>How long should a pump motor last? Anyone know? Obviously it depends a lot on the specific type of pump, motors are - generally speaking - very long lasting,

>How long should a pump motor last? Anyone know? Obviously it depends a lot on the specific type of pump, motors are - generally speaking - very long lasting, I would say (proper type of pump, properly dimensioned, used according to specs, and maintained/repaired) anything between 10 and 20 years. The more common issues are outbound leaks (from the axle gasket) in external pumps and inbound leaks (from the outer case or gaskets) in submersible pumps, and of course from time to time you need to change the bearings. In the case of submersible pumps, leaks usually mean also a motor failure (again it depends on the type of pumps) expecially on rarely used pumps as bearings will clog and the motor will then likely need too power, and overheat. On the other hand, external pumps (air cooled) often overheat because of the poorer cooling, if subjected to lots of "start and stop", electrical motors, particularly if large, tend to create a huge drain of power (often 3x to 5x) when starting (as compared to normally running) and this inrush of current translates in a huge amount of heat (and more generally stress to the motor), so many starts in a limited time are not good for the life of the motor, lately things were mitigated by electronic starters that allow for smoother (less peak Amps) starting. The electrical setup/controls may also play a role, a good, well calculated pumping station (such as those used to evacuate leaks in an underground construction) is generally 100% redundant (i.e. two pumps when only one is needed, in some cases 300%), and have automations that alternate the use of pumps (so that each motor and bearings actually run when pumping is required) and use "the other pump" if there are too many motor starts in a given hour, plus there can be a sort of valve that allows to pump the water within the reservoir, so that even if there is no need to pump water "out" pumps are "exercized" periodically, this latter is also often used to avoid too many starts, once a pump is started, it runs for a given number of minutes minimum, part of which is actually used to pump water outside - i.e. responding to the event that triggered the start - and the rest it runs "idle" pumping water within the reservoir through the by-pass valve, so that if a new event re-triggers the start, the pump is already running and only the valve is closed to make it pump water out. But otherwise what you routinely (I would say every two-three years for external pumps and maybe 5 years for submersible ones) do is check gaskets and bearings and replace them if needed.