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Dan.The.Spa.Man

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Everything posted by Dan.The.Spa.Man

  1. OK..That's good. Now next I would either drain it(If the water is old) or close the two shut off valves so you can open the pump. If you have no shutoff`s then you will have to drain it. First off I do not know how many pumps you have. Usual configuration is A single two speed with an air blower. You may have a two speed that covers half the spa and another full speed for the other half. Anyways close the valves and get a big pair of channel locks or pipe wrench and loosen the lock nut on the suction side of the pump. This is the horizontal pipe going in the center of the pump(not the side or top). now at this point you can look and feel directly into the pump inlet for any foreign objects. Better would be (if you can) to remove the pump altogether and inspect it in the open. If you cant you can take some needle nose pliers or tweezers and dig around and see if there is something obstructing the impeller. The impeller has veins as well (small channels) so if you find small objects there may be more jammed into the channel`s and then you do need to remove the pump. This is not a 100 percent deduction..I have seen small objects clog an impeller that cannot be seen or felt from the opening. But now that the suction side is disconnected you might as well run water into it with a hose and rag or if you have one an drain flush tool. a drain flush you hook to your garden hose and as soon as you turn the water on it expands in the pipe and flushes water through 10-15 bucks at the hardware store. But if not a tightly wrapped rag around a garden hose will suffice. Its best to do this with another person to watch one end of the pipe while your at the other end. Thats enough for you for now. If it helps ..Great, if not I`ll keep an eye out on the post. Good luck. Wow, that's a lot of work for a guy who's not very mechanically inclined. The interesting thing is that when it's on, and running full power without the filter, the little ring that is around the filter basin sucks down and it runs fine. When I put the filter in, it seems to bob up and down. When it is bobbing, it makes this horrible squelching type noise and the jets slow down but then speed back up when it goes down. It's kind of like if you were to put a crimp in a garden hose....then let go.... ps. i think it's just one pump b/c it's either on or off. I don't even know where I would begin to access the equipment you described. Ahhh...I think I know what it is. Look in the motor compartment in the upper right hand corner for a black air valve that has a 3/4" clear pipe coming out of the top and another 3/4" pipe out of the right side. It also has a 1/8" line coming out of the left side. Crimp off the 1/8" line with a pair of pliers and see if you get your power back. If so, you can replace this old style air-intake valve with a retro-fit 'Hartford Loop' kit from your local dealer. If it's not that then you just need a new filter...even if the other one is under a year.
  2. If you primarily have only a few people regularly using the tub, go in 'clean' (no soaps, perfumes, skin creams), and take good care of your filters, then the tri-x filters are great. I have many customers who are not good about cleaning their filters and have lots of traffic in the tub...for these people tri-x filters are terrible. They filter a very fine particle, so naturally if there is a lot of material to filter out then they are going to clog up fast. Also I would not reccomend using Biguanide products with the Tri-x. And once they clog-up they are very difficult to get clean and usable again. I had one customer where I had to cut out his Tri-X filters with a sawzall because they had sort of imploded on themselves. The middle of them had sucked in so that they were hour-glass shaped and they all had about 2" of 'fur' encapsulating them. It was the second most disgusting thing that I have come across only exceeded by another tub that had yellow water and smelled like urine! This guy had complained about a 'rattling' noise when the jets were on. Well, perhaps the noise was coming from the pot-smoking pipe that had somehow found its way into the pump housing. Good stuff.
  3. Gary I just bought the discover ecstasy for $3499 from costco. The driveway drop off is tough but I paid the two guys $50 each and they took it through my yard to the back (about 100 yards). It is a great spa and we just love it. My electric bill should be here in about 3 weeks and I will share with yal how much it has changed. But it does look like (after seeing under the cabinent that the tubs aren't insulated great. Its too hard to pass up. The pump is 6.2 hP and has 47 jets and a light. The only comparable tub with these features I could find was close to 5k. Could you do me a favor and look at the pump and read what the amps are on the pump label? I have a hard time believing that it has a 6.2HP pump. I'm not trying to bash it...just curious.
  4. Take your filter out and see if it makes a difference. Pumps don't really 'lose power', they either work or don't work.
  5. Don't worry about the stabilizer...it is only important in pools and not hot tubs.
  6. If your tubs have a bulb type control thermistor that protrudes through the shell you can do the following: 1. Leave the control thermistor (the bulb that tells the control pad the water temperature) where it is in the side of the tub. 2. Unplug the electrical end from the control box. 3. Purchase another one and plug it into the control box and wrap the bulb end that reads temperature around the heater in the tub as someone else descrided above. Since it is now not in contact with the 104 degree water the tub will continue to heat to try and attain the 104 degrees that it is set for. The further away from the heater you put it the hotter the tub will get...but be careful, you could easily get too hot.
