vtwinbarblaster

Hopefully you have not "BYPASSED" your heater control check list of things that it verifies when it calls for heat, i.e, 1) temp/overheat status 2) water flow/pressure verification. These are the big two, just because you have found a way to get the heater to work, doesn't mean it's right. Diagnosing electrical problems has nothing to do with guessing, if you are not absolutely certain about what you are doing, you will be reminded of that when, your spa has now reached a temperature so high it makes it's own bubbles, because it no longer has the ability to regulate it's temperature when maintaining your preferred temp setting ( which you might have disabled ) or turning off heater completely in the event of exceeding high-limit sensor rating ( which you might have disabled ) there is a reason why the heater was wired to the relay that failed, I DO NOT RECOMMEND BYPASSING THE HEATER CONTROL CIRCUIT !!!

I am assuming you have an side access panel that when removed allows access to pumps,controls,etc. If you have removed the panel to inspect, or repair something, and now you are trying to verify proper operation of pumps,air blower, light, etc. when you are doing this, are you trying to run spa with the spa side panel removed? if so try putting panel back on and see if it will return to normal operation,, but before you place the panel in place, look at the perimeter edges of the panel on both sides, if the inside of the panel has a 2'' long rectangular shaped plastic coated piece with 2 screws at each end mounted to the panel, It will also have a similar plastic piece mounted on the spa side of the access hole, so when the panel is in place it will line up both pieces, and magnetically close the open circuit that is created when the panel is off, "heater interlock switch" or "magnetic interlock" this is a safety feature on some spas, As far as your 30A G.F.I. panel breaker when you said it wasn't tripping did you mean it wouldn't test and reset when the test button on the breaker was pressed? and when you replaced it with new one did that G.F.I. also fail to reset when the test button was pressed like the original I am assuming you are referring to the test button on the G.F.I,. when you refer to it as "not tripping" so make sure the panel door is on the spa, and see if might be problem.

