castletonia

Assuming everything is wired correctly....... what software version are you running and are all the soft jumpers set correctly? I'm guessing you are running software v 1.14D and if so, soft jumper "J3" needs to be set to "DUAL" for pump 2 to have low speed. Pump 1 will be high speed only.

Hot Spring and Caldera are the only brands I have ever seen where bad circ pumps trip breakers.

30 amp is everything except the heater. If disconnecting the circ pump allows the breaker to hold, then it’s the circ pump.

The Moto-Massage drain leaks to my knowledge were only possibly an issue from 2009-2012 but I do not have any firsthand experience with 1990's Hot Spring. If you want to do the repair right it would involve putting the hot tub up on blocks and once it starts dripping from underneath follow the water back to the leak. If you patio isn't perfectly level, the leak could be in a completely different area.

If water level and filters are not the problem, the two rows of dashes would usually indicate a pressure switch or circuit board problem and the pressure switch would be the more likely culprit. You could try "jumping" the pressure switch to see if the dashes go away. If so, replace pressure switch, if not, then continue troubleshooting. The dashes should not prevent you from being able to adjust the temperature on the display. When the hot tub was reading 105, what was it set for?

Assuming this hot tub did not have the circulation pump added and only has the jet pump, the pump should turn on automatically when it needs heat. Keep in mind though that it will not automatically call for heat until the actual water temperature is 2 degrees below the set temperature.

Wow! Clean looking hot tub and good find. Need those every now and then to make up for all the ones that are way more work than they should be.

2005

It's a 2006. I've never seen/used those electronics but I know a lot of the older ones wouldn't show the actual temperature, only the set temperature. If it is running 115v then the tub will only heat when the pump is on low speed. I have a Hot Spring SX and it takes anywhere between 24-36 hours to heat from 50 to 103 degrees depending on the outside air temp and whether I have the air control open or closed.

Assuming your water level is high enough and the filter is clean it is either the pressure switch (most likely) or circuit board.

There is what is called a control head which sits directly behind the exterior control panel. I don't have a lot of familiarity with the pre-2012 electronics but I don't see how how that would affect the boards even receiving power. If the main control board was fried I would be concerned that it took out the heater relay board too. I would honestly just have your local Hot Spring dealer or a competent service tech come out and figure out what's going on vs just throwing parts at it.

Two rows of dashes or one row of dashes?

Based strictly on brand reputation, I would go Bullfrog. You need to evaluate the dealer though because a great dealer can positively impact your ownership experience regardless of which brand is better.

That control panel is obsolete so unless you can find a used one you will have to replace the IQ2020 control box too.

That's a high price for the Aventine. The Aquarest one appears to be made by Dreammaker. I haven't personally dealt with Dreammaker in about 12-13 years so I cannot comment much on them. They are probably on par with Freeflow in regards to quality but possibly without the same level of mfg support after the sale. I guess my question to you would be this: Are you looking for an inexpensive hot tub to try out and upgrade later if you like it or are you looking for something that will last you 10-15 years? If the latter, then I would skip Freeflow or any roto-molded hot tub and invest into something else. What are your options that are locally available?

If you reach out directly to Hot Spring it will get back to your dealer. Hot Spring wants to do right but they also need the dealer to be the facilitator since they are the ones available to actually service you. I would politely ask to speak to the owner at your dealership if the salesman is not useful. A reputable dealer will want to make this right ASAP. If you don’t want to publicly say who your dealer is, pm me and if I know the dealer I can see who to put you in touch with with. I won’t ever defend a dealer but if they also sell pools, this is a crazy time of year. I resort to emailing customers and sales leads between 8-10 at night because I don’t have time during business hours. Granted this is only a 6-8 week scenario, but still makes communication stressed. I would ask whomever is doing your water test to test your tap water so that whenever you have to do another drain/refill you know your starting point. Calcium hardness, phosphates, pH, alkalinity, cyanuric acid, salt, TDS (if possible), everything. Makes life so much easier.

