Dan.The.Spa.Man
-
Posts
701 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Dan.The.Spa.Man
-
-
Also make sure the summer timer function is not on if you live in a colder climate. It can cause this as well as all of the above.
If it is on it will display a small icon that looks like a clock with sunrays coming off of it.
-
It is pretty much plug and play.
You would need to open up the control box. The heater board is the one on the left side that all of the main power wires and heater wire connect to. You may be able to see some burn marks around any of those 3 black relays in there. If the "heater on " light is lit but there is no voltage to the relay then the relay board is bad.
Only difference in the new board is the way that the heater wires hook up. You need to trim off the flag terminals on the heater wires and strip the wire. They will attach like the main power wires do on the new board.
-
In my opinion, the tubs don't even look nice. Like this one, and check out the price, lmao- http://denver.craigslist.org/for/2821894233.html
Wouldn't doubt that they got duped into paying $15,000 plus for that new.
-
I have a 2002 Kuaui. It has stopped heating properly. The temp is set to 101, but is at 94 right now (though it's only about 50 degrees outside).
I hear a nonstop humming - possibly the heater trying to work?
I can't afford to pay someone to come and diagnose. Is there anything that I can do to check out obvious issues before I have to pay a tech? i.e. is there a switch that can be tripped, something that can be clogged, etc??
All help appreciated. Thanks
Is the "temp" icon flashing on the control panel? If it's not that or any other error codes on the control pad then you would need to do some tests with a meter in the control box.
Try taking the filter out and resetting the breakers.
Most likely problem is a bad heater relay board.
-
Thanks for responding!
1. Well the dealer told me it was a 2011. I assumed so...at least I assumed that it is since that's what I ordered.
2. Yes I live in colder weather climate, but don't understand the weather timer function. I did not order the ozonator.
3. No I did not drain the tub and leave it during winter temps.
The company did not find anything leaking when they came out here. I contacted them today and they came out, drained the tub, and took it into the shop. We'll soon find out what is wrong.
Ok good luck.
That model should have an ozonator as a standard feature.
Just an FYI on the summer timer function. The summer timer function is a setting that is intended for very warm climates where the tub may get too hot just from the continuous running of the circulation pump. Activating the feature (sometimes people do it by accident) allows the circ pump to run for a certain amount of time, then shut off for a certain period of time. The problem with this is when temperatures are cold outside. If the heater is actively on when the circ pump turns off, the sudden loss of flow allows the water in the heater to get too hot and causes the hi-limit to kick in. That causes the "----" symbol on the control pad. If the ozone check valve is installed wrong or cracked, water will leak out when that circ pump is off.
I'm not saying that was definitely your problem...but I see it a lot.
-
According to the latest issue of Pool and Spa News Thermospas is now up for sale to pay off it's creditors.
No takers yet.
Doesn't surprise me. I've seen a couple of them on Craigslist around here, they all have either had problems with the shell or control panel.
Looking for a buyer basically means they have one foot in the bankruptcy grave and are looking for a bailout, something in this economy that is going to be really tough to come by.
Especially when the company doesn't have a good reputation, it would probably be better for someone to start a new company.
As a competitor I hope they keep the company and continue to build inferior, overpriced tubs. Someone else could come in and turn them into a decent company without too much effort.
-
On 9/9/2011 I purchased a brand new Caldera Tahitian from a local company in my home town and registered the hot tub online on 9/11/2011. I used the company's recommended electrician and they installed the electric for the Hot Tub. The first few months were quite enjoyable with the Spa. However, for the third time in the past few months I went outside to find that the tub was half full of water and the power light was blinking and the temperature was not shown. Just lines were on the panel. The water was still hot. So I turned the power back on and turned the temperature up. The night before the hot tub worked fine. The power did not go out at our house. For some reason this keeps on happening. The company came out to our house the last time this happened and just took some outside panels off and looked for leaks on the outside of the tub and did not find any. I contacted them again and am waiting to hear from them. I was wondering if anyone could help me? If the power is going off, it suggests that there probably is an electrical problem. Any suggestions? Since we just bought the tub we should not have to pay for this, correct? I mean we have only had the tub a few months and it doesn't work properly. I think we have a lemon. I am really disappointed as I did a lot of research before I bought this hot tub and it was mostly positive. But my experience is just the opposite. Thanks, Bo
It's not likely that the electrical is causing any of this. My most likely guess would be that the main problem is a leak. Once the water level gets low, the circulation pump stops pumping, the heater gets too hot, and the hi-limit sensor picks this up and causes the 4 flashing lines.
