RandySea

No question the fixaleak stopped it each time for a while. That makes evaporation an unlikely cause. Also, it was no different in deep winter than in 90°+ summer. We have a cover in very good condition. I haven't seen any water at either drain outlet. In any case, you've given me some suggestions to raise with the service people. I did order a new Prodigy late last year, but their estimate for having one to deliver is late fall or early winter. But if I could fix this leak, I'd be very happy to keep my old one for a few more years. We built a deck to fit around it. The new Progidy has different dimensions and we'd have to do some deck mods. Finding a carpenter to do that could take a very long time where we live.

For the past year or so, my 1999 Hot Springs Prodigy has been leaking. At worst, it drops an inch or more per week. An application of FixALeak stops the leakage for a couple of weeks, then it starts up again slowly. My dealer couldn't find a leak, although he did recommend I change in spa light fixture and gasket in case that was the problem. Did it, but it made no difference. There is no obvious water in the motor compartment. In the heat of summer, I don't normally use the spa. I just turn it down as far as it goes - 80°. That keeps the circulating pump going for filtering. I'd like to just disable the heater completely, but I can't see how to do that. This summer I thought of a way to get some benefit from the spa. I just drained it (regular maintenance) and filled it with cold water. Great for soaking. I flip the breaker to keep it from going back up to 80°. Then twice a week, I turn it for one 15-minute clean cycle, adding chlorine each time. So here's the oddity where "part-time" comes into my subject line. Since I've been doing this, there doesn't seem to be any leakage. I have not put in any more fixaleak in quite a while. Given these facts, any idea what could cause a leak only when the tub is turned on, even without running the jets more than for two clean cycles per week?

I have a 2000 Hot Springs spa with an Endural shell. There are two cracks on the top surface. By "top", I mean where you might rest your arms above the water or where the cover sits. I have been reading about Plast-aid as a better product for this kind of plastic repair than a standard epoxy. The Plast-aid site says: " Plast-aid chemically fuses to many plastics (ABS, acrylic, PVC) and not others (Teflon, PE, PP)." They have not heard of Endural but say if it is an acrylic, then Plast-aid will work. It's around $30 on Amazon for a much bigger amount than I'd need, but the unmixed product should last an be usable for other repairs. Any thoughts on this?

The dealer said it wasn't a separate part. The entire exterior control unit has to be replaced for $350 + labor. I declined. In fairness, they were just doing a quick check through their parts manual and may not have seen the separate bezel. I will be having a service person come out to look for a leak in the motor compartment soon. I'll ask him to check further for the bezel and order it if available. Thanks for the tip.

The once clear plastic over the indicators of temperature, etc., has gotten very cloudy. I cannot even tell whether it is in summer mode or not. It doesn't look like there is any way simply to pull off and replace that plastic cover. Is there any way to clean it? Maybe the products sold in auto supply stores for cleaning plastic headlight protectors?

It is three weeks since I turned off summer mode and the sensors still have not tripped.

I had the red light blinking every 2-4 days, stopping the tub from heating. 2000 Prodigy 110v. I also removed the filters but didn't make a difference. Service person couldn't find anything wrong. Suggested changing two sensors that could be tripping, also replacing heater and circ pump. Then I noticed that I had accidentally left the tub in summer mode despite it being in the dead of winter with some temps below zero. Once I disabled summer mode, I had no further episodes of red light blinking.

I have been having problems with my 2000 Prodigy tripping a sensor. The red power light would start flashing every few days. The circulating pump continued but there was no heat. The jets would not start up. (110 VAC) The thread is here: Internal breaker tripping I am posting this separately because it may be totally unrelated. A few days ago I discovered that I had never disabled summer mode when outside temps got coolerl. Actually, I misunderstood the manual. It says to set the tub to 80° before starting summer mode. I thought that meant summer mode only works with the temp set that way. I assumed when fall came and I brought the tub back up to normal (104+2), summer mode would simply stop. We have been having an unusually cold winter. Night times have been usually below 0°F, often -10° to -14°. Many days we do not reach +10°. I discovered that the tub was in summer mode when I got in it and the temp was down several degrees. I could also tell that there was no circulation nor heat coming through the floor inlet. This was different from the sensor problem above. Here, the red power light was not flashing and the jets could be started. I have turned off summer mode so there may be nothing but academic interest in an answer to my subject title. On the other hand, the tub has not tripped the sensors since going off summer mode, 5 days ago. Connection, coincidence, or unknowable?

The tub is set for 104° +2. That gets it to around 104.5° and steady. I've never seen it go higher. But the idea that the hi limit sensor is failing is particularly interesting. Thanks.