Freeflow Mini is the only one I’m currently aware of. https://www.freeflowspas.com/collections/2-seats

If I was blindly throwing parts at it I would start with the heater relay circuit board, that is always the first thing I suspect on the older Hot Springs assuming the circulation pump works.

Usually when a salt cell is bad or reaches end of life it will give an error on the display that reads “inactive / low status”. Anytime that error comes up, test the salt level with the salt test strip. If the test strip indicates low salt, then add salt. If test strip indicates a normal salt level, remove filters and retest on the hot tub. If still getting that error, then replace cartridge.

I don’t let a salt water hot tub get delivered without a water test of the source water. I’m in the Midwest, but I generally have high phosphates, can have high hardness, metals, super high alkalinity, etc. A water test prior to delivery eliminates a ton of questions and headaches after delivery. The salt system is pretty simple and consists of a salt cartridge, a housing that it sits in and a salt controller (power supply). If there are issues with the system, it has to either be the cartridge or the controller. You can call Hot Spring customer service if you want to leapfrog your dealer, their number is 1-800-999-4688. Customer service will end up reaching out to your dealer so it will go full circle but if your dealer isn’t helping, might as well run it up the flagpole. I’ve never had a cartridge inaccurately read high, just an FYI. Just a thought, your softened water, test the salt level on it prior to adding any salt. I had a customer whose softener was messed up and he had 600 ppm salt in the water initially. This obviously through off how much needed to be added but also resulted in a higher starting TDS. I’m sorry you are having these troubles both with the system and the dealer. Whatever the outcome I could keep things as professional as possible because this dealer is the only one obligated to perform warranty work on your hot tub. Even if you hate them now and think their idiots, they are still your service provider for the next 5 years. I also wouldn’t rule out bailing on the salt system in lieu of either ozone/mps/nature2 or Frog @ease. I personally like the salt system but it is particular in regards to water chemistry and some water sources are just not worth the hassle of making right.

I would invest in a portable water softener if your hardness is high. In the long run it’s worth it vs having to continually use the Vanishing Act. See if your dealer can test TDS. Good tap water should be close to zero. I’ve been told that when TDS reaches approximately 3,000 ppm it will trigger that high salt reading regardless of what the salt level is actually at. I haven’t encountered any scenarios like yours let but I have had two customers I refused to sell saltwater too because their well water was horrible and they didn’t want to deal with a water softener or pre-filter. I don’t want to speculate because I don’t have all the information but you might be better off with ozone, chlorine, and Nature2.

If the built in test is reading high there are 3 scenarios: 1: Salt is high 2: Filter is dirty. Dirty filter will restrict water flow resulting in a false high reading. Remove the filter with the gray cap, run jets for 5-10 minutes and test again with filter out. If the salt reading drops, thoroughly clean filter. 3: High TDS (total dissolved solids). The built in test is a conductivity test and as such cannot tell the difference between salt and TDS. I would be shocked if you had high TDS after 6 weeks since that should take 6 months plus to occur but it could be possible. Unless your filters are dirty you should probably have your water tested by your dealer. High pH, high hardness and high phosphates can result in scale build up on the salt cartridge. I don’t think this would cause a false high salt reading but I suppose it’s possible.

While I don't sell a lot of them, I am also a Freeflow dealer (they are also made by Watkins Wellness, maker of Hot Spring and Caldera Spas). They are a roto-molded design which is significantly more basic and less expensive. I have had very few issues with Freeflow. They use Gecko electronics and I believe Aqua-Flo pumps. Jet performance will be lacking compared to something like the Aventine or Rendezvous but that should also be expected since the price would be significantly less. If therapy is the primary focus, then I would honestly hold out for a more premium used hot tub but if you are primarily after the warm water and can accept decent jet action, they are not a bad option for the money.

In these Covid times, there is not a better time to buy. Inventory is almost non-existent and lead times are long. Prices continue to climb. If you were buying new, buy sooner than later. The longer you wait, the long it will take and the more it will cost. If you're buying used and you have those two options available, same thing, buy sooner because neither of those hot tubs are high volume sellers so the chance at coming across another one is unlikely.