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Marquis spa with noisy pump


njmurvin

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I have 2010 Marquis Everyday 660 spa and the pump has gotten so noisy (squealing and grinding sounds) that it's now louder than my pool pump.  The spa has 2 pumps (a two-speed and high speed only).  Because the noise is present in both high and low speed operation, I have concluded that the noise is coming from the two-speed pump.  Also, that's the pump that runs every day (now noisily) on low speed for filtering.  I am assuming either a bearing is shot or the impeller has broken.  The pump still works and circulates the water but it's very noisy while doing so.  Is it worth trying to replace or rebuild just the wet end or should I replace the entire pump assembly including the motor?  I haven't removed the pump yet so I don't know the extent of damage or the make/model.  I have to do something soon as I fear it will be locking up completely in the not-too-distant future.  If I replace the entire pump, are there brands to stay away from or those that are preferred? 

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First of all, is it vibration?  Mounts loosen up over time.  Make sure everything's tight.  While it's running, see if a little hand pressure solves the noise problem.

If it's a metallic, scraping noise it's probably the motor bearings.  Personally, I wouldn't get a motor rebuilt, you'd be spending $200 to avoid spending $400 to have a 6 year old motor.  If the bearings are worn, chances are the wet end will be going pretty soon as well.  Just buy the new motor and be rid of the problem.

If the problem is the impeller, it would probably impact water flow, although it may have been such a gradual impeller change that you don't notice it.  I've never seen damage to impellers bad enough to make noise but not bad enough to impact water flo.  Usually, it's the other way around.

Sometimes something gets stuck in the wet end - a rock, cigarette lighter, plastic toys, I've pulled them all out.  Definitely worth a check before spending money on new parts.  You don't have to disassemble the wet end, just remove the suction and discharge pipes and look (and feel around) inside.

Aquaflo and Waterway are the two major hot tub pumps you'll see out there.  Either is OK, and either has a few duds.  I usually try to replace the pump in the tub with the same brand because the footprints can be different.  If you have a lot of open space around the existing pump, an inch or two isn't important, you can always make it fit.  The Aquaflo and Waterway are currently being assembled in Mexico.

Several manufacturers are starting to use LX brand pumps, which are made in China.  I've seen what looks like an unusually high failure rate in the LX pumps, both with motors and wet ends.  They can be a lot less expensive than the other pumps out there, but I don't recommend them.  The wet ends seem to be particularly bad, I've had them fail when only 4 months old.  Failure rates on the Aquaflo and Waterway are probably 2 or 3 percent, I'd say 10% on the LX. 

Just to be fair, I own a repair company, so my experience is definitely skewed towards dealing with failures.  But while the average age of a seized Waterway or Aquaflo pump is about 8 years, the average age of a seized LX pump is closer to 3 years.  (I said "average failed" pump - there are plenty of 10 and 12 year old pumps out there still working)

 

 

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Great advice!  Exactly what I was looking for.  As far as a foreign object in the pump, I have had a series of jets that have popped out needing replacement.  When I complained to Marquis, they sent me a bunch of jets.  So, I can expect more to follow.   I wonder if a broken plastic part from one of the jets might be caught in there somewhere.  Certainly worth checking.  Again, thanks for the advice and I'll let you know what I find.

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I wonder how all that stuff gets stuck inside pump impellers, since NOBODY would run their hot tub without the filters in place, right? 

I've seen a few jet parts in pumps..  Often, jets pop out when the tabs that hold them in place get brittle and break from too much chlorine.  When you look inside your pump, if the wet end is bleached, you might consider giving up on chlorine and switching to an MP/ozonator/mineral stick disinfecting regimen. 

 

 

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My spa is built into a large gazebo.  I finally was able to remove the rear panel of the gazebo to expose the equipment area of the spa and remove the cover.  It appears that the seal of the wet end has been leaking. Oddly, I didn't see any water leaking but there are mineral deposits in the area of the seal and the exposed part of the motor shaft is rusted/corroded very badly and can only assume the bearing has been affected as well.  I decided to order a new pump online.  It was a Flo Master XP2 56F which has been replaced by the XP2e.  I should have it in a few days.  Is it better to drain the spa for the pump swap as opposed to using the gate valves?  I have those kinds of valves on my RV and they don't always close completely.  I will look inside my wet end for evidence of bleaching.  I have always used a bromine floater.  I thought I had an ozonator (I know I paid for one) but after looking around my equipment area, I sure don't see it.   Frankly, my understanding is that the Marquis isn't the best candidate for an ozonator because it doesn't have a circulation pump and only circulates the water for a few hours per day while filtering.

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The gate valves are a crap shoot.  Lots of times, when they get older, they don't close completely, or even worse, won't open completely.  Lots of times, just using them after they've been sitting in the same position for 8 years is enough to elicit a leak. Unless you want to take a chance of replacing plumbing, I'd consider draining the water instead of messing with 8 year old gate valves.

An ozonator will be connected using 3/8 or 1/4 inch tubing, you usually have several loops of it somewhere in the top of the equipment compartment.  Here's a photo of a marquis ozonator tubing loop:

https://goo.gl/photos/LZofasqqUi1WRRx56

I've seen hundreds of hot tubs without circulation pumps that had ozonators.  The ozonators just operate during filtration cycles.

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OK. I'll definitely drain the spa (it's probably due anyway) before the pump swap.  Should I pre-fill the wet end with water to help prime it and prevent air lock? I think my plumbing has a bleed screw to let air out. 

I'll look again for the ozonator but I'm pretty sure it's not in there.  After 6 years, I probably can't  get my dealer to do anything about this. Bad on me for not checking before.  But it still kinda ticks me off that I paid for something I didn't receive.

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I've never bothered to pre-fill the wet ends, I don't know if that will help it couldn't hurt to try, but as soon as water gets in there, it's just going to flow out into the pipes.

To help prevent air-locks always fill through the filters, not the foot well.  If possible, remove the filters and put the hose directly into the plumbing.

The reason is that the filters go directly to the pumps.  If you put the hose into the tub foot well where the drains are, all the air in the drain pipes will get trapped by the water, and some of it may end up in a pump, causing an air lock.

 

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