water circulating pump/motor

I have a water heater which uses Bells and Gossett's centrifugal water circulating pump with motor, located between hot water heater(burner) and hot water tank: I noticed this motor/pump is "HOT" when I touch it, is this NORMAL? or something bad or going to be bad? this motor/pump runs 24hours since it plugs power cable 24 hours( I have not sit in there and watch wether or not it actually runs 24 hours but I assume...) Plug in 24 hours and making it running 24 hours could cause this "HOT" issue? or Do I need to install auto-timer thing to shut-off power to motor at night and turn on in the morning every day?
which is better? or both doesn't matter?
The motor suppose to be HOT? if yes, how much hot is allowable?
if too hot is no good, then the only choice is to replace motor/pump? or try to find and fix the real cause for this?
Thanks

A pump circulating hot water is going to be about as hot as the water passing through it, and it is a safe bet your pump was designed to handle that heat. I have a TACO pump circulation hot water through a small kickspace heater, and it also gets too hot to hold while it is running.

You can do away with the pump if you put the return pipe into the bottom of the heater. The slight cooling that occurs while the hot water travels through the piping (even when insulated) will cause the hotter water to rise in the heater and keep the loop going indefinately. No more pump problems.

bob...

leejosepho said:

A pump circulating hot water is going to be about as hot as the water passing through it, and it is a safe bet your pump was designed to handle that heat. I have a TACO pump circulation hot water through a small kickspace heater, and it also gets too hot to hold while it is running.

Click to expand...

How about lubligation affects this "HOT TEMP" issue?
Too much and Too often could cause this "HOT"?
or too small or not many oiling could cause this?
Or, oiling quantity and quality doesn't matter and it has nothing to do with Motor Temp. issue?

Thanks

steveleewonder said:

How about lubligation affects this "HOT TEMP" issue?
Too much and Too often could cause this "HOT"?
or too small or not many oiling could cause this?
Or, oiling quantity and quality doesn't matter and it has nothing to do with Motor Temp. issue?

Click to expand...

My personal experience here is limited to the one pump I began using about a year ago, but your pump's manufacturer should have specific answers for those kinds of questions. As far as I know, the only lubrication other than water in the TACO pump I am using would be in the motor, and whatever oil or grease is actually there is likely capable of withstanding the temperature rating of the overall pump. However, TACO's design of the motor being in a canister that is easy to replace means the motor might not last as long as the pump. So, maybe you could find a thermometer to check your motor's operating temperature to see whether it is actually running very much hotter than the water passing through.