Freeze Concern For Leaking Tiger River Siberian

[KevinNH]

My Tiger River Siberian (2000) is leaking in a couple of spots. Pretty much in the middle of the tub is where the drips show up. The water level drops about an inch a week. It takes about five minutes to top it off. For reasons that are not important here, I cannot attempt a proper in-foam repair this fall. What are the major concerns going into winter (in NH where we will see temps as low as 20 below or maybe lower)? I know the foam is not as good an insulator when it is wet, and I have wondered about the ice build up under the deck it sits on. Is there a risk of further damage caused by the cold weather? I have tried the fix-a-leak products (two brands) and they made the leaks considerably less, but have not completely stopped them.

[Dnepr Dave]

Drain it and suck the remaining water out of the plumbing, through the jets, with a wet/dry vac.

Then you can repair it properly when you have the time.

Dave

[Hot Spring Official]

Hi KevinNH,

Dnepr Dave is getting you on the right track. You'll want to drain and 'winterize your spa'. Freeze damage to PVC is pretty much crippling to a spa. I'd suggest calling our customer service team at 800-999-4688 and having them email you an owner's manual to use and follow its steps for "winterizing". Secondarily, liquid leak repair products like you've described are not recommended to be use with our hot tubs. They can provide temporary fixes occassionally, but since our plumbing is flexible it is never a permanent solution. Also it can potentally damage other components of the spa.

Thanks,

Steve

---Hot Spring Spas---

[KevinNH]

Did I make it clear that I would be running the tub through the winter (with the leaks) and adding water as needed? I did not plan to leave it full and off. My guess is that you understood my plan, and are suggesting that I must drain and winterize it to prevent further damage. Is that correct?

[Hot Spring Official]

Hey KevinNH,

I read it as though it'd be left unused during the winter; my apologizes! We would recommend getting it fixed or shutting it down. The water leaking can/will freeze the foam and ultimately expand causing other issues.

Thanks,

Steve

---Hot Spring Spas---

[KevinNH]

I have a follow-up question re: Hot Springs/Tiger River Foam. In another post a tub owner, facing an in-foam repair was advised that the tub would weigh "a lot" more because the foam would act like a sponge and would absorb a lot of water, therefore making the tub very difficult to lift for a repair. Speaking with a tub "expert" in my area, he said that Hot Springs uses closed cell foam, rather than open cell foam like many other tub manufacturers use. He said that the closed cell foam does not absorb water like the open cell. So my question is...is he correct?, and if so will the foam still be likely to freeze if it does not absorb water? He even spoke of weep holes in the bottom of the foam?

Just throwing this out there...

Kevin

[jedema]

I just got done repairing my 2000 Tiger River Bengal. I can tell you that the foam in that one absorbed quite a bit of water... I'd guess that yours is the same foam as mine.

[KevinNH]

That would make sense. How did the repair go? Did you put the tub on its side, or jack it up and work from underneath?

[jedema]

That depends on the repair. 3 precision jets were repaired with the tub on its bottom... I had one of those large 1.5" check valves split in the other corner... That one required me to tip the tub on its side.

[KevinNH]

I am finally ready to try to repair the above discussed hot tub. I have it off the deck and on its side. I have removed the outer urethane in a couple of areas with a claw hammer, and then removed some of the foam with a pressure washer.

Now that I can see some of the tubing, my concern is: how am I going to see where it was leaking? Unless a crack in the tubing is large, I can't imagine how I will find it.

I am considering laying the tub back down, filling it and adding some dye to the water. Hopefully that would stain the foam?

It leaked most when the circ pump was running, making another issue; I have no way to run the circulating pump in its current location. Someone with more electrical knowledge than I have could probably wire enough 110 to run the pump.

Any advice members of the group can provide would be much appreciated.

Kevin