My first questions would be this:
1. You said it's brand new....is it a 2011 model or an older one that was leftover?
2. Do you have the "summer timer" function on and live in a cold-weather climate? If the ozonator wasn't hooked up properly or the check valve was installed wrong or is cracked it could leak in this situation.
3. Did you drain the tub and leave it empty during freezing temps.
II haven't seen any common problems with newer Caldera's leaking, but it's always possible.
Did the company find anything leaking when they took off the panels? Any wet foam?
-
Just wanted to follow up, Hot tub is sitting on 102 degree's. Put the board in yesterday at 4:00 and it is 29 degree's outside last night. Tub is already at 102 right now and waiting for me and moma to jump in it tonight. Looks like some wine is in store...
Again thanks to you guys. You made it alot easier for me
Excellent....well done. Enjoy the water and wine!
-
Thank you for the responses HS Ace and Kenny! After those explanations it looks like the 2011 Rhythm has been taken off my list. I like that the new stuff insulates better than 1/2lb foam, like that it doesn’t absorb water, and especially like that it is much easier to work with instead of foam in terms of servicing the tub.
So my dealer supposedly has a 2012 Relay, but how would I go about verifying this and making sure it has the new insulation? He says it’s a 2012 and then pointed out that it had all vertical wood panels, while the 2011 Rhythm had vertical and horizontal wood panels. Is that enough to know that it’s a 2012 Relay that definitely has the new insulation?
Thanks again for the responses
(PS: If a moderator is looking at this, it took a while for me to login to this site to reply. I removed the word beta from the url and it finally allowed me to properly login and make a post. That beta word was popping up in the default links but I manually deleted it in the address bar to fix the issue.)
That beta issue has been happening for a long time and I think it's keeping a lot of people who are unaware of it from posting on the site. Wish it would keep the spam-bots off.
-
Also Hotspring claims the heat from jet pumps is used to help heat is a crock. If the back of the shell in sprayed with closed cell foam there can be no heat transfer. All the heat from jet pumps in a full foam spa in exhausted to the outside.
Actually its not a crock, you simply are misinformed (or were misinformed by someone else) as to how that heat energy is getting back into the spa. You are correect, it oviously isn't migrating back through the foam. In reality the pumps have an exhaust that sends hot air through a hose to the bottom of the front corners where there is an opening. At the same time, when those pumps are turned on the jets are designed to draw air into the water. The hoses that supply air to the jets go to that same point at the bottom of the corners so that any air the jets are drawing into the water is that same expelled hot air from the pumps rather than drawing outside ambient air in (which can be very cold at certain times of the year). It’s a straight forward method to recycle the expelled heat and be more energy efficient because every bit counts.
Ah not quite. The air control air inlets are connected to a Hartford Loop in the equipment bay under the bartop. With a check valve to prevent water from back flowing. They are not connected to any exhaust port from the jet pumps.
see desricption of hartford loop below.
Part #72701 HARTFORD LOOP ASSYDxo
The air check valves are the air intake ports for the air that is supplied to the individual jets via the air valves. Located in the equipment compartment under the bartop, their primary function is to prevent water from back flowing into the equipment compartment should the hydrotherapy jet become obstructed.
Yes, but guess where the Hartford Loop gets it's air from...a 3/4" line that tee's directly off the jet pump exhaust.
As far as answering the original question, I wouldn't let the insulation methods in the '11 model or '12 model be a big holdup in making your decision. You can't go wrong with either.
-
I read that these boards come configured for 115v so do I even need to make a jumper change?
Yes, you need to install the jumpers as described above.
-
The heater wires go into H2 and H1. The black main power wires goes into terminal #2 and the white main power wire goes into terminal #5. The ground goes into the grounding lug like it is in the original photo.
With the jumpers, one of the 3-pronged jumpers goes into the slot above the 3,4,5 terminals.
Then you need to cut the middle prong off of the other jumper and slide it into the 1 and 2 terminals. The gap from cutting off the prong is needed because of the heater wire being in the new H1 terminal on the board.
