Jacuzzi Z Builder Series Mechanics And Repair page 8

You can have a motor oversized for a pump hp and be OK. It's like having an
oversized motor for your car. But you can not have a pump too large for the
motor. If you do, the motor will have a early failure. It's like driving a large car with
an undersized motor. Best bet is to match.
Jacuzzi used 3 motors on their 1995-2001 spa production. For 110vac spas, 2
speed single motor. On their 2 pump systems they commonly used two 220v
single speed pumps. In 1999 they introduced the Pinnacle Model which has a
small circulation pump and two non-Jacuzzi pumps. They did this configuration
on other models in 2000/1.
In the early 90's Jacuzzi designed their own proprietary pump. They called it the
"J-pump" (explained previously) and soon followed with the "K-Pump". The "J-
Pump" has a low snout for the incoming suction fitting and a top center discharge.
It's used in the low and 2 speed pumps. The "K-Pump" is a mid-center suction
connection with a top center discharge. It's only used in the 3hp pump.
The "J" and "K" pump are a volume pump at low pressure. What this means is
that they are designed to move a large volume of water but not at high pressure.
It's easy to compare the Jacuzzi pump as a wide flowing river verses a narrow
fast moving river. By design you can sit again a number of jets for a length of time
and not feel irritation. On pumps built by others the pressure out of the jets are
often strong enough to become uncomfortable. In later products Jacuzzi
Whirlpool added high pressured pumps.
Just a note about ratings: It seems Jacuzzi engineers have a hard time rating
their pumps, especially the low and 2 speed. It's easy to understand because
they initially rated the low speed pump as a ¾ hp pump and the 2 speed 1 ½ hp.
But it must have become apparent that they underated the pumps because they
upgraded the rating to 1hp and 2hp. Since then, the rating has change to just the
low pump and their 2 speed pump. The 3hp pump has remained at their rating.
Lastly, in the industry the motor is motor only, pump is the wetend, and when they
are together, they are called pump complete.
PUMP/MOTOR
The motor takes electrical current and turns the shaft clockwise. Although