JWL

Thank you. I only did the jumping briefly to see if it would look closed and trigger the pump. It did not.

Arctic Spa Cub circa 2005. Refilled the tub to restart it and get a 4.00 and a 507 code displayed when I turn the circuit breaker back on. Then switches to FLO code. I've refilled it through the filter housing and "burped" it where the heater connects with spa tubing so I don't think it is air lock. Water is not running. I replaced the pressure switch in the spring and it was working fine (shut it down for the summer). I jumped the pressure switch connections and it did not resolve the problem. Showed code 71 when I did that. Spa pack is original (18 years), pump is about 5 years old. Any idea what my problem is?

OUCH!

Total team effort. Tried to spread the love around to all who helped. Apologies to @CanadianSpaTech if you didn't feel acknowledged/appreciated (although I think I detected that you're mostly jokin around). I was SOOOOO far off the mark when I started that I am amazed that you two figured it out. Who Finally got the parts today from a local shop who still has a sales desk open so I could bring in my parts and get the right replacements. Might have paid a bit more than I would have from Lowes, but their advice is certainly helpful and I feel more confident I have the right parts for a hot tub. Hopefully the 2" PVC will fit properly into the Arctic Spa flex hose and I can get a good seal.

Thanks. I am looking for SCH 40 PVC pipe and fittings, correct?

There is a 45* elbow in the section that I removed that is from Waterway part #411-2200 45° Ell - 2" Spigot x 2" Spigot. It appears to be 2-3/8 OD and 2" ID. I am replacing: Existing 2-3/8 ID pipe >> check valve with 2-3/8 OD >> 4" 2-3/8 ID pipe >> 45* elbow 2-3/8 OD/2" ID >> 4" of 2-3/8 ID pipe >> Tailpiece 2-3/8 OD that is a union connection to heater pipe So I think my best bet is either: 1. Existing 2-3/8 ID pipe >> ball valve with 2-3/8 OD and 2" ID >> 6" of 2" pipe >> Existing 45* elbow 2-3/8 OD/2" ID >> 4" of 2-3/8 ID pipe >> Tailpiece 2-3/8 OD 2. Existing 2-3/8 ID pipe >> coupling with 2-3/8 OD and 2" ID >> 4" of 2" pipe >> ball valve with 2" ID >> 4" of 2" pipe >> Existing 45* elbow 2-3/8 OD/2" ID >> 4" of 2-3/8 ID pipe >> Tailpiece 2-3/8 OD I prefer #1 would have less fittings and more room to work but it requires the right ball valve. #2 would have all the fittings with minimal piping in between which is always a bit tricky based on experience with ABS under sinks.

I finally got my head back in the tub and cut out the check valve. The flapper was completely disconnected. Kudos to @RDspaguy for the correct diagnosis despite all my descriptions. So now the next trick will be to find the parts to connect to the 2-3/8 ID piping. Would like to be walking into a store with the parts in hand but that ain't happening any time soon. Hopefully my local hot tub store is available to buy parts.

You got a legitimate laugh out loud from me on that one. Thank you for being so generous with your time and expertise. It is greatly appreciated.

Glad you mentioned that. I've read mixed posts on whether to use primer on flex hose or not.

I'd think you guys would be "exhausted" after all the advice you've provided! 😀 Based on the motor sounds and checking the impeller, I'm reasonably confident that the motor is OK (I guess I ought to re-name the thread!). I'm sure the problem is between the pump and the diverter because I removed the diverter controller when we were diagnosing and there wasn't a lot of waterflow to the diverter. The only things between the pump and the diverter on my tub are the heating tube (I'll check it this morning) and the check valve. We know the check valve wasn't holding water back when I tried to rely on it when removing the motor. By pushing a piece of clear tube the check valve, there didn't appear to be any resistance (from a spring to close it) which is consistent with the check valve valve not operating properly. And then there is the clunking sound that happens when I initially turn on low speed. That could be the water pressing the loose check valve cover to the far end of the check valve case (where it is not supposed to be) and preventing water flow. If I turned on the low speed again soon it would not make that sound, probably because the cover is already at the far end of the check valve case. If I left the tub for a while I would get the clunk again, probably because the cover had floated away from the far end of the check valve case and was then being slammed to close the opening. During one cycle of going through low speed to high speed, the water movement was noticeably better (not close to good, but a little better). That could be the loose flap just getting into position where it was obstructing the flow a little less. If it isn't the check valve I'll have spent some time/effort and $30 of materials to replace the 15 year old check valve with a new ball valve. It will be my first tub pipe repair but I've done lots of ABS plumbing drain work, so I should be OK. These are the materials I'm getting (my buddy has some 2" PVC pipe from a repair he did). https://www.lowes.ca/product/ball-valves/2-in-dia-pvc-sch-40-socket-in-line-ball-valve-21489 https://www.lowes.ca/product/pipe-cements-primers-cleaners/oatey-8-fl-oz-pvc-cement-and-primer-876451

To help clarify what I'm asking about water pressure, I have attached 2 diagrams. In both the water is flowing from the heater at the bottom, to the diverter valve at the top. There is only a 1/2" of pipe between fittings so I am going to need to add some pipe/hose somewhere. Would the Alternative 1 reduce water pressure to the jets vs the Current?