-
I just ordered a board on ebay from a spa and pool dealer. It is the new model that replaces the old one I have. I got it for 110.00 shipped so I think that is ok. Now I cant wait to get it and put it on. If you look at the pictures you can see black soot above the first relay. I did not notice this until i took the pictures.
I will let you all know how it goes when I get it installed.
thanks again for your help
That's going to be the problem. Should be all set. Make sure you follow the jumper configuration as the new board will have slightly different wiring
-
I jsut started up my tiger river spa after it has been off for 2 years drained. I filled it up 4 days ago and the water got up to 97 degree's. I had it set to 102. I got in it with my son and stayed in for about 1 hour. We got out closed the cover and let it. I went out to check it today and the temp is down to 89 degree's. I pull the cover and pushed the reset button on the heater but cant tell if it reset it or not. Why would it not be getting up to temp? It is around 26 hear at night and mid 50's in the day time. I dont know what else to check except the pump is pumping water thru the heater. I am talking about the small one for the heater. Any ideas?
What year is the tub?
If you look inside the control box the "heater on" light should be on. If it is then it's most likely either the heater or the relay board.
You would need a meter to check continuity of the heater to see if it is good, or to check voltage at the relay.
I will pull it back apart after I get back from picking up my son frm school. Where should I check it? I have a multimeter.
You would need to see if there is proper voltage at the relay where the heater attaches to (110 or 220 depending on how it is set up.). If the heater light is on but no voltage then it is the relay board. If there is voltage then you would test the heater leads for continuity. Should read between 9-16 ohms depending on heater. If not then heater is bad.
-
I jsut started up my tiger river spa after it has been off for 2 years drained. I filled it up 4 days ago and the water got up to 97 degree's. I had it set to 102. I got in it with my son and stayed in for about 1 hour. We got out closed the cover and let it. I went out to check it today and the temp is down to 89 degree's. I pull the cover and pushed the reset button on the heater but cant tell if it reset it or not. Why would it not be getting up to temp? It is around 26 hear at night and mid 50's in the day time. I dont know what else to check except the pump is pumping water thru the heater. I am talking about the small one for the heater. Any ideas?
What year is the tub?
If you look inside the control box the "heater on" light should be on. If it is then it's most likely either the heater or the relay board.
You would need a meter to check continuity of the heater to see if it is good, or to check voltage at the relay.
-
The serial number is HQ3D1397. Life got in the way and I wasn't able to spend any time debugging the spa today.
Yep...it's an '02. Turn the power off and open up the control box. If you look towards the left side where the main power wires and heater connect you may be able to see some burn marks near one of the black relays on that board. That is most likely your problem.
-
Looking forward to your pics.
In addition to my Sovereign I have a Grandee that has a small leak - I believe the drain pipe going from the capped end to the drain. very slow leak but enough for me to dig in to.
Can anyone post what the best tools are to use to dig out the foam without risking damage to pipes? 5 in 1 tool? Screw driver?
Thanks.
So the water is seeping directly out of one of the holes where the drain comes out? It could be from the drain but it can be mis-leading. Check the light lens really good. Even if it seems good replace the o'ring on the drain cap. Make sure the tub is up to temp as well. Sometimes the o'rings and seals may leak when first filled with cold water and then don't when it heats up.
-
Ive recently tried to convert my 2000 hot springs sovereign model I from 110v where it performs perfecly to 230v. After following all the wireing instructions to the letter I discovered that because of the strapping of the #6 and #7 connections on the terminal block within the IQ 2000 pack the 20amp and the 30amp ground fault breakers would trip immediately upon supplying power to the tub. well I figured strapping a ground to a load was always going to trip the breakers, so I unstrapped #6 and #7. This stopped the breakers from tripping! GREAT. WRONG. Now the high limit trips on the heater after a few minutes of operation, and the digital display is reading in what looks like celcius? Back to 110v and running perfectly!!!! Why will this tub not convert? HELP!!!!
There are jumpers that need to be installed on the terminal block and small plastic ones within the control panel that need to be moved. I would need to see some good close-up pictures of the breaker panel wiring and the terminal block on the tub before I can give any suggestions or ideas.
