Davidpsalt

I refurbed a 1999 Hot Springs Sovereign by replacing the bearings in the Jet pump and putting a new wet end on it. Also put in a new Hotsprings Freshwater III Ozonator - but have never been happy with the output of the ozonator. After months of trying to balance the water and keep the chlorine at appropriate levels I realized the fix. I also refurbed a 1999 Grandee that I keep at my mountain cabin found that I had not issues keeping the water balanced - the big difference was that I in addition to putting a new Freshwater III in it I also replaced the Circ pump with the new E5 pump. Has much better output and pushes a lot of ozone bubbles. So - I just replaced my original circ pump in my Sovereign with the new E5 and wow - I know have great output and ozone!!! Looking forward to less maintenance in keeping my water clean and balanced!! So - if you change your ozonator and have few bubbles - replace your circ pump to the new E5!! Very easy DIY fix - use two wine bottle corks to cap off the water lines to the pump, wire up the new pump and put the water lines back on. Took me 15 minutes max.

Initially I thought is could have been parts from your diverter valve as I believe some of the housings were black - but based on your post it may be more likely that they are broken pieces of your impeller on the wet end of your jet pump. The impeller is the water wheel the pushes the water through your jet system. You may want to drain your spa and pull out your Jet pump and inspect. A new wet end for your jet pump is approximately $80 online and is easy to replace - while you have it out check the condition of the bearing on the dry motor end of the pump. This bearing typically goes if the seals on the wet end start leaking - water will come through the wet end at the shaft and carry into the bearing causing it to prematurely wear out.

I was considering a similar installation with Belgard Pavers but learned after speaking with several Hot Tub dealers that one of the least expensive installations with great results is to use (in my case) 3 pressure treated 6 x 6 posts. I carefully dug down approx 4 inches and not more - keeping the trenches very level so that I could lay down the posts in their proper position. (My Hot Spring manual provided the illustration and the exact placement to ensure the weight would be carried by the frame) I made sure they were level to each other in all directions. By burying them only 4 of the eight inches it kept the spa slightly above the finish grade - as I then spread pea gravel between each post and around the perimeter of the spa. Then I used a couple big pieces of flag stone as stepping stones to the spa steps to ensure we wouldn't track pea gravel into the spa. Very inexpensive and cost effective install - if you cut the posts to a length just shorter than the spa, you would never know they are under there - and it provided a very solid foundation for the spa keeping it slightly above grade to ensure any moisture runs off and evaporates. Good luck with you decision - I couldn't be happier with mine and compared to the bids I received from my paver guys I save a ton of cash!!!

I just completed the refurb of my 1999 Grandee and just got a call that my new cover has come in direct from Watkins. My tub came with the original Cover Mate I - the one that mounts to the cabinet and bar goes over and across the seam so that the cover will fold side to side vs. front to back. Although my current cover lifter appears to be functional and only in need of a good coat of black paint - should I be considering a better cover lifter for this size tub? Minimal side clearance is of importance since I want to push it up as close to the side wall as possible. Thanks in advance for your input. Here is a pic of how it sits now awaiting its new Esspresso cover:

Go with what Dan said. Wish I had done this. Like you I bought a 1999 Grandee that had similar leaks. My local dealer told me that if I bring it to them they would put it on the rack and take care of it a $60 per hour. Net net the approx cost was from $350 - $700 to fix. Several weeks later and I get hit with a $2,000 bill to fix the leaking T's on the 10 precission Jets and a jet in one of the corners. Never again. Will do it myself.

Thanks guys. Trigger - I paid $150 for the tub and put a new heater and circ pump in it for about $325. I paid $40 for the gallon of SW Solid Deck stain. I did not strip the previous paint off the Everwood siding - I gave it a really good wash down with a nylon scrub brush and after drying out for a couple days I brushed on the SW. It covered extremely well with only one coat so it went on fairly thin and did not adversly affect the grain appearance of the siding. Spa Guru and Spatech - I am absolutely going to get rid of the cover that came with it and put a cover mate of some kind on it. I am all ears on what cover to buy and which system will be the best in terms of the Cover Mate. I have 15 inches of clearance on both sides and approximately 23-24 Inches of clearance from the back wall. I encourage any and all advice on what to buy and where online. I am not convinced that spending $460 for a cover from the Hot Springs dealer provides me the best cover for the money - but hey, I am all ears from those that have experience with covers. I have no experience so I am looking too all those on this forum to provide some insight. Thanks in advance, Dave

I ended up using a Sherwin Williams Solid stain. here is how it came out:

That final point by Spa Guru is what I suspect may be the issue. Check you manual to ensure your tub is set up to run the heater at the same time as the Jet Pumps - if you have two Jet pumps it may only be wired to run when only 1 jet pump is on. I know that my Hot Spring spa require that you wire the tub from a 30A GFCI for the Jet Pumps and Heater for 220 and another 20A GFCI for the circ pump at 110. This allows for getting full heat while both Jet pumps are on and if there were ever a flow issue and the heater were to trip the breaker the Circ pump will continue and prevent it from freezing. Check your manual for any wiring options to allow for constant heat with Jet pumps running - or your tub may limit you to only able to run 1 jet pump if you want constant heat. Look forward to hearing back on what you find out.

