SpaSage

If it is an acrylic shell the sunlight will cause crazing over time.

Yes, there absolutely are some options for replacing the control pack. I would recommend replacing it with a Balboa VS pack. This system will come with a new heater, new topside, new sensors... basically everything but your pumps and blowers. Just Google "Balboa VS pack" and you'll be able to find plenty of places to purchase one. They are roughly $350 from online vendors.

Eh... That's going to be a pain to replace. If it were my tub I would just seal around the plunger with it in the open position. Unfortunately, this means that you would need to drain the spa if you want to remove that pump... but that should be a very rare occurrence.

It sounds like you suspected a component may have gotten wet at one point. Perhaps you were correct. If water came in contact with the pump motor if could trip the breaker. Once the pump dried out the tripping issue would stop; usually happens that way. Unfortunately, I can't tell you if the knife valve is broken or not. If it is broken, and the valve is closed, that explains why the jets aren't working. The pump can't pull any water passed the closed valve. If the valve is working, and it is in the open position, it is possible that you have an air bubble trapped in the wet end of the pump. This is a fairly common occurrence when hot tubs are not filled through the filter compartment. In this case, since the valve was closed before the water was added, it doesn't really matter how you filled the hot tub. Try shutting the power off to the spa and cracking the union on the front of the pump. Just open it gently. Once a bit of water comes out, tighten the union back up, flip the power back on, and see if it goes when you press go. If it doesn't, your valve is probably broken.

Perhaps you can identify it here: https://www.paspdirect.com/bemisters/product.html?id=1481

The main active ingredient in brominating concentrate is chlorine... so if a person has a reaction to chlorine, they will have a reaction to bromine. There is a chance that a person could have a reaction to sodium bromide, which is obviously not contained in chlorinating concentrate. So the odds or irritation are slightly greater when using bromine. One thing to keep in mind is that you can switch a chlorine spa to bromine simply by adding bromine. To switch from bromine to chlorine, you must drain the water.

You can get a pump mounting pad to help reduce vibration. If the pump didn't come with one, you can purchase them online for around $5.00.

I missed the part about it stopping once it had already been running. That is not consistent with a capacitor failing. The capacitor failing would keep the pump from starting to work. Once the pump starts working there is a stationary switch that kicks off the power to the capacitor... which is why it would read zero once the pump has started working. Is the pump louder than normal? The pump probably is shutting off do to the thermal overload, but that doesn't mean that it isn't working correctly. Is the pump getting really hot? Does it seems like it works fine when it hasn't been used in awhile, but fails after it has been running for a bit and then won't start up?

Have you thought about the Dimension One Meridian or Latitude? They're the same size as Nautilus, but I personally like their jet layouts better. They don't have the same filtration system in them, and they aren't controllable via your cell phone... but they should also be in your desired price range judging by the price you were given for a Nautique. If you do decide to order a Meridian or Latitude it would be best to add the ClearZone option.

The four dashes probably don't have anything to do with your pump one issue. It could be the capacitor on the pump. If you can check the voltage to the pump with a multimeter when the pump icon is present, this will confirm that the board and topside control are functioning correctly.

If the price difference between the Bullfrog is only "a few hundred dollars less" than the Sundance or the Hot Springs, definitely go with the Hot Springs or Sundance. They're both high quality spas. It sounds like you like both of the dealers... so, simply buy the one that you like the best.

You could just replace the heat exchanger inside of the heater if the rest of it still works fine. Go with the Cupronickel version. I believe the part number for your model is 777070244. This version will be less likely than the standard version to break down and put copper into your water.

Shut the power off, plug the old temp sensor back in, take out the filter, turn the power back on. It sounds like there is a flow error in the spa, which is usually caused by an old filter. If the dashes come back and the SN2 code is gone the next two things to check are the circulation pump and flow switch.

Hi Jeff, The "8888" message usually indicates that the topside isn't communicated correctly with the board. It's usually a break in communication. So, I would assume that it does have something to do with the chewed on cable. If it's a small section of the cable that is damage then it would probably be best to splice out the damaged section and then reconnect each of the wires inside individually; just match the colors. If possible, try to stagger the connections... so instead of having all of the wires inside of the cable patched at the same point in one giant glob, you have a connection, a gap, a connection, a gap... it'll just make it easier for you while you're working.

If you're happy with the spa, other than the siding, then I would definitely recommend tackling the project yourself. Ordering panels from Watkins, or hiring a contractor to do it are going to cost about the same. I would wander into your local Home Depot or Lowe's store and tell them what you are doing and I bet they can give you some reasonably priced options.