tobz

Looking for a little advice on a leak in a 2005 Sundance Altimar. Noticed it recently and tore the panel of to discover the source of the water seems to be the impeller housing on pump #1. Access is pretty good and looks like the pvc lines are connected with hand tightened compression fittings. The $64 question - is this a DIY job? If the seal is what has gone bad here, how difficult is this to repair once i track down the right part? Thanks in advance for any help in this.

I have a 4 year old Sundance tub that I picked up second hand a year or so ago. I pulled the cover off last week and noticed a few rust spots on the inner shell above and below the water line below the step handle and under a couple metal jet covers. Is there anything I can do to 1. remove the current rust and 2. prevent this in the future. Is some part of my chemistry out of whack? Thanks in advance!

I have an '06 Sundance Altimar with the Sunsound stereo SR60. I'm trying to find some info on a compatible RCA to male CD Changer adapter. I'd like to send the house stereo feed into the spa stereo through the CD changer plug. I've seen a couple Kenwood and Pioneer adapters but I have no idea if the wiring is compatible. I've tried the manual, my local Sundance dealer and more than a few internet searches with no luck. Is this standard CD changer input (if there is such a thing)? Any insight into this little mystery would be greatly appreciated!

An electrician buddy came by today and I think we narrowed it down to the power supply. We had 220v at the posts on the main board and zilch coming out of the power supply. We could see a fuse but the unit seems to be designed to prevent dis-assembly. Any suggestions on a good source for a new power supply? Called me local dealer and they seemed a bit steep. The power supply looked brand new once we took the cover off. I'm wondering if there is anything I should check that could have caused the power supply to fail.

Thanks for the suggestion. I feel like an idiot - didn't even think if that. I'm definitely not an electrician but I disconnected the harness plug and tested with a multimeter and it doesn't seem to be getting power. I shut off the breaker and tested all the fuses on the board and tested good. The stereo power appears to run behind the pump to a power supply brick mounted on the floor of the tub. I suppose the the next step is to determine whether the main board is sending power to that brick? I looked at the wiring diagram in the manual and tried to determine where power was coming off the main board. Didn't have much luck. Not sure I'm comfortable testing voltage on a board with 220v running to it!

I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction. I recently purchased an used '05 Altimar. I had it moved to the house and an electrician wired up a new subpanel. Everything worked great the first day. No leaks and all jets, stereo, and lights all seemed in good shape after the move. Night number two after a few adult beverages I cranked up the stereo a bit and one of the speakers began to break up. Thought maybe I had pushed the speaker too much. It was loud but definitely not maxed out. A couple nights later that speaker didn't come on at all and the second one began breaking up. The next night, fired up the stereo and everything sounded great - both speakers were loud and clear - for about five minutes, then both speakers cut out completely. I turned off the stereo and finished the soak. The next time pushed the power button on the head unit - nothing. Wouldn't power up at all. Checked the manual and tried the reset option with the power off. Nothing. Pulled the panel and checked the fuses on the back of the stereo with a multimeter. Continuity checked out. I'm stumped. The main board is a bit daunting and I'm definitely no electrical engineer. Any professionals out there run across similar behavior or have any suggestions on something else I could check? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Yeah, I wasn't overly impressed with his assessment. He 'improved' the flow in a couple places by removing the jets. Anyone knows a great tech in the Phoenix area, PLEASE let me know! Thanks for the advice! I'm going to drain it tonight and I'll check to see if the impeller is clogged. Much appreciate the suggestions, thank you!

Hi all. I'm wondering if a few of you wise spa experts can point me in the right direction. I have a 99 Sweetwater Telluride that came with my house. Worked good years ago but over the last few the pump pressure has become pretty bad. If the filter is in the surface of the water barley ripples with the pump on high. If I pull the filter out out, water movement goes from nothing to just pathetic. I had a spa tech come out and take a look a year ago. Did what he could, didn't make much difference. I asked him if replacing the pump would make a difference. His reply was basically, the pump either works or it doesn't. Since the pump is working, I wouldn't see an improvement in pressure or water volume with a new one. Really? I guess my question is, should I spend the money and try a new pump in or just cut my losses and invest in a newer spa with more features? Thanks!

A few jets in my spa aren't putting out much pressure anymore. The outer adjustment ring on the jets spins 360 degrees, so either something is blocking them or they're busted in the closed position. I contacted Sundance and they were marginally helpful. I seem to be getting some serious suction into the filter area with the filter out so I think the pump and impellor are okay. I can't seem to get the jets out and was wondering if anyone has a tip short of going after them with a crowbar? Anyway to flush or backwash the spa to try and flush out anything that may be affecting the flow through the jets? Can a spa tech diagnose something like this or am I looking at a "we'll tear it apart on the clock and see what we find" type of thing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, no takers I guess. I was hoping someone might be able to suggest how to get the darn jets out. Does anyone where I could purchase replacement jets for an older Sundance Sweetwater?