The floor model could possibly be what he was planning on selling you to begin with. The spa man doesn't want you to walk out of that store, sooooo he comes up with this, ...Hey i have something you might be interested in? (then he waits for you to respond back)...(you customer) oh yeah,what's that? (spa-man) I would be willing to sell you this floor model, only thing is you don't have your choice of color, and there might be a scratch or two in the wood, but other than that its the same model,.....(you customer) what's the price? (spa-man) well if the price was right, would you be interested? ....(you customer) yes...(spa-man) well since all floor models are first come first serve, if you could put a deposit on it tonight, I would be willing to let it go for $12,800, then maybe if you didn't bite at that price, right before you leave again to get in your car he might say....(spa-man) you know, if i could come down in price even more, would you give me a deposit on it tonight?..(you customer) really?? yes! (spa-man) well if you wouldn't mind taking a few phone calls from others that are thinking about buying one of are spas, and let them ask you about how much you use it, how much you like it,etc.i could do it for $12,500 the only thing is you cant tell them how much you paid for it, etc.only because they will be paying $13,500 for there's ( what i am saying is, tell him you slept on it, and talked it over, comparison shopped etc) and simply say...i would be a buyer today at $12,000 if he says no,just shake his hand,and walk out the door to the point of pulling out,of the parking spot your in,(your gonna see how serious he is at this point) because he will either (a) come out to stop you from leaving,or ( not come out to stop you. If he doesn't follow you out, then you can turn the car off and go back in the store, and be pretty sure that he has given you his best price, tell him you changed your mind, and close the deal at agreed upon price, these sales reps usually have a price range to work within, and will start you at the highest price first, then he will use the "floor model close" then if you don't bite at that price drop, he might use the " referral close" (this close makes you think you will have to talk to a few of his future clients, how do you like your spa?, how much do you use your spa?, etc.and in your mind your thinking a few phone calls?...a floor model? and i can save all this money!! heck yeah! you will say, but the only thing happening to you at that moment is you are being closed, there is nobody that is going to call you, the floor model you think is a deal is just part of a story used to close you (he cant drop price without a reason) now I could be wrong about this "spa man" maybe he has no understanding of anything mentioned here, maybe he has one price, and he really see's his "display model" as just that, his "display model" maybe he was quoting bible scriptures the whole time you were in his store, i don't know, maybe he is just that guy who talks to customers about his spas and hopes for the spa to sell itself, he would then fit my definition of a "salesman", but on the other hand if he is a "closer" then his reason for getting up in the morning has everything to do with taking the "we are just looking at spas today, were not ready to buy yet" customer, and masterfully turn them into the "we bought a spa today" customer. Now to try and answer your question, should you buy the new spa or, the floor model. Well in my opinion, neither, after 30 year's of being in the swimming pool and spa industry my advice to you would be to actively search craigslist and maybe spot a broken down slightly older spa that is listed as "free", (most of them are to old and are free for a reason) but? Many times new home buyers, end up with a spa/hot tub in there new homes back yard, that they want nothing to do with, even if there is nothing wrong with it!!, mostly on average, condition issues are related to non functioning pumps, heaters, controls, a few stuck spinner jets, minor leaks,etc,etc then you find a reputable spa tech in your area to help search for a spa that can be refurbished to like new condition, using high quality aftermarket controls, and any component upgrades that add to reliability, have the spa repair tech you choose do all of the installation of parts to bring it up to a dependable, fully functioning, reliable, turn key standard, that most likely will make any comparison to the $12,800 spa impossible due to unmatchable value that cant be touched when comparing it to a free spa and maybe $2000.00 to $3000.00 in part's and labor. you make Your only argument for value on the warranty that on the surface puts you at ease, giving you peace of mind, really? i used to be a manufacturers warranty rep for jacuzzi spas, of that $12,800.00 price tag i would think,$4000.00 ( or more) are just to offset warranty service calls, that are built into the price that reflect past totals statistically for previous years and models, not to mention the pro rated warranty structure in place, the actual spa shell itself is covered by this, what you might think is i am covered for say 10 years, but if you notice, say..4 years into the warranty that the spa shell has delaminated, or bubbled up somewhere, and you call for warranty service, they might say in there defense, its not under warranty because our tech said the ph was not maintained in the range specified in warranty documents to maintain structural integrity of shell, or warranty does not cover cosmetic appearance, only for the shells ability to hold water, On a $12,800 spa i might even consider having a lawyer review and explain the coverage of how warranty service conditions are understood, and maintained to manufactures recommendations, if i were to take a guess at how many consumers give the time to read a products warranty small print on big ticket items like this, i would guess 5% of them would., its doesn't really cost them much if they do have to honor there warranty, because if you used it 4 of 10 years, its under warranty, then your gonna end up paying for half of a spa shell that only cost them half of what you paid to make it, so they make money on you there to. in closing , i am feeling generous this morning to take a little more time on answering this and to ask you one thing...do you "really" want to spend $13,000 on a spa that you cant even drive? or, do you really think for some reason this spa heats up the water better, or that it has some magical sanitizer tube with a flashing blue light inside that eliminates the need for chemicals? there are more ridiculous claims of this and that, the amount of time you need to take care of it they will tell you is cut in half, etc. See if you can spot something free, then add a few thousand to make it functional, and dependable, reliable,etc. then take the left over $10,000 you didn't have to spend on that new spa, invest it, in a few years it will pay for the nice free spa you refurbished, and you will be waaaayyy ahead of the game, because all spas get hot the same way, they blow water through jets the same way,etc most likely after awhile the novelty of spa ownership wears off resulting in less and less use,(disregard this if your wallet is fat and you can easily afford to buy the new spa)