Now waiting on the dealer service person talking to Watkins tech. Meanwhile, I just learned something new. 1. Hot tub running normally for a couple of days. 2. Got to the tub an hour ago. The red power light was flashing. Jet buttons did nothing. Temp was at 102, so it must have just tripped internally. The gfci had not tripped. 3. I didn't do the test/reset at the gfci, which I have been doing to get the tub running again. I got in the tub because it was just hot enough to enjoy at 4°F air temp. (It has been a lot colder.) 4. New info: What I found was that the circulation pump was still running and felt like it always does when I put my foot over the screened inlet in the bottom of the tub. Incidentally, the tech said when he came in mid-December, the circulation was at normal strength. 5. After using the tub, I did the gfci test/reset and the tub began running normally, at least for the moment. Does this give any new idea of possible cause?

Every 3-5 days, my Prodigy stops running. The red power light on the control panel is flashing so I know the gfci has not tripped. I can also see on the gfci that is has not tripped. Hitting test and reset on the gfci (110 v) gets the spa running immediately. I know one cause can be inadequate circulation and then overheating of the circulating pump or heater. In a couple of past occurrences here and on friends' similar spas, changing the filter has cured this problem. This happened 3 weeks ago for the first time in over two years. I was away so my wife called our original dealer for service. When they came, I had already told her to reset it at the gfci and, of course, the tub was running fine. The tech said he checked it over as much as he could. All voltages were as they should be. At my request, not related to this problem, he put in a new cold weather insulating blanket in the motor compartment. My original one was falling apart. When I got back I immediately put a brand new filter on the grey post for the circulating heater/pump. I thought maybe I had not done a good enough job cleaning the old filter before I put it back into service. Nonetheless, every 3-5 days the tub stops running. I am in a cold climate. Got below zero last night. Days are typically mid-20s. But it originally tripped 3 weeks ago on much warmer days and when there was no blanket in the motor compartment. I wanted to check for advice here before calling the service people back. They have a hefty travel charge, as I am in a rural area far from any service.

I've done a searching and read a lot of posts. I think my problem may be a little different. I moved this spa to a friend's house in January. It had been working fine for me, but I moved. He already had wiring in place from another 110v Hot Springs Spa, one model larger. That spa had started leaking through the shell, but otherwise was working for years. We plugged the Prodigy in and it worked for several months. Then he drained it for a while and left it with just a foot or so of water. (Probably irrelevant, but part of the history.) When he decided to start it up again, the gfci off the main panel in his house immediately popped. Plugging in a light to the outside socket where the spa plugs in worked fine. The gfci on the spa power cord does not trip. Nor does the main breaker inside the panel for this circuit. Any thoughts before he calls a service tech? He also has a choice between a spa repair company and the original dealer. He wasn't satisfied with that dealer's service on his original Hot Springs Spa, but we don't have any experience with the independent one.

Thanks, swine. I looked at a couple of parts websites for Hot Springs spas. I found multiple references to check valves, even ignoring anything related to the ozone since I don't have that. For example: Item #: 33738 Check Valve, Air, Pre-'97 Tiger River/Hot Spring This air check valve is located in the equipment compartment, up high, under the bar top. If a hydrotherapy jet should become obstructed (like when a guest sticks their finger in the jet), this item becomes critical in preventing water from back flowing into the equipment potentially flooding the electrical components. Typical lifespan is 5-7 years. The larger end connects onto your existing tubing and the smaller end is designed for 1/2" inside diameter tubing (70316) I talked with the dealer's service dept. The guy said the check valve was a "possible cause" but he wouldn't commit without having a service person look at it. He also said there could be 2-3 check valves that cost under $10 and wouldn't take long for the service person to replace. I I'm thinking of having a service call. If the person doesn't see anything else obvious, just replace the check valves and see if that fixes it.

This one is driving us crazy. This 1993 spa has been very reliable. There was a leak 10+ years ago around the light. It was a steady leak that was easily fixed. This one is different. The spa will work normally for weeks or more, being used almost every night. Then we'll find in a day the water has dropped several feet. Refill it and the cycle repeats: No leaks for weeks, then a big leak. We cannot find where the water is going out of the spa. The tub sits on a wooden deck. The motor compartment doesn't seem to have water in it. Wherever the leak is, I guess water could leave the tub and go through slats in the deck where we cannot get under it to look for a puddle or other clue. There was some very cold weather in January in Seattle when the tub was briefly empty. But the first leak after refilling it was many weeks later. I've done a search here and with google but can't find anything that fits, except for a thread about a Harford loop kit specifically for 2001-02 Hot Springs Spas. The only other thing I can think of is a herd of elephants coming in the night, opening the cover, and drinking out most of the water.