  7. I understand that buying a tub is a major investment to most, but sometimes a dealer reaches a point where they don't even want to sell a tub to certain people. Not saying this is the case with you but I have definitely been there with folks who have driven me to the point of wanting to run out of the front door and into oncoming traffic. I sell and service tubs and there was one family (with 3 kids) that must have come in at least 15 times to ask questions and wet test tubs. The parents spend most of the time asking completely obscure rediculous questions while the kids jump from spa cover to spa cover! A few weeks ago they came through the door at 4:57 knowing full well that we close at 5:00 on Sunday. After a half an hour of the kids whinning 'lets go' (I wish I could have yelled 'yes, please go') I hear a horrible series of wretching splash sounds only to discover that one of the kids projectile vommitted into the shell and and all over the cabinet of not one but two tubs. Just brutal! Another guy came in about 5 times in a week for hours at a time only interested in the HotSpring Vanguard model. He asked questions like: If I decide to upgrade and sell it in a year how much would it be worth and would you move it? How much would it cost to move? Well a few days later he calls to tell us that he bought a 1 year old Vanguard and could we move it to his house. If I could have reached through the phone to choke him I just might have. But then he asks to buy an ozonator, new filters, chemicals, and a cover lifter...all prices that I had given to him earlier when I thought he was buying a new tub from us. I couldn't have been happier to give him the full retail price for these items which was double the price that I would have included them for. He ended up spending more for this 1 year old used tub with no warranty than he would have for a newly wrapped one. Then, within a month his heater relay board blew out. That's sweet...sweet Karma. Don't get me wrong...99% of the customers that come in are great...but that 1% can really sour and burn you out sometimes. ***And congrats on the Tahitian...probably my favorite tub.
  8. Those tubs are in 2 different catagories but GL builds a solid lower end product. The Landmark is a nice tub but $5500 sounds a bit high. What year is it? If it has a brand new cover, newer titanium style heater, and a new cirulation pump and the cabinet looks to be in good shape then maybe...but if not I say too high.
  9. Never thought of one of those...can you fill it with water when it is on that? Looks like a good idea. No water, we lower it and block it to water test, then raise and repair. The one we use has a 1500 lb capacity. We also use it to raise tubs to decks and such. There's also the battery powered model. http://www.pro-lift.com/custom.asp?id=79507&page=2 This one can roll across a yard and lift but it's kinda spendy for this guy. I wish I had a better shop set up I would get me a car hoist! My garage isn't big enough right now. To many other toys in it. Yeah, this one is at my work...I'm planning on building a garage with my own lift next fall so I can refurbish and sell all of the tubs that we take back for "trash" when we deliver new ones.
  10. Never thought of one of those...can you fill it with water when it is on that? Looks like a good idea.
  11. True...but I am of the opinion that only a fraction of quality tubs sold ever develop a leak in the plumbing, but every single non-insulated tub will cost a lot more money in the long run electric wise in the northeastern climate in which I operate. Why was the fitting 'loose'?...maybe because there was no insulation to keep it from vibrating apart? They are definitely easier to fix but I don't believe the slight possibility of a leak and the ease of repair is worth the operating cost in the long run.
  12. Have you wet tested either one? I sell these tubs and believe just the opposite. The Geneva lounge is very usefull and I get absolutely nothing out of the Niagra's mini-lounge. I can't get comfortable in it either way I sit. I wet tested both. I float out of the lounge. But that is why I am hesitating, that seat is just weird. What about the Tahitian or Moorea? 36" instead of 38"...you may not float out of those. I think the Tahitian is one of the best tubs out there for the money.
  13. Have you wet tested either one? I sell these tubs and believe just the opposite. The Geneva lounge is very usefull and I get absolutely nothing out of the Niagra's mini-lounge. I can't get comfortable in it either way I sit.
  14. Just thought that I would share a few pics of our method of leak repair. I purchased this automotive lift about a year ago and it has worked out even better than I thought it would. I can lift any spa with water in it to easily find and repair glue joints, freeze cracks, and rodent 'chew jobs'. It cost about $2500 and has paid for itself 100 times over. Some full-foam freeze repairs that used to take a week or more can sometimes be fixed in a few hours. An average cost to fix a tub is between $800-$1500 with pickup and redelivery.
