TimRegan

@castletonia - sorry to add on to this old thread, but I'm wondering if you'd say more about the niche nipple repair tool blank and plug. I've ordered these parts and was hoping they came with some directions but no luck. I'm guessing you put some epoxy on the outside of the little black plug, stick the tool's needle-like end into the plug and ... just push it in to the drain hole in the front bottom of the motomassage recessed cabinet? I don't quite understand why you'd need the tool to just stick this plug in the drain hole so I feel like I'm missing something. Thanks in advance for any help!

Makes sense — thank you. I'm a little confused because what I see doesn't match parts diagram for this 2001 Vangaurd. The diagram shows the drain valve connecting to pvc and couplers, one with a bleedline nipple. Mine looks like the drain valve connects right to a T coupler, with side toward spa drain going to normal 3/4" flex pvc, but the side going off to the left looks like some kind of reducer coupler to a smaller tube? It may be just a well encrusted bleedline nipple. Hopefully it will be clearer if I can scrape off more foam . . .

Argh. So frustrating. I think I've chased this leak back to near the drain exit, but even being this close it's hard to see where it's actually coming from, and being so close to the shell it's very hard to maneuver to scrape the foam off. I thought about draining the tub and then just injecting some kind of sealant up into the pipe (if/when I'd winterize it I'd just siphon and then shop vac out the lines) but I'm thinking I could clog some return lines that feed the pump or jets? This fitting seems like a pain to replace so any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks @RDspaguy and @CanadianSpaTech for your help so far!

I'm pretty certain the water isn't come from the equipment bay (e.g. from a loose fitting on a pump or something) but I'm not 100% certain it's a puncture in one of these lines. I was following a drip up from the bottom and was able to pull away wet foam until I got to this spot and then I got a little stuck. But I do need to try to keep digging in farther since I do think it's possible the leak is just running along the foam from elsewhere. But I need to give my hands some time to stop bleeding first!

Hi all, I have nearly tracked down a leak that seems to be coming from some thin flexible rubber hoses roughly under the equipment compartment. I need to do some more foam burrowing to make sure I am seeing the source of the leak and not water just flowing along the hose from another source, but I thought I'd ask: any tips for fixing this kind of leak? I have some experience splicing in flex PVC and using plastaid to patch pvc, but haven't dealt with these rubber hoses. I'm thinking maybe cut out leaking portion and using a barbed fitting to splice in a stretch of hose? Also out of curiosity, what are these lines?

Thanks for the reply. I have used "fix a leak" and "seal a leak" in the past. Generally I find it slows a leak for a week or two and then it starts back up. Also, based on the speed of this leak I suspect the hole is larger than the 1/8" diameter that those kinds of products claim to be able to fix. But if I can't find the source I will definitely try another dose! My last leak I was able to fix by noting where the water level bottomed out. Confused by this one and still wondering if anyone has any idea of where to look based on water level. It's too bad there aren't plumbing diagrams for these included in the manual. It would help to be able to visualize where the piping from that hydromassage jet goes.

Hi, I have a 2001 Hot Springs Vanguard. Over the last couple of years I have managed to find and fix a couple of leaks. Now it has another very big/fast leak. I initially guessed that it was likely the infamous bleed nipple. But the leak appears to stop with a fair amount of water still in the moto massage "buckets." The leak appears to stop with the water below the lowest hydromassage jet on the right side. (See video link below.) I know this doesn't necessarily mean anything, but the water also appears to come out from under the hot tub most heavily under that spot. But I dug out the foam to the back of that fitting and it doesn't seem to be leaking there. Although that area is such a tangle of pipes it's hard to get the fitting fully exposed. The foam is very hard around there. (See image) Any ideas for common culprits? Thank you! Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxjZi0kkFlE

Thanks! This one was relatively "easy" to find since the water level seemed to bottom out below the precision jets which gave me a clue about the approximate location, and then I had some seepage out the bottom of the spa so I could follow the hot water trail. Still, I'll be happy if I never have to do it again! Thank you for your reply and suggestion.