-
Hello. I have a 2002 Hotspring Spa Prodigy that the heater stopped working or is providing limited heat. The tub is currently wired 110 V and has been running well for many years. I have recently been guilty of not cleaning the filters and the other day I was doing electrical work on the house and threw the main breaker to the house. I'm guessing when I turned the breaker back on the hot tub heater isn't working properly as it was approximately 90 degrees 24 hours later. When I first looked at it there was no bubbles coming out of the bottom of the tub vent and normally the ozonator bubbles can be seen here. I cleaned the filters, unplugged the tub for an hour, tried to reset the Watkins No-Fault 6000 heater (I don't think it was tripped) and plugged it back in. Instantly the ozonator bubbles started to appear again. I'm waiting to see if the tub starts coming up to temperature but because I don't think the heater reset was tripped I have low expectations this will fix the issue.
I looked at the circuit board and the "LIM OK" light was glowing green and the "HTR ON" light was glowing red and the "Control Unplugged" light was off. Can someone tell me if my tub doesn't start to heat up how I start debugging this? Can someone tell me how to measure whether the sensors are functional (resistance values I'm assuming)? Also how can I measure that the heater is getting power? I will "feel" the heater and try to determine if it is getting warmer but with the hot tub water at 80'ish degrees now it is difficult to tell (unless it is suppose to get really warm - I've never felt it in working condition). Any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
If the "heater on" light is lit then there are no problems with the thermistors and there should be power to the heater. You should have 110 volts at the relay. If not then the relay board needs to be replaced.
If there is 110 volts at the relay then you need to check the heater for continuity. Providing that the thermal cutoff button is not tripped the heater should read 9-15 ohms or something like that depending on the heater.
My bet is on the relay board or you may have solved the problem with the hi-limit on the heater and the tub may heat. The heater will not got hot to the touch. Only way to immediately confirm that it is working is with an amp clamp.
-
I have a 2006 Solana TX spa, the Moto massage jet which usually travels up and down has stopped moving. Air still comes from the jet, but it does not move up and down as it use to. any and all suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks
Probably just needs to be replaced. You would need to pop out the 3 tabs on the face-plate with a small regular screwdriver. Then take the 3 screws out. Once you have access to the moto-jet, pull the blue air-line off (if it isn't already broken off). Then the whole jet unscrews out. Once it is out you can hold it by the larger end and let it dangle down. If it has any sort of bend to it then it would need to be replaced.
-
Can you post some pictures?
Has anyone tried staining the redwood colored everwood a darker color to match the current "esspresso"?
I also use the Behr stain. Spend the extra few dollars and get the premium deck/fence/siding stain (green can in the Behr brand). I have 4-5 gallons of different colors that I use on the refurbished tubs. May have some pics I can post on my work computer but I think I deleted most after selling the tubs. Those first generation everwood cabinets (99-2001) take a stain quite nicely.
I believe the Behr (Cordovan Brown) is what I use that is the closest to the Expresso color.
-
Well that clears it up I guess. I wish someone had informed me that there was more than one option as far as that goes. And I somehow didn't see that in the manual about the display. Thanks for the info, I may have a few more questions here and there.
Those music systems have changed so many times over the last few years I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer didn't know the difference in function between the factory installed and dealer installed units.
In fact I didn't know this until P-Swine just posted it, and I install and sell these. Good info there.
-
New to the forum and no experience with repair so please bear with me. Everything works on unit except heat...just ran out of warranty in may. Is there any simple tests I can do to check heater. There appears to be no reset button. Dealer sold me two thermistor Assy but seems once I un screwed spa would have to be drained. If that's the case should I go buy the heater and switch out all parts? Thanks for any assistance.
inside the control box on the left were the power wires are connected that small board is the heater control board and most likely is the problem. You can take a voltage reading at the heater wires should read 230 if not board is bad.
Thanks will pull the panel and take a look.
Make sure the "heater on" light is lit in the control box as well. If so, board is bad like Kenny W said.
-
I agree that it sounds like a flow problem.
One thing that doesn't sound right is when you mention replacing the element. Is there a chance that this tub is older than 96 and uses the square-flanged heating element with 4 screws in it? Or maybe it still has the original 1996 cartridge heater and the tech replaced the element in that instead of upgrading to the PDR.
2004 Hot Springs Jetsetter
in Portable Hot Tubs & Spas
Posted
That is the proper ohm value for the heater, so it is most likely your heater relay board that needs to be replaced. That is the board on the left side of the control box that all of the main power wires come into.
Since both lights are on inside the control box it will not be one of the sensors.