  15. If possible...fill it up first to see if there are leaks!!! I refurbish lots of tubs and I don't do anything control pack/cabinet wise before confirming that it holds water without leaks.
  16. Good advice above...definitely go with a lifter...low profile...and get the Envoy!!!
  17. Truer words could not be spoken, but the problem is much greater than discoloration! Not trying to offend anyone, but here is my honest insight into the service end of the biguanide based systems: I've repaired hot tubs for the last 18 years and have fixed hundreds of tubs for glue joint repairs on pvc fittings. I have not kept official records but I always ask what type of sanitizer has been used. I would estimate that 90 out of 100 used a Biguanide system, and most of these also had multiple glue joint leaks (sometimes 6-8 or more) v.s. chlorine/bromine based systems. I think with the light lenses the ratio may be even more from my experiences. Between service techs at my store we refer to Baquacil as "Crack-uacil". For the record my store sells hot tubs, swimming pools, chemicals (including Baquacil), and services hot tubs. So, I have been very happily using BaquaSpa in my Sundance Capri since August '06 with no problems. Is there anything preventatively short of switching to chlorine/bromine based systems that you'd recommend? My hot tub is in a sunroom, and both the ease of keeping the water clear and fresh and the absence of any smell compel me to stick with the BaquaSpa, but if there is something I could do now before problems begin, either to avoid the leaks you note or to avoid white mold, I'd love to hear it. Thanks. I'm not a chemist so I don't know what chemical in the system causes the plastics to corrode, but something causes it to happen at a greater percentage than in tubs that use other sanitizers. Perhaps it is due to over-dosaging the water with Biguanide... Again, I sell and service thousands of tubs and most have no problems with glue joint leaks...I'm just saying that of the glue joint/light lens repairs that I do...an overwhelming percentage of them use Biguanide as a sanitizer. Chances are that you will be fine...just pointing out that the potential is higher for this type of problem down the road.
  18. Does that upper piece sit directly below an 'air' valve lever on the spa topside? If so does the valve properly allow and shut off air to the corresponding jet? Some do sit above the water-line, but they use check valves to prevent leaking. The one on your tub sure looks like it should be connected to the upper piece.
  19. Does this really happen? If a new spa customer wants to stop a leak in his brand new hot tub and throws a pair of needle-nosed vice-grips on an air line do you really think the dealer will void the warranty? I think a dealer who would do something like that would not be in business very long. How did this turn out...is it fixed???
  20. Truer words could not be spoken, but the problem is much greater than discoloration! Not trying to offend anyone, but here is my honest insight into the service end of the biguanide based systems: I've repaired hot tubs for the last 18 years and have fixed hundreds of tubs for glue joint repairs on pvc fittings. I have not kept official records but I always ask what type of sanitizer has been used. I would estimate that 90 out of 100 used a Biguanide system, and most of these also had multiple glue joint leaks (sometimes 6-8 or more) v.s. chlorine/bromine based systems. I think with the light lenses the ratio may be even more from my experiences. Between service techs at my store we refer to Baquacil as "Crack-uacil". For the record my store sells hot tubs, swimming pools, chemicals (including Baquacil), and services hot tubs.
  21. Any Cal Spa dealers who can sell me a few pillows and a filter lid cover? I recently re-furbished one and need these few items to complete the project. Plese send me a pm if you can help...Thanks
  22. The 'sideways' prong means that it is a 20 amp plug and needs a corresponding 20 amp recepticle and a 20 amp breaker in your service panel. You most likely have a 15 amp breaker which can be switched out with a 20 amp if the wire size is big enough...an electrican should be able to take care of it a lot easier and cheaper then converting it to 220v.
  23. My company uses Anchor and Performance brand safety covers. I don't see much difference between all of the brands that are in the same price range. If a price seems too cheap then chances are that the cover is not woven quite as well and probably uses a cheaper webbing material. In my opinion one of the things that are a must on any safety cover is 'D' rings as a method of attachments for the springs. They are much easier to adjust then the buckle type attachments.
  24. Hey Seahawk, so you are up on spa pricing at every spa dealership from Maine to Florida?...what a genious? It appears that you are the one who is FOS. How about you put your money where your mouth is and I'll sell you either one for under $9000. I've worked at the same place for the last 18 years and my bonus tells me that we are quite profitable. Thanks for your concern.
  25. Thanks Parrothead, I sent you a pm. I'm in the Chicagoland area as well. I'm on the East Coast and would sell the Grandee and Vista brand new for under $9000. Has the floor model been filled or just displayed empty? Either way it will still carry the full warranty.
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