I am sure there are others with more experience than I have but I believe you can easily replace the heater where it sits. No need to get it up on its side - just open the access door to the equipment bay and it should be right there on the left front. A new heater (get the updated PDR (Power Down Reset)version) for approximately $209 - $300 depending where you buy it. There should be two pumps - a circulation pump (smaller of the two) which runs approx. $130 - $150 and is easily replaced. The other is the Jet Pump. It is bigger and has two big white fittings where one is the input and the other is the outflow to the jets. This end of the pump is called the "wet end". The electric motor is the dry end. The most common cause of pump issues is that the seal that keeps water from leaking from the wet end onto the shaft of the electric motor will wear out over time and water will leak into the bearings that keep the shaft aligned in the front of the dry end. When these get wet they rust and prematurely wear causing the pump to run out of balance causing bigger issues. My pump had these issues in addition to freeze damage on the inside of the wet end. I pulled the Jet pump assembly from my tub, pulled the wet end off and sources a new wet end online for approx $80. While I had it apart I took the electric motor to a repair shop and had them replace the bearings for $40 and put it all back together. $120 repair and is dry as can be now. As far as the leak goes - the light lens will commonly leak over time and can be replaced with an updated and better designed lense that you can buy online for around $80. Another DIY job if you are so inclined. I would pull most of the equipment out of the equipment bay and then carefully remove the lense - you can find some good instructions online either on this forum or from a google search. A good source for parts and good information for Hot Spring tubs and parts is backyardplus.com I have had very good luck with them. Good luck.

Thanks. I got alot of help and advice from this forum. I put three 6 x 6's in place Dug em down4 inches and leveled em all up. Then put 57 stone between them and out to the perimeter. Pine straw around the three sides and put a nice flat stone down in front of the stairs. Am new to tubbing and loving it. Now have a 99 Grandee that I am getting ready for the cabin. Will stain it with the same stain left over from this project.

Here are pics of the 1999 Hot Spring Sovereign - needed a new heater and some jets. Here it is with a coat of solid stain. Needs a new cover

Looking forward to your pics. In addition to my Sovereign I have a Grandee that has a small leak - I believe the drain pipe going from the capped end to the drain. very slow leak but enough for me to dig in to. Can anyone post what the best tools are to use to dig out the foam without risking damage to pipes? 5 in 1 tool? Screw driver? Thanks.

Just to be sure as I own a sovereign as well - 40% back from the equipment bay to the back of the tub (long ways) .. correct? Also, not sure what you mean by directly past the hole you see the pipes coming out of. Can you give more detail? Lastly, what tools do you use to dig the foam out with to ensure you don't damage any of the other plumbing?

Sorry to hear about your leak issues. I too just picked up a Sovereign - 1999 and had to replace the heater and circ pump as well as the wet end of the Jet pump and replace the bearing on the motor! I also replaced the diverter valve and o rings as it was leaking water from the top and the o ring was worn out. When I got it going I had a small leak from the connection of the 1/4 inch hose to the fitting on the 90 degree elbow from the circ pump to the heater. I had to cut off the end to get a fresh connection, heated it up with a hair dryer and got a tight fit - slid on the spring clamp and the leak was gone. I also checked the 1/4" hose on bottom of the Jet pump and it was fine. Another place to look is the fittings to the wet end of your pump. Put a long handled flat head screw driver on one of the grip edges on the collar that tightens on the pump and hit it lightly with a hammer to tighten it. Do this to both the inlet and outlet - I had a small leak there but by doing this it stopped. You may also want to look up under the bar top - there are several air hoses that come from the jets and attached to the end of them - they are air check valves. My understanding is that these are one way valves allowing air to get sucked in to feed the jets but close if there is pressure pushed the other way. If someone or something blocks a jet, water will push up the line to the end and the check valve will stop it from flowing into the equipment bay. Over time the clear plastic nozzle end that fits into the hose will crack and break off. I had three broken check valves that needed to be replace - very easy to see as the hose will be hanging down and the check valve will still be clipped into its place up under the bar top. It is an easy fix - break up the plastic in the end of the hose and make sure to get all the pieces out and slide on a new check valve and put the spring clamp back into place. It then clips into a pvc bracket up under the bar top. One other thing - you may want to determine if there is any blockage in a jet that might be causing the water to spill through the air hose / broken check valve. I pulled all my equipment out - jet pump, circ pump and heater. Then I pulled the diverter valve out (there is an expanding plastic clip holding it in place - once you pull out the clip you can pull the valve out by twisting and pulling slowly with plyers - be carefull not to tear the o-rings. Once removed, I used a shop vac in blower mode and put the nozzle on the diverter opening and blew out any and all debri in the lines. You may even want to put the blower end on the jet outlets to break any thing loose in there free. Take your swivel jets off first before blowing in there. Then blow through the diverter again. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it is worth it down the road. I wanted to go through mine and avoid any / all issues that might pop up down the road that would keep me from enjoying my 11 year old spa!!!! Hope this helps and that your leak is not too involved.

x2 with the above. I just bought a Hot springs sovereign in Georgia that sat empty for the past year and the impella was out of wack due to slight freezing. When I took it apart I found that the seal had been leaking and the bearing on the front of the motor was shot. Purchased a new wet end for about $80 and took the motor to an electric motor reoair shop and had the front bearing pulled and replaced. Works great now. My symptoms were the exact same as yours. Pump motor would hum when turned on as it was trying to turn but was stuck ... Would then trip the breaker.