I have an older Sweetwater spa with several jets that don't seem to be doing much. The jets that are working I can rotate the outer ring about 90 degrees from full on to restricted. The broken ones don't seem to have any pressure and I can rotate the outer ring freely 360 degrees by hand. I'm guessing they are shot and unfortunately broken in the 'off' position. There are a couple tabs inside the cavity of the jet on either side of the nozzle. Can anyone tell me how to remove them? Is it possible to get replacement jets for a tub this old (proabaly 8 years)? It has a vertical filter and I was told that Sundance hasn't made a tub with a vertical filter in quite some time. I orginally thought the pump or impellor might be shot but with the filter out it seems like there's some pretty significant water flow going in the skimmer housing. I'm thinking now that I should try replacing a few jets and see where that gets me. Thanks!

I live in Phoenix and I think compared to the east coast our water is much less hard. I understand however, that until the water is tested, it's useless to guess. Thanks!

Wow, thanks waterbear and Amanda! Your dialog has been immensely helpful. Sounds like the bypass valve is definately the way to go.

Thanks for the info! I contacted the company I had service my water softener and they pointed out I have a bypass valve I can use when filling the spa. Guess I should be doing that for the pool too! I was more curious if the soft water affected maintaining chemicals or somehow erroded the mechanics due to salt residue or lack of minerals.

Great advice, thank you. Didn't think about asking about the care. Good suggestion, if nothing else I can gauge the response for honesty. I've already inquired about where the spa was purchased and there's only one dealer in town so it had to be there. The spa is in storage so I need to ask who moved it and how. Unfortunately since it's not filled, that increases the risk a bit since I can't see it functioning. I'm pretty handy so I don't mind the idea of a few repairs down the road if I'm certain of what I'm getting into. Man, great advice, thanks to all!

I'm looking to get a new spa and I have a water softener. The hose bib on the back of the house comes out of the block wall and I'm pretty sure it's softened water. Not sure how to test - that's question #1. Does anyone know of a way to test to see if that water is softened? If it is softened and there is no convenient way to get non-softened water to the back yard is there anything I can do about this? What is my risk? I was told by a salesman that soft water would pull minerals from the shell or plumbing. I have to think it's more related to affecting the pump's internal parts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So I guess the magic question is can I expect warranty calls in a large enough number that it would cost me $4K out of pocket to cover them? Is there any type of poll on this site that has tracked number of service calls over the life of spa owners?

Thanks for the word on the warranty. I figured I might on my own. If I can get it for $4000-$4500 might be worth the gamble. Seller claims it was $8500 new. I need to call a local dealer and see what they're going for now. I guess I'm curious if there are major horror stories out there about the model. I believe MAXX manufactures it and uses the Coleman brand. Not sure about this. I need to wet test one. I'm really intrigued by the number of jets and their layout. Only one I've seen with wrist and forearm jets on several seats.

I may be able to get a 2005 Coleman 706 Maxxim for $5K. *Supposedly* used only 3 times. Am I nuts for considering this? I've been looking at the HS Vanguard and Sundance Cameo. The jet count on the Coleman is nuts - even wrist jets. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me about the warranty. Do they transfer? I looked at the Coleman site and seems they want dealer info to register. Any input or words of caution greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the additional info. The silver is the cartridge for the ion purification system? Something like that. The lifetime filters are the Tri-X filters that supposedly last 10+ years ($300 from the dealer). Plus there was a filter that goes on the end of the hose for filling the spa. I'm in Phoenix and this is the only Hot Springs dealer in the city according to Hot Spring's website. I'm sure the premium strip mall location ratchets the price up a bit. I need to decide whether I'm going Vanguard or the Sundance Cameo, then I can start haggling. Thanks for the info!

First time poster here - please forgive me if I inadvertantly drop a match . I've read a lot of posts over the weekend - thanks to all for great advice on things to keep in mind if I go new! I have a 7+ year old Sundance spa that came with the house I bought. Ozone generator (UV bulb style) went a couple years ago, never got the right replacement. The jets just don't seem like they're putting out the pressure they used to (not to mention a little spa shopping has probably shifted my expectations a bit). Busted side panel door from carless plumber working on another job. So I'm struggling a bit with deciding if it's worth the money overhauling the old one or paying more for a significant step up in cleaning systems, cabinet materials and jet desgin. I've looked at the Hot Springs Vanguard and Sundance Cameo. The dealer quoted me $8900 on the Vanguard (however seems like he's throwing in the farm - cover, lifter, steps, silver, lifetime ceramic filters, electrical, tax). Seems a little high to me as someone else mentioned $7200 in another post, however not sure of the accessories. I'm in Phoenix, so this is definately the time of year to buy! I'm going to check out a Dimension One dealer today. Looked at the Master Spas online and I'm not sure if I'm too excited about the designs on paper. Specifics I think I like already - the HS had 5 filters! Love the ceramic fabric filters, sort of like DE pool filters, never have to replace - supposedly just toss them in the dishwasher. Hate the cartrigdes! Also like the 24 hour circulation pump w/ ozinator - think this is pretty common though. Can you give me an idea of what besides the pump could be responsible for the weak jet pressure of my old spa (it's all of them, not just one)? Any advice on other mfgs/models to look at? Sorry, I know this is a loaded question!