"Matt Kruse" writes:

I have a 1hp pump for an in-ground pool. I don't know how old it is - we
bought the house almost 3 years ago.
I have 2 questions:

1) At the end of last season and again this spring, when I turn the pump on
it often just sits there and hums for a few seconds, then the breaker trips.
I have to go reset it and repeat a few times before finally the pump starts
to go. Then it works fine. It's just starting that is a problem. Does this
mean I need a new pump? Or just a new motor? Or is there something else
wrong?

Can be rebuilt or replaced.

2) I'd like to have a timer hooked up to the pump, so it automatically
starts and runs overnight. Hopefully this will save on some energy cost from
leaving it run longer than it really needs to. How expensive are there, and
how difficult are they to hook up? My pump is attached to the a switch
mounted on the wall behind it so its accessible.

You want it to run during the day, off at night.
They make timers specifically for this purpose.