There is a spillway option during the initial first time setup of the aqualink that the installer or builder determines whether or not it needs to be "on" or "off" this option can only be activated via the dip switch on the motherboard (dip is 1 1/2 inches long by 1/2 wide approx. it is red in color,with 8 white,tiny little slide switches and mounts on main circuit board on outdoor control box where you can bypass indoor controler ) during initial set up one of the steps asks whether or not you want spillway "on" or "off" then installer verifies the dip switch position based on his assesment of the pool/spa plumbing schematic, it may be that your pool needed to have spillway "on" to ensure that spa has circulation when pool mode is on, which would explain why when equipment is off the jva toggle switch will operate jva, but when pump is on that jva toggle will not allow jva to turn, why?? if dip is set to "on" for spillway the main board considers that to be important enough to not allow jva to be manualy operated while pump is on, a counter measure , locking out jva toggle , spillway "on" trumps jva toggle switch ,,maybe homeowner wanted spillway on, purely for the effect, etc,etc. sure, there are ways to program spa to isolate itself from pool an hour or two daily via indoor control ensuring it gets proper filtration, but then your looking at everyday activating jvas,and auto shut off of pump when jvas need to turn, why do that when you can opt for spillway "on" combining pool and spa , as part of daily pool filtration schedule you programed on indoor controler , i think it is set up this way, as i am almost certain that you still have proper function when selecting "spa on" button on indoor controller ,then to go out to pool equipment area and be able to see jvas turn isolating spa from pool, then back inside to turn spa off , then back outside to watch jvas turn to isolate pool from spa, but one jva will will stop turning at the middle point due to spillway "on" this is the return jva,,middle position means water goes to both pool and spa which means spa fills then goes over spillway back into pool, but if you are manually toggling return jva ,while equipment off you will be able to make the full turn of jva.,and not be able to do anything by toggling it when pump is on, your logic wanted to see a mirror like jva position when watching them turn point a to point b but when you went point b to point a one jva stopped in the middle while the other kept turning, i think it tricked your eyes and brain into at one point seeing them turn and stop together,but when reversed you noticed one stopped before the other.can you see where im going with this? but if spillway "off" was choosen they would both turn in a mirror like pattern,see? 180' each spillway "off" "vs" 180' for one jva and only 90' for the other spillway 'on'

There is a spillway option during the initial first time setup of the aqualink that the installer or builder determines whether or not it needs to be "on" or "off" this option can only be activated via the dip switch on the motherboard (dip is 1 1/2 inches long by 1/2 wide approx. it is red in color,with 8 white,tiny little slide switches and mounts on main circuit board on outdoor control box where you can bypass indoor controler ) during initial set up one of the steps asks whether or not you want spillway "on" or "off" then installer verifies the dip switch position based on his assesment of the pool/spa plumbing schematic, it may be that your pool needed to have spillway "on" to ensure that spa has circulation when pool mode is on, which would explain why when equipment is off the jva toggle switch will operate jva, but when pump is on that jva toggle will not allow jva to turn, why?? if dip is set to "on" for spillway the main board considers that to be important enough to not allow jva to be manualy operated while pump is on, a counter measure , locking out jva toggle , spillway "on" trumps jva toggle switch ,,maybe homeowner wanted spillway on, purely for the effect, etc,etc. sure, there are ways to program spa to isolate itself from pool an hour or two daily via indoor control ensuring it gets proper filtration, but then your looking at everyday activating jvas,and auto shut off of pump when jvas need to turn, why do that when you can opt for spillway "on" combining pool and spa , as part of daily pool filtration schedule you programed on indoor controler , i think it is set up this way, as i am almost certain that you still have proper function when selecting "spa on" button on indoor controller ,then to go out to pool equipment area and be able to see jvas turn isolating spa from pool, then back inside to turn spa off , then back outside to watch jvas turn to isolate pool from spa, but one jva will will stop turning at the middle point due to spillway "on" this is the return jva,,middle position means water goes to both pool and spa which means spa fills then goes over spillway back into pool, but if you are manually toggling return jva ,while equipment off you will be able to make the full turn of jva.,and not be able to do anything by toggling it when pump is on, your logic wanted to see a mirror like jva position when watching them turn point a to point b but when you went point b to point a one jva stopped in the middle while the other kept turning, i think it tricked your eyes and brain into at one point seeing them turn and stop together,but when reversed you noticed one stopped before the other.can you see where im going with this? but if spillway "off" was choosen they would both turn in a mirror like pattern,see? 180' each spillway "off" "vs" 180' for one jva and only 90' for the other spillway 'on'

