pkillur

Thanks for the info PS - looks like the terminal cracked from getting too hot - so I'll need a new one... :/

Hi all - I have a windriver spa that uses a SpaBuilders LX-15 2 pump + ozonator spa pack. I recently replaced the motherboard and the heater (the board went bad and the element wasn't heating after I replaced the board). Not sure where to check but I'm wondering if something is either faulty with the heat sensor or if I just have a crap board. It wouldn't heat on my last element - but I figured it was a few years old so let's replace it. So I did and it started heating. I noticed that it felt a little cold as I was doing chems yesterday and found it to be burnt up about 2 inches on the red wire. My questions: 1: Anyone have any ideas why it would have done that? 2: Could it have been grounded or something? 3: Is it safe to use the current heating element or should I replace it? It's literally a week old. 4: I think my flow sensor is good - but I'm not sure how to test my heat sensor. 5: Could my eprom have anything to do with this? I'm battling an issue with my topside controls not working also - trying to figure out if the issue is a topside, prom, or main board issue. For reference the eprom version is 6.77 WR Alpha. Thanks, -PKillur

Followup information: Circuit board is a Spa-builders LX15, and the eprom is a 6.77. Topside controls are LX15 6B2P it says W/R Alpha. Could it be an EPROM mismatch? My eprom just says 6.77 but the one on the old board said Windriver alpha 6.77 ??

I just replaced my circuit board which has been on the fritz for some time. I am dealing with a few issues and wondered if anyone had any ideas. The first one is that when I plug the topside controls into the new board - it is just flat out dead. It was dead on the last board - but this isn't necessarily a good gauge I don't think. The second thing is that my circuit is popping at the heater. But, I am 90% certain it's the heater and am in the process of getting a replacement element. So my real question is - is there a way a novice-not-hot-tub-guy can test the topside controls? Like can I plug it into something else and see if it pops up with LCD controls or something? Thanks, -pkil

So if I get a comparable kit it should work I'm guessing? Are there any reasons to leave balboa and go to another brand that might be better / less expensive??

I have a Windriver spa that uses a Balboa Spa Pack. The exact model escapes me but it's around 2001(ish). We've had a ton of rain lately and I'm assuming a short of some sort (I live in Denver, and it almost never rains). The circ pump is no longer running, and when I push the button for pump 1 and pump 2 it turns on the light like it's running but doesn't do anything. As the circ pump isn't working, it's obviously not heating (Thank God it's not negative 10 outside!!!) Can any of you think of something simple that could be wrong with the spa pack that is easily remedied or is it probably fried? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the info. For whatever reason I think the spa pack was wigged out. I tried bouncing the power and turning it off and on. I decided since it's warm here in CO today to do a partial water change and killed the power since it would drop below the input for the circ pump. Sure enough it is working like a champ now. Not sure what happened... ??

Greetings fellow tubbers. My tub is a WindRiver Spa with balboa controls. When refilling my tub yesterday, I noticed the topside controls are alternating the following pattern: Jet light, 1's number, 10's number, 100's number with dashes (I.E. instead of the normal 101 it should be showing it shows Jets led, - where 1 should be, - where 0 should be, - where 1 should be. It goes from right to left. I can turn on the jets and put them on high and low temperature. Doesn't appear to be turning up and down the temperature though. Light button works as well. Anyone have any thoughts? It sometimes does a static - - - when I refill it and it's full of stupid cold water (I live in Colorado) until the temperature comes up. Could it be the temperature sensor croaked? The heater element is fairly new (like last year sometime). I think I replaced the temperature sensor at the same time.

Just a little bump on this topic since I never heard anything back. It looks like the heater is definitely busted. I'm debating two heaters - one is a flo-thru with a "tefel" coating - I'm trying to google it and I don't really see it anywhere except (ironically enough) on this forum and a few links. It's on Amazon and I think they mean "tefal" coated. It's made by the company 'thermcore" and I can't find too many reviews on it. There is another one I was looking at from the local dealership, but it's a bit steep - $120 titanium element. I think I've found it online a lot cheaper at ~70 bucks. But I get free shipping on amazon. Does anyone have any experience with the 'Tefal' coating or titanium elements?

I'm going to use Dr. Spa's handy-dandy "how to test your element / how power works" guide to confirm my suspicions, but I'm 95% sure my heater element is dead. I was shipped off overseas for 6 weeks and came back to relax ... in my 82 degreee tub (which was a huge disappointment). The controls appear to be heating, and as well, I never see my TED (power consumption monitoring device) say I get up to 5-8 kva like I normally do. Since I believe the element is bad, my question is whether or not any of you have a recommended replacement element? I've seen some that are titanium - does this really make a difference? The hype says that corrosive stuff won't stick to it. I'm wondering though if it heats as well?

While reading an article on the weather channel I read the following line (link here): I know that the water feels "wetter" or more "light" when I've added borates into it - is that the reason that mold isn't able to grow in borate infused water? Just kinda curious.

I went to Lowes the other day in a pinch hit effort to find dichlor after my local store had closed (was like 8 PM - needed / wanted to use tub). They had their chemicals outside, which I didn't love so much @ 25 degrees, but it was STUPID CHEAP. And, they had Boric Acid from Dupont - I haven't found that ANYWHERE here in town, and had been ordering it online. My question - does any of the following chemicals go bad if exposed to about -10 degree weather: Dichor MPS Boric Acid CYA ??

So, this post is decrepitly old, but I did find out a couple of things trolling through some old posts: #1 - someone mentioned filling the hot tub through the filter was imperative, and I honestly don't know if I did that on the last fill. #2 - I went on vacation, so I shocked to 15 PPM and when I came back 6 days later it was at 0, so I figured it was growing something funky. I threw in some spa flush and got a flithy green funk out. I nitro shocked again after it and then dumped the water. After the dump and refill my pump works great with no recurring airlock. Perhaps it was water level? Perhaps it was murky crap on the impeller? Who knows, but the problem is resolved! Woo Hoo!

Also - Make sure you clean your filter as well. Use TSP, you can get it from Home Depot or Lowes in the painting section. I perfer it to the non TSP cleaners when you decon stuff - I tried to use a happy enviro friendly one and nothing came out. I put it into a TSP solution and it got WAAAAAY cleaner. Make sure you rinse it out with your showerhead or a spray nozzle from your hose to get all the TSP out before you put it back into the water in your spa.

Follow Nitro's Decon guide to the letter and you'll be good to go. One thing that I've had really good luck with that I can't remember if it's in there or not, is spaflush from spadepot.com. I inherited the hot tub from my in-laws and my wife got something from it as well - not sure if it was foliculatis or what. Make sure you follow the instructions to the letter and you'll be good. And also make sure you have a really good dropper test kit. Most folks around here recommend the Taylor - I have one it's awesome. Search the site and you'll find various places to buy them. One person recommended Amato Industries and I purchased one there. The shipping was a touch slow but it was easily 10 bucks cheaper than anywhere else. Nitro's Decon Guide