[oldmaven]

My pool pump and heater, which together draw just about 15A, are on a 15-A circuit. Mostly it works fine, but every few weeks, the breaker flips and continues to flip whenever the pool is switched on. After a delay of several minutes or hours, all becomes normal again.

There seems to be no correlation with how long the pool has been running, the ambient temperature, or recent rainfall. I have replaced this breaker in the panel with a new 15A breaker, and have replaced the motor. The problem still returns.

Upgrading the circuit would be expensive, as the pool machinery is about 50 feet from the house, maybe 70' from the breaker panel. Any suggestions on what is causing this and how to prevent it?

 

[joed]

Any suggestions on what is causing this and how to prevent it?

The circuit is overloaded. Upgrade the circuit.

 

[J. V.]

Is any of this equipment on a timer?
If so, the inrush current for the pumps could be whats causing the issue.

Check both pieces of equipment and make note of the current rating for both. Be certain.
The only really good way to check current is with an amp clamp.
If the circuit sees 15 amps when running, its sees much more at start up.

Is this s new issue? If it is, then you got a problem somewhere that can be corrected.

 

[anyacolo]

Upgrading the circuit would be expensive

you either live with the problem or fix it,

is it annoying you enough that you want to spend the money on it?

only you can make that decision,

you need to run bigger wire to fix it

 

[brric]

The pool motors and heater I am familiar with are dual voltage. Investigate to determine if they can both be converted to 240 volts, assuming that they are currently wired for 120 volts and that the heater is gas fueled.