wandering_burr

RDSpaGuy. Respect... That was one heck of a task you took on there. I've been fighting my spa-found a leak in the barbed fitting in the WaveMaster that was putting water into the equipment bay. Got that sorted and finally realized that after the fix the new water in the bay seems to be coming up from the foam through the holes under the circulation pump. I did end up putting water weld in the motomassage bay and clamping off the 1/4 inch circ line and the leak is still happening so I think you guys were correct in suggesting that I expand the search for the leak. Light fixture seems dry so looks like foam will need to be dug out. I'm traveling for a few days then will refill and see if I can narrow things down before putting it up. Is it safe/ok to leave it on its side while working on the foam? From the other thread it sounds like a pressure washer is the tool of choice to knock out the foam. Once I get more info I'll start a fresh thread if I confirm the leak is not at the motomassage.

thanks for your opinions. I looked online with a fresh eye on how to track down spa leaks. I have already tried food coloring without success - perhaps the leak is too slow to take up the coloring. The equipment bay is bone dry. No visible cracks in the shell. Is there something worth tweaking on the jets? There was not a leak when I opened the drain in the fall, then there was a slow puddle under the moto massage corner when refilled in the spring. I'm assuming freeze damage (but again I'm a SoCal winter novice so maybe i'm wrong to jump to conclusions) but it could also be age related. I did try Fix-A-Leak which may have helped for a few days but failed soon after. I don't see anyone recommending a safe way to put a spa up on blocks and fill it. What procedure would you suggest, just putting large pavers under the bottom of the tub itself? I'd hate to break the tub by not supporting it correctly....

Living in SoCal I never thought about winterizing anything and just drained my spa (not winterizing it with a shop vac) for the winter since we weren't using it. Last year it developed a leak in the back right, under the moto-massage jet area when I filled it in the spring. Well at least that is where the water is coming out from underneath. I read up and discovered the bad nipple issue many people have with the drain at the bottom of the jet housing. I pulled the side panels off expecting to find sopping wet foam but dry as a bone. The leak is very slow, about 1 inch every 5-7 days but it keeps the patio wet around the spa. I also discovered that the air line to the moto massage jet is cracked. This spa is 24 years old so I'm looking for the simplest/cheapest repair that will allow us to soak without leaking water onto the deck. I'm here because I'm not sure how to determine where to attack the issue. I was considering using water weld in the motomassage jet compartment at the drain hole and capping the 1/4 inch circulation line that runs from the pump area towards that area of the tub (there is only one 1/4 inch line I see so I'm assuming that is the right one). I guess I'll cap the air line as well-could that be the issue? Spa is drained and dry from this years off season. What would you suggest I do first? Thanks for your advice and experience.

thanks for all the help. i will work on this over the weekend.

is there a good way to test the thermistors?

Yes, i confirmed that the summer mode is switched off. I noticed one other symptom that may or may not be related. The Temp control on the front panel works fine with the single exception that the Temp Up button has no effect. The spa is at the default 80 degrees and the adjustment button does nothing. Would a faulty control head explain the lack of heat or is this likely a totally separate problem?

I removed the filters already, i can see water circulating up through the bottom drain but don't know if it is enough to trip any flow sensor. Where on a 1998 Sovereign would I find a pressure/flow sensor and how would i test it?

Sorry about the incomplete description. There is power to the tub, jets and circulation pump are working. Power light is steady Red on the control panel. What I was trying to communicate is that when I opened the IQ 2000 there is a red LED next to the word 'Heater' which is not lit. The green LED next to 'LIM Ok' is lit. All of the online troubleshooting I've seen is for boards that have the 'Heater' indicator on the board lit up. FOr some reason the IQ2000 seems to think the heater should not be on.

My 1998 Hot Spring has been empty for 18 months and on refill there is no heat. The IQ2000 shows the red LED is dark and I'm not sure where to start troubleshooting. No airlock, wires seem connected well, I cycled the power, no change. Thermistors?

I use Nitro's method to maintain my water. The spa isn't getting power and I'm not sure if I'll be able to trace and repair the problem this week. If I just add bleach into the still water is that sufficient to keep the water safe? I'm worried what might get growing in the piping and jets since they won't get their usual flush from the jets. How long would you say I have before funk may creep in? One week, two, four? -wb

Our friends gave us their 1999 Hot Springs Sovereign tub and it is being delivered in the next week or so. I've searched for a sticky about the electrical options for 115V outdoor tubs but haven't found any, and I did try the search feature for some time without really learning much about what needs to happen-so please forgive the NewB questions. The tub has a built in cord with GFCI and they have it plugged in about 12 inches from the back of the tub running around to the equipment panel. Assuming this used to be ok by code is it still alright? Over burgers and beer a neighbor that is a professional electrician told me the most cost effective approach is to just plug it in 'like a lamp' in an available outlet and there is an excellent chance it would run fine. If it tripped the breaker then to call and have someone come out to upgrade the service. I have a Hot Springs outdoor outlet so it would at least be relatively safe from water exposure is there a danger that would give you pause here that my neighbor is not considering? The original owners of my house do appear to have prep'd a couple outdoor outlets for a spa. There is one that looks to be on its own (i tripped its breaker and all the other outlets still work fine) that runs 110v but has 220 wiring ready to go according to a different electrician we had out a year ago for another reason. I'm guessing it would just need an upgrade at the panel to convert to 220 service. but since this tub is 115V I'm thinking it would be perfectly fine to plug the tub in there and use it as a dedicated outlet since it has GFCI at the breaker. How far away from the outlet does the tub need to be? I read on some page that you shouldn't have GFCI both at the outlet and the breaker box. The Hot Springs manual appears to call for both the GFCI in their plug as well as at the breaker. I'm assuming that is correct/safe. I also found this mysterious junction box on the other side of my patio that would be a great spot if the tub can sit within a couple feet of the plug. Not understanding the lingo I'll desribe it as containing two small copper pair wires and one heavy three copper wire romex. Since the box has a blank plate and whoever installed them did not bother to cap them off I'm guessing that these too are behind the main panel waiting to be wired up to a breaker. This is probably plan A. Finally, if I can't keep the tub withing 10 feet of an outlet (which I can't tell is a rule for just 220 or some other subset of spas or not) how crazy would I be just to plug it into an external outlet on the house. Definitely not dedicated but probably run off the same outlets that run the garbage disposal and a few over counter outlets that get very limited use. Finally, do I need a disconnect panel within eyeline of the spa? I'm not excited about drilling into my Stucco house for this. Unless one of these is a slam dunk i'll get Mr. Electric to come out (not the guy who told me about the lamp) and see what can happen. But I have 50-90 feet of solid cement between the panel and the possible spa locations so I really, really would like to find a safe option using existing wiring. Thanks for reading the long post.