor and I busted an old rubber strap wrench in the process. I ultimately used the old rubber strap as a cushion and a large channel lock wrench to grip the end of the impeller and was able to remove the impeller and reinstall it on the new motor. You also need to carefully remove the starter capacitor via the Phillips head screw that holds it in place to gain access to the rear of the drive shaft. You can leave the wires connected, but it does need to be tipped out of the way to reach the drive shaft, then re-secured afterwards. The worst part of installing these motors is if you have solid heavy-gauge wiring like I did. 12 gauge solid wire does not like to bend, and it makes the tight angles and compact wiring area on the motor difficult to work with. This is more on me than the manufacturer, but it would be awesome if the conduit attachment point for the terminals was actually in line with them vs being offset by practically the entire hole diameter away from them. I'm only a few days in, but so far the new motor is running like a champ. I'll try and remember to update this review whenever it ultimately kicks the bucket; hopefully it's many years from now.

I used to be in the business and have installed hundreds of these on pumps where the motor has failed and the cost of repair was not justified by age. When installed properly, they are a solid motor and will last on average 6-7 years of constant summer use before anything needs to be done. And when it does need something it is usually to replace the capacitor on the back end, something that a teenager could do with a screwdriver and a pair of needle nose pliers. The capacitor is basically the starter battery and they wear out. Also be sure to keep the area under the motor clear of leaves, debris, and dirt. These are motor killers because they end up going up through the vents and onto the windings [copper wire coils] and the motor can't vent properly. Even getting 10-15 degrees over normal operating temp will wear out a motor faster. When installing these, it's not tricky but you need to know two things about doing so if you want the motor to work properly and last: 1) Install a replacement shaft seal and do the whole thing, not just half of it. They are cheap and there's no reason not to. It will take you two minutes. Old seals fail and when that happens, the motor will be subject to spray coming from the pump end of it. 2) When tightening the mount bolts, don't crank down one and then move onto the next and crank that one down. Tighten all 4 fairly evenly, moving around the motor to tighten each one another couple of turns and keep going until they are all tight - - but only hand tight. There's no reason to strip them out. If you don't tighten the bolts evenly, the motor will sit in at a very slight angle, and this causes tremendous wear on the motor. If you install them evenly, you will have years of service from the motor.

Bad experience 2 times. I bought the first one, installed it to replace a failing old motor; turned it on and the plastic cooling fan fell into the pieces shooting melted plastic pieces out of the motor and making a terrible grinding noise. Took the first one off and got a refund, replaced it with the same one, installed the second one, the second one will occasionally not turn on. Maybe a bad capacitor or contacts. I can manually turn the impeller so I know it’s not ceased. Now I’m returning this one and spending more money for basically the same motor at the local pool store because it carries a longer warranty.

I was worried because of the 1 stars, BUT I was so happy that it is working great. 1 month in, and I am still happy and would recommend this product.

I ordered this unit on Sat. at 10:30pm and received it on Wed at 1:45pm. This unit is a great replacement. The price was the lowest around and the free shipping was nice because of the weight of the unit. The local pool store told me I had to spend $309 for a replacement. I then went on line and to Amazon where I paid half. What a good deal. I went to You Tube and a video walked me through the setup. Not hard to install at all. Just be sure your power to the unit is off before you begin. The unit has a switch for 115 or 230v. Hook up and turn it to 115 first if your not sure so you dont burn it up. I took off the cover of my old unit and it was filled with dirt and webs so I brushed the connections with a paint brush so I could take a picture of how it was hooked up before I did anything. Mine was Red L#1 and Black L#2 with green ground wire wrapped around the green screw and poked out the hole in the cover to the ground screw on top the unit outside. It comes set to 230 so I put it on 115 first and it turned on and then off real quick with a popped breaker twice. I then moved it to 230 and it worked perfect. I just wanted to be sure I didnt burn it up. 115 was not enough power to run it for me, it only turned it over. Note: I am only telling you what worked for me. You need to be sure of what will work for you! Dont forget to get a new shaft seal kit $22.

The motor was overheating on my Hayward pool filter. The local pool service guys would take weeks to squeeze me in. One suggested finding a YouTube "How-to" video and replacing it myself. I had never done anything like that, but what the heck? In 48 hours Amazon had the exact replacement motor and seal kit at my door for a fraction of what it would cost to have a pro do it and, with a YouTube video as my guide, I swapped it out and the new motor is working perfectly. Great price and delivery!

The motor worked as expected

Perfect and easy to install

First motor wouldn't work when hooked up for 230 volts. Amazon replaced with a new one and now it works as expected. Perfect replacement for the hayward superpump motor. Only issue is the tight fit when it comes to hooking up the wires.