Getting A Used California D1 Up And Running

[Daniel Erlandson]

Hoping that some experienced people can give a newbie some guidance. We acquired a 2000 California D1 spa with a Gecko control unit and the ultrapure system. Wiring went fine and it started up although the LCD screen on the upper controls is cracked and hard to read. Small leak from underneath the spa, possibly from the circ pump/PVC pipe connection. I have removed the circ pumps and cleaned things out under there and am going to replace the O rings today. Filters are on their way...impossible to find locally... something like a 1-3/4 inch threaded female recess at the bottom of the filter chamber (1-3/4 inch pipe!! ) The filter chamber nearest the upper controls has a good flow down into it, but the next one over doesn't seem to generate a vortex when the spa is turned on (??). Ozone bubbles appear at the bottom of the spa (not millions, but...) should there also be ozone bubbles elsewhere? filter area? I'd love some feedback from anyone familiar with this spa. the dealer in our area seems pretty much worthless.

Thanks

dan

[THE SPA GUY]

Hoping that some experienced people can give a newbie some guidance. We acquired a 2000 California D1 spa with a Gecko control unit and the ultrapure system. Wiring went fine and it started up although the LCD screen on the upper controls is cracked and hard to read. Small leak from underneath the spa, possibly from the circ pump/PVC pipe connection. I have removed the circ pumps and cleaned things out under there and am going to replace the O rings today. Filters are on their way...impossible to find locally... something like a 1-3/4 inch threaded female recess at the bottom of the filter chamber (1-3/4 inch pipe!! ) The filter chamber nearest the upper controls has a good flow down into it, but the next one over doesn't seem to generate a vortex when the spa is turned on (??). Ozone bubbles appear at the bottom of the spa (not millions, but...) should there also be ozone bubbles elsewhere? filter area? I'd love some feedback from anyone familiar with this spa. the dealer in our area seems pretty much worthless.

Thanks

dan

dan,

on the filters the skimmer that goes open and down when you turn on the jets is right, the other should be for the circ pump, you won't see much movement there, ozone bubbles just out of the one spot. also your ozone light may need to be replaced, look at it you should be able to see a green light on the ozone unit, if not may need to be replaced,on the leak at the circ pump, did you actually see water coming out of the wetend or at the fitting,hope

this helps if you have any more you can pm me.

[Daniel Erlandson]

dan,

on the filters the skimmer that goes open and down when you turn on the jets is right, the other should be for the circ pump, you won't see much movement there, ozone bubbles just out of the one spot. also your ozone light may need to be replaced, look at it you should be able to see a green light on the ozone unit, if not may need to be replaced,on the leak at the circ pump, did you actually see water coming out of the wetend or at the fitting,hope

this helps if you have any more you can pm me.

Thanks for the reply... so the weir type of self floating skimmer basket goes in the opening nearest the upper controls and has the vortex that goes down? (sounds right to me). The other is for the circ pump...ok that makes sense and the circ pump is not so strong and very quiet. yes my ozone light is broken. How do I open the unit up? Have it out of the spa and sitting in front of me. Puled the silicone sealant out of the end where the wires go into the chamber, but the light/socket doesn;t seem to want to come out that end...maybe it just is binding because I can hear the broken bulb rattling around inside the silver tube. The drip on the circ pumps was coming from the joint between the pumps and the 2 inch PVC. Hoping the new O-rings do the trick...filling the tub right now. jacked one end of the tub up this morning to look underneath and some of the insulation was wet but it didn't seem like it was coming from a pipe leak deep inside, but rather from the electronic cubby area where the circ pump was (is?) leaking.

Thanks for the help

dan

[THE SPA GUY]

Dan,

you will probably need to replace the whole unit, i believe the part number is 01781-16-a ozone generator, if you go onto the d1 website click on the parts, and you can pull up the unit to confirm if that is like yours, hope this helps.

the spa guy

[Daniel Erlandson]

Dan,

you will probably need to replace the whole unit, i believe the part number is 01781-16-a ozone generator, if you go onto the d1 website click on the parts, and you can pull up the unit to confirm if that is like yours, hope this helps.

the spa guy

Thanks for the info on the ozone unit...question about the movement of water in the spa: There are 2 small openings (not jets) to the right and left of the light in the hot tub (near the bottom). The circ pump pushes water out the opening on the right (as I'm looking at the topside controls). What is the left hand opening for?

dan

[THE SPA GUY]

Dan,

it is also inlet water from the circulation and heater, right side is ozone , left is circulation and heat, it tees of before the ozone unit.

[Daniel Erlandson]

Dan,

it is also inlet water from the circulation and heater, right side is ozone , left is circulation and heat, it tees of before the ozone unit.

so if I don't feel any movement of water out of it when the circ pump is running then...??? Tub is on its side right now, trying to track down and fix a leak, but when I had it filled, heating and circulating this weekend I did not feel anything coming out of that hole. Circ pump pushes water out of it or jet pumps?

dan

[d1dennis2009]

Dan,

it is also inlet water from the circulation and heater, right side is ozone , left is circulation and heat, it tees of before the ozone unit.

so if I don't feel any movement of water out of it when the circ pump is running then...??? Tub is on its side right now, trying to track down and fix a leak, but when I had it filled, heating and circulating this weekend I did not feel anything coming out of that hole. Circ pump pushes water out of it or jet pumps?

dan

Dan,

The circulation pump drives the heating circuit, if there is insufficient or no flow, the spa will not heat. If the circulation pump is running but is not moving water, it could be a number of things going on with the spa. The most common thing to look for is an obstruction in the pump, clogged filters or even the pump may be airlocked. I would suggest pulling the pump out and inspecting for debris.

d1dennis2009

[Daniel Erlandson]

Dan,

it is also inlet water from the circulation and heater, right side is ozone , left is circulation and heat, it tees of before the ozone unit.

Just trying to understand this statement...inlet of water or outflow of water? Now maybe I need to get the tub up and running again to prove this to myself (still waiting for filters), but the tub heated up to 104.5 fine, and the circ pump was running and I had water flowing out of the small opening to the right of the light (as you are standing behind the upper controls). My question is about the small opening to the left of the light. If both of those are connected to the circ pump (Spa guy said they tee off between the openings and the ozone unit) and I am getting water flowing out of one of them and no movement out of the other, then...there must be a clog. Now granted this is all running without a filter...could that influence things? I have run a spa flush through the system... can I try reaming out the tube that doesn;t seem to have flow? Just want to make sure I understand the flow direction and all before I jump into ripping out more foam!! Still trying to identify the source of a leak I have... it is somewhere in the conflagration of tubes (5 of them!) that meet in the area of the neck flex pillow corner area. Have the foam out of that area , the side off, the tub back on its feet and will be filling and running it today....Thanks for the help in walking me through things!!

dan