Ball valve it is. If I can't get any of the Arctic Spa 2-3/8" flex hose, and I use 2" OD PVC pipe for part of piping coming out of the heater, will I lose much/any pressure out of the jets? Or does the pressure remain the same and the water effectively just moves faster through the PVC pipe?

I removed the motor and tested the impeller using the screw slot at the end of the motor. The impeller is firmly on the shaft and both move freely. So it looks like all is good there. Unfortunately I can't see down the hose on the pressure side of the pump as there is a 45* fitting before the check valve. But I did feed a 1/2" clear hose down and once I was able to get past the hard edges I did get it through the check valve with no apparent resistance. Meaning I think the check valve is definitely open and there is no spring or anything closing it. I can't picture any way of fishing it out. It shouldn't fit through towards the pump since it is designed to cover that opening. Which also means it likely won't fit through the other end of the check valve fitting either. So unless there are any other ideas I guess I'll cut that out and get pipe and fittings to replace. Hopefully I won't have to buy the 50' roll for $200 that the Cdn Arctic Spa store is offering! If check valves are problematic, should I replace it with a ball valve instead? Or just a coupling as hopefully removing the motor won't be a common occurrence.

yay! 😨

A loose flap might also explain the "clunk" I'm hearing sometimes when turning on the low speed. If I am removing the check valve, it would be the same amount of work to replace it with another vs a coupling, correct? But I suppose it could fail again whereas a coupling won't.

OK. I can remove the heating tube and should be able to look down the pipe at the check valve to see what is going on. I'll do that before I remove the pump as it is a PITA to remove. That sounds pretty plausible. But I think I liked the impeller replacement possibility better 😁. Replacing the check valve is going to be a challenge because of how the tub sits in my deck. Man you guys are good at identifying potential problems, even with my haphazard descriptions. Thanks so much @RDspaguy and @CanadianSpaTech

There is a ball valve for the pump intake line. It looks like a check valve for the outflow line. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qoe4Nwt332NbS46Bvd971Ko6KLqkHGPH When I loosened the connection from the output line the water was flowing out longer than it should have been with the ball valve closed if the check valve was working.

Thanks I'll test the impeller that way. Check valve seems to be one piece but I'm not sure. It is different (older?) than the one you sent a link to.

Air intake is open. I also opened the diverter control so the water from the pump was flowing out there. It was still slow with the pump at high speed. I haven't checked the wiring but there have been no changes. Going to remove the pump and hope(?) that it is a spun impeller. Unfortunately it looks like the check valve isn't checking to I have to drain the tub again!

Thanks @RDspaguy LOL, I just did what you suggested (turning the temp down) and that does stop the pump. If spun impeller means it is slipping on the shaft that seems like a pretty possible explanation. When I took the pump out previously I checked that the impeller spun because I was worried it was broken or stuck. Maybe it was moving too freely. It didn't take much force to move it along. Should it take some force to move the impeller and motor manually?

Thanks very much for all your ideas @CanadianSpaTech. I checked the flapper at the bottom of the filter canister and it is there and the spring is holding it closed, but it can be opened. I turned the hot tub temp down below the current temp so I don't have the confusing situation of having it run low speed continuously while it tries to heat the pump. You are correct that there is a check valve after the pump (never knew that's what it was). When the spa has been sitting for a bit, and I turn on low speed, there is a "clunk". No weird sounds when I switch to high speed. If I turn the pump off, then go to low speed again. There is no "clunk". Then if I leave it for a bit and try low speed it will "clunk" at the start. When I let it run for a bit at high speed, the flow did seem to pick up a bit. Got a "swirl tornado" into the filter canister, but still not the regular flow.

Only 1 pump, so I guess it uses low for heating and filtering. Did remove the filters. No gate valves used. Both intake and output pipes were disconnected from the pump when I winterized it.

Thanks. Was typing up a response when your comment came in. I've removed the filter. It is heating without an error code. So given the info on "it only has 2 speeds", low speed seems weak and high speed makes noise but water movement only increases a tiny bit. Temp is 69*. Manual does seem to indicate that high speed will work even if temp is low

Sorry about that. I guess I skipped chapter 1 of the story which would have been helpful. The tub had been winterized and not used over the winter. Tub is in Kingston Ontario, we were in Florida for the winter. I had previously filled the tub, switched on the breaker and left it for hours. It heated up to 103* On our first use the low speed barely worked. When we switched to high speed there was a click and then nothing. I tried multiple techniques to resolve possible air lock, but no change. So I thought it might be a stuck impeller. I drained the tub (oddly only a shutoff valve on the pipe going into the pump). Removed the motor. The impeller moved freely. Reinstalled the motor. Filled through the filter pipe. Switched the breaker on. Initial tub temp was 66* and it started heating in circulation mode. Perhaps being a bit impatient I tried the low speed which moved a little more water but sounds busy. When I switched to high speed it just went back to circulation. Now that I think of it more, doesn't seem like even low speed there is not much flow but there is some.

Because I just filled the tub it is circulating water and heating it. When I press the low speed button it sounds like it is working but there really isn't much of an increase in circulation. When I press the button again to go to high speed it just drops back to circulation (below low speed). It does not go to high speed. Just through circulation it does heat the spa up. I did remove the pump and checked that the impeller moved freely (I thought maybe it was broken but it seems ok).