My education in spa plumbing continues! Thanks to the help I received on this board I have spliced in a new stretch of flex pvc to fix an earlier leak, replaced my jet pump’s wet end, but now . . . I found another leak. This one is right at the base of where a piece of flex pvc enters a 4-way junction (“manifold”?). Based on the location (rear right of the spa) and the number of pipes I assume this feeds the four precision jets located just above the moto massager. Unfortunately I do not think there is any un-broken flex pvc near the base onto which I could cement a fitting. So what do you think? -I could plast-aid around the leak and hope for the best; - I could cut out the whole assembly and splice in a new 4-way manifold snug up against the larger t fitting below, and then splice in 4 pieces of flex pvc with a fitting each; or - something else? If #2, I assume I just buy a new fitting like this? Here's a video of the leak. It's hard to see but i think the break is on the lower right most pipe, facing in toward the other pipes. Apologies for the shakiness. And thanks in advance for any help! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrCf-5eaExw

I just had to do a similar repair. One of the pros can better tell you if that looks clean enough (I’m wondering what the crease is at the top of the existing flex pvc?). In any case, though, you can try a test fit with new coupling to see if it slides on snugly and evenly. And I'd be sure to clean the edge of the existing coupling since I'd think that would provide another surface for a bond. Apply PVC cleaner to the new coupling, the new spa flex, the existing 2” of spa flex, and the existing edge of the old coupler. Apply purple primer on the couplings but not directly to the spa flex. Then pvc cement it up. Spa depot sells a nice little kit with all three but I was impatient and went to home depot. One other note: I have seen advice that says to leave the spa flex just a tad long to allow for a little contraction without it pulling on the coupling.

Thanks for the reply. It looks to me like the leak is coming from the shaft on the backside of the wet end, and from the space between the volute cover and the volute (with the leak concentrated around the screws that secure the volute cover.) Intuitively it makes sense to me that a shaft seal kit would fix the former and possibly the latter, with a new o-ring also helping to fix the latter. But as you say, it would be a bummer to drain the tub, remove/disassemble/reassemble/reinstall the pump, fill it back up, and then see that I have to it all over again!

Hi all, My attempts to bring a 2001 Hot Spring Vanguard back to life continue! The Wavemaster 9000 (ver. 2) Jet Pump has a leak. As you can see in this animated .gif or in the full linked video (click here) it looks like it comes out from both around the shaft and through the volute cover. My question is if anyone has an opinion about whether I should first try to replace the shaft seal and volute o-ring, or whether I should just go for the complete wet end replacement. Obviously the first is much cheaper, but if it's clear from either the quantity of water or the location of the leak that it requires a whole new wet end I'd rather do it right the first time. Thank you!

Thanks! I ran out there with a screw driver and gently scraped at it and the foam encasing the pipe just popped off in one big piece! It turns out the "bulge" was . . . nothing? It's just a stretch of flex pvc with a big crack along the top. Fingers crossed I can get a new stretch of pipe cemented in and be done with it. Speaking of fingers, "knuckle-scraping work" is right. This last step was relatively easy but the sharp edges of the hard epoxy coating I had to chip through to get to the foam was brutal. The good news is I'm only bleeding a little.

Thanks very much for the fast reply. There definitely could be another leak but I'm pretty sure this is one: the water drips directly from that spot and I can feel a crack in the pipe above the "bulge." (Before I dug this spot out water ran out of all sorts of crazy places through the foam as you say. Now that I've dug it out it drips directly from there and there only.) Any tips on how to scrape the foam off without damaging the pipe further?

Hi all, I put my leaking Vanguard up on cinder blocks and dug up through the bottom to find the location of a leak (hopefully *the*leak.) But could someone help me understand what I’m looking at? I’m assuming this is a stretch of flex PVC that is encased in insulating foam? It has a kind of bulge in it -- is that just a random accumulation of foam or a fitting? Water drips off the bottom of the bulge and it feels like the area above it is burst wide open. I was thinking I should cut out the damaged section, and PVC cement in a new short stretch with a fitting on either side, but I can’t quite imagine how I will clean all that foam off for a good fitting. The leak is approximately between "I" and "J" in the red area below (the leak drains the tub down to the jet stream jet "J" without the spa running): Here is a video that shows the leak location: https://youtu.be/tJKnqA7adhk Thank you in advance for any help or advice!