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make_shift

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Everything posted by make_shift

  1. I have bought the new pump, I looked at the capacitors, it has 2, never been changed, eventually the windings will burn, etc, so I am going with the new pump.
  2. How old is the pump and what kind is it? Lower end pumps/motors have a life expectancy about 4-6 years and changing the bearings will be a temporary fix while changing the pump/motor will give you another 4-6 years. Higher end pumps will do better. ultra 2hp - 2speed pump 230v, it's been really solid, 10 years, but has been off for about 3 (winter and such)
  3. wondering if anybody would comment on this for me. I have a spa pump that is squealing, I replaced the pump seal, that's not the source of the squealing, I think it may be the bearings in the pump, my question, with practical experience, is it better to buy a new pump or have a pump repair shop replace the bearings - the new pump is great, but it's like 3x the cost of bearings, so if bearings would last too, that would be best - I think... this is the first problem I have had with the pump!!
  4. fyi : reporting back, put a scoop (from brom-ox container) of bromine booster in, bromine level is ok, been in 3X since, I will keep monitoring and report back if something changes, like bromine levels drop off.
  5. I have a genesis bromine generator, I just ran out of brom-ox oxidizing agent, it doesn't have 'ingredients' on the side anywhere, I have a container of 'bromine booster' - this also doesn't have ingredients on it - I am told they are the same thing, can somebody confirm...if I need to get brom-ox again, I will, just want to make sure. thanks.
  6. I live in SW Ontario, buy an Arctic Spa or Hotsprings, I have a Hydropool, and they are ok too, but I know people have better luck with the others, make sure the water you put in is good also, I have really hard water, I have to get a tanker to bring water every 9-12 mths when I change water.
  7. thanks for the replies, I will try a couple of things, upon further reading, this is an excellent explanation of the caps and what they do for the motor http://books.google.ca/books?id=fb04YPy-XI...tor&f=false I have 2 pumps that both have caps, I will have to verify they are both identical in the 2 pumps, I will swap them, and if thermal still trips out, I will try to leave some opening (a bit worried about how long I leave the door open for, with rain and vermon...) hopefully somebody will also find this helpful, I will report back the results.
  8. I have a hydropool 638, it's a vintage 1998, the pump is 2 stage, circ is stage 1 and stage 2 is jets, the pump is original, I just changed the pump seal this year, it seems if I put a new filter in, it works for a few weeks, then the same thing happens, not sure what the cap does for the motor, could it be the cap?
  9. after about 1-2 hours on re-circulation,pump is kicking out on thermal, it's very hot to touch, I shut off breaker, wait a half hour and try again, it works, and sometimes kicks out again, I think it might be the filter...is there anything else I can try?
  10. the only way ours last any length of time, is that we remove them everytime we get out...pita, but it works.
  11. don't bother jacking it up, if you suspect a faulty piece of plumbing, let the tub leak out - you will have to remove power so you don't suction air when the level drops too much and wherever the water line stops, that' s where you need to look at the jets at that level, or possibly the skimmer, then if you can narrow down what side the leak is coming from by watching where the water makes a puddle, start removing foam from there. and work towards that jet. it is messy, I have done it 1000x
  12. Everyone I talked to that has one, they all failed and did not protect the spa. The power companies are pretty good but I know things happen. If it lightning you are worried about, have a good earth ground. Lightning will do more than just fry a spa if it hits close we had a very good electrical install with a separate box for gfci and separate electrical disconnect outside, we recently had a major lightning strike close by, where the gfci tripped and I popped a fuse on the genesis bromine generator (go figure) but everything else on the spa was fine...don't know if that helps, but that's the idea of having a rroperly installed gfci, it's not asurge supressor per say, but the idea is current leaking back to earth - trip. Unless you have really crappy power quality, just get a properly wired gfci.
  13. Sounds to me that the spare motor you were given is no good. It will run hot if you losing voltage. If you test it while it is running and it is between 218-245 volts ac you got a bad motor. Another question was this a motor swap or complete pump swap I would agree, I would think your spare should be running 'cooler' if anything, it has a higher current rating...