(there is a tool available called a "ram-bit" get one for 2"pipe, it attaches to a drill) first cut in the middle of the two couplers with a hack saw,and then hack saw the pipe on the other side of the pump (discharge side),move the old pump out of the way so you have room,get directly in front of the jandy valve now (where the pump was)and with the ram-bit attached to an electric drill (electric is best with ram-bit)line it up with the coupler that is attached to the jandy valve,and start to drill out the pipe in the coupler, only taking out 1 1/4 inches of the 2" pipe that is glued in the first half of the coupler as the second half is obviously attached to the jandy valve(which is the front half of the coupler) the ram-bit is sized to bore out the old glued in pipe, and leave the coupler intact (be careful using ram-bit)now you can put a 2 pipe again in that part of the coupler, i use ram-bits alot when i encounter this,the other ideas are also sound i.e. 1 1/2" pipe in jandy valve,or the pipe extender fitting your describing,those are obviously easier, but the ram-bit allows you to still remain 2" and the others wont

did you put the filter elements in? ,or are you assuming there new...what kind of returns are there? i,e. water feature? wall returns?...both?...more?....are there any gate , or jandy , type valves after the filter?.....does the filter tank expand when pump is turned on? ..... does the gauge freely drop to zero when pump is shut off?...gauges are cheap , but very useful ,when diagnosing problems ...PUT A NEW ONE ON!!!...i am thinking old elements in filter , or valve regulating returns to pool possibly , bank owned property?...never assume anything with this type of account..should be very simple...take the elements out of tank , replace lid see what happens ,if you havent taken the tank apart and put the elements in yourself ,then verify they are indeed new by TAKING THE TANK LID OFF AND LOOKING FOR YOURSELF!!!!if theres a 3 way jandy valve on regulating return to pool MAKE SURE THE PREVIOUS OWNER DIDNT TAKE A HAMMER TO THE LITTLE HANDLE NOT REALIZING ONE OFF THE FOUR NOTCHES ON HANDLE IS SMALLER THAN OTHER 3..AND NOW HAS ALTERED THE TRUE GATE POSITION THAT VALVE IS IN!!!i can only guess as to what is wrong but you need to question everything , and assume nothing...hope this helps

you should locate the representative in your area who handles that product line,and arrange to have them come out to provide a detailed orientation on how everything works,i.e. the pool builder, manufacturers rep,or service company in your area that might be available to come out to give specific info as it pertains to your equipment,do your best to make sure who ever it is that comes out,will have extensive knowledge of your equipment in order to minimize potential confusion regarding its proper operation ,which will greatly improve your ability to fully understand,or at least grasp the fundamentals of its operation and then use that to further answer any other questions you may have via there tecnical support line, more than likely having someone come out will not be free, but you will be much better off in the long run by doing it this way,and eventually with a little effort on your part, feel comfortable with its operation and functions i have been in the swimming pool business for 20 yrs now,and i know how overwhelming and complex some of this equipment that is available today can be, and have found, spending time with my customers, to get them over the initial hurdle of any equipments proper operation, proves invaluable good luck.

when the spa is isolated from the pool, it will cause the increase in pressure at the filter,the reason for this is your spa jets have an orifice in each jet that restrict flow,in order to achieve the theuraputic pressure effect from the jets,this is normal,when you clean your filters and replace them back in the tank observe the gauge reading on the filter when it is in its normal pool circulating mode,and when it gets 10-15 p.s.i. or higher with the pool valves set in the same position for the initial reading you had with clean filters,it will be time to clean them again,for example if you put new clean filters in aug.7.2007 and noticed the gauge reading was 10 p.s.i. in the normal pool circulation mode,and after a few months or whatever time goes by and you notice the pressure is now 20-25 p.s.i. in the same mode you originaly used to determine the clean filter presure reading,it will be time to reclean them again