  14. if youhaven't got the specific ant stuff, wd40 works well also, but it's not eco friendly.
  15. I have used 1/2" pink rigid foam sandwiched between plywood and bottom of spa, I had issues with animals getting underneath with factory foam, so I put the plywood down first, then the pink rigid foam, I plan on putting a finishing trim around the base at some point. Another question for somebody knowledgeable, can rodents burrow through the pink rigid insulation as well as the spray foam they use at the factory?
  16. i have a hydropool 638 that is 11 years old, run it seasonally on and off (not really the spa's fault) we are still with the original heater-balboa, original pumps (which I have refurbished myself a few times) - the self cleaning system works well and the beauty is the draining feature where you can drain the tub using the pump from the spa. I know all the in's and outs of this tub and when I hear my local store tell me it's time to get a new one, which is almost double the price what I paid for myn...I will keep myn. The plumbing is nice, the only complaint I have is that they should have used a floor that was resistant to animals/insects, myn has no floor, it was open foam only, so mice got in one year and made a hell of a mess. but now, I have added the genesis generator, and replaced a bunch of the jets (they're all standard off the shelf) and the piping is still very solid in it. the only problem I had when starting it up this spring was that the skimmer to the 3" hose had a leak, so I did a partial drain, cemented the pipe and went on. I have also added some insulation where I removed chunks of foam and have added some pink 1/2"rigid insulation foam and plywood on the floor. The dealers are good, the service (that is not factory, ie:when your warranty expires) is kind of crappy, and expensive imo. But since I have this one all set up the way I want, you can't pry it from my hands. People around here are surprised I still have an 11year old tub...not sure if that's hydropool or spas in general...hope that helped. It also uses very little electricity, I think on average, it's about 40 bucks every 1.5/2 months, which is peanuts
  17. I am just curious how the 'spa techs' became techs, was it through schooling or through osmosis? I would be interested in hearing about it, I was thinking about that today.
  18. you said they were building your spa now, you know what would be really cool? -- and I don't know anything on how to do this, but, if you could go to the factory to see how they built the tub, that would be awesome...not like there's probably any way you could do that...but I would find that really cool.
  19. if you want my opinion, if you enjoy it for a long time, then it's always a good deal. sounds hassle free for install, so all you have to do is get the mai tai's out, and enjoy...doesn't really matter if somebody says it's good or not, some people get enjoyment from saving some dough by doing it themselves...to each their own. now get out there and soak.
  20. I am in the same boat, I am constantly fixing the air jets on myn, the blower jets are all cracking to age-also at different times, right now, I just fixed 2 and there is something else leaking slowly, myn is a 99, not the same type as yours, but I have become quite the surgeon on our tub, don't be afraid to save yourself a couple grand to be spent on toys for your tub later, like myn our dealer went under also, and all the other guys are up in the same $ range for 'visiting', screw that, I will go it myself, with these people in here, I can do some pretty good damage on my own. have faith, you may surprise yourself. the funniest thing I heard was the lifespan of a spa was 8-10 yrs, then throw it out and get a new one? what is that about? k, I have 8grand lying around, let me just do that...whatever
  21. That's unbelievable, almost like your avatar...the bears? good luck with getting a new tub, if it were me, i would be looking at all the stuff that I may have wanted to get on the new one!!! (packer fan btw)
  22. I have been following these rules and everything was great, now, I have a different circumstance than explained here, I have a low TA(70) and hi PH(8.0), what do I do here, I am leaning toward focusing on the ph going down, but what will lower ta do to me? help out please...
  23. I have a full foamed ht, the problem with that is that I had a leak...the only way to get to that leak, you got it, had to chip all that foam away, and if you need service on your tub for such a problem, sometimes, you get the 'we don't do foam tubs', now, I have since had 3 or 4 more jets break, for various reasons, and virtually all the foam is out of my tub, I have 'vapor barrier' all around the plumbing with a 'drain' at the bottom with insulation all around the openings, and the bottom has 2 4x8 sheets of pressure treat plywood screwed to it, so think of maintenance in your choice.
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