CanadianSpaTech

Yeah the line below is often plumbed into a flow line and through ventury will suck any water away through the hole. Hydrpool Spas does this and it is noisy and annoying AF. I have seen other manufacturers just run the line down to the corner and out onto the ground making folks think they have a leak (easy money) and the ground goes green over time. Could make a small cork if it is making the suction noise and just pull the cork every couple of days or as required but you don't want the area to go icky (technical term)

Manual here: https://www.spa-es.es/media/files/GD-7005 User Manual.pdf Where's my prize RD

Mildly confused. The cord that came with the spa and comes from the spa pack and plugs into the wall outlet outside doesn't have a GFCI test button? To me that would be odd. Does the breaker in the main panel have a test button? Where is the test button located in the main panel or outside on the plug that plugs into the wall outlet'

It's not tripping the GFCI 120 V male plug but the one in the main panel and trips it when a load is put on it. Not saying this is your problem but have seen several of those GFCI plugs fail. I might try disconnecting the black and white wires from the spa pack leaving the green attached and tape them up for safety and then try the test button and see if it works. Were there any issues with the spa recently prior to the current problem.

You sure the breaker is dedicated for just the spa?

If you are using a paper pleated filters and using the spa 2-3 bathers, 2-3 times a week I recommend cleaning weekly. Only takes a few minutes. The cleaner you keep filters the cleaner the water will stay. You will use less chemicals and have fewer issues. Your filters might be different but paper pleated are very common. There are products available to do a deep cleaning of the filters every 6 weeks to release body oils and other contaminates. Liquid solution and you soak the filters for 24 hours then rinse. When you are doing a drain and clean at the 3 month point it is always a good idea to use a plumbing line cleaner to release bio-film and other contaminates from inside the plumbing. I use a product line called Ahh-Some for plumbing cleaning and filter soak. Again any time you have issue with the spa always remove filters first and take them out of the equation. Enjoy

Any time you have a fl error always remove the filters and run without them until the issue is fixed making sure there is nothing in the spa that can go down the hole where the filters screw in. Remove the from the equation. How often are you cleaning the filters? Now it is possible that the original issue was dirty filters and then you drained the spa and refilled and now have a different problem. Is the pump that works when heating moving water? If not it could be an air lock in the wet end. If you have the filters out and the pump that runs for heating is moving water then you will have to provide more information about the spa pack. Form the photo of the topside it looks to be a Gecko IN. pack but there are several versions here is a link to the In.XE troubleshooting guide: https://spacare.com/productimages/pdfmanuals/Gecko/in.xe_Troublshooting_Guide.pdf Please let us know results

When was the last time you cleaned your filter? Remove filters until issue is fixed. Make sure nothing is in spa the can go down into where the filter screws in. If the spa has ozone disconnect it first and try breaker again Inspect the pumps and make sure it is not leaking and sucking water into the dry motor end when running causing fault. Look for water around pumps. You could also have a bad plug GFCI. Does the test button on it work? Can you try the test button before it trips inside? Sounds like the 20 seconds is just about when the heater will try and test fire or ozone comes on. With power off disconnect heater from circuit board and reset breaker. If none of that works keep disconnecting components until breaker holds. Main pump and try. Then circ pump and try. Light and try. Process of elimination. Safety first Let us know results

When was the last time you cleaned the filters? remove them and reset the breaker and run without until problem is fixed just make sure there is nothing in the spa large enough to go down through the hole the filters screw into. Remove the from the equation. If you don't see increase in temp within 2 hours after removing filters and re setting the main power see below Why was the water low? this issue should be addressed as well I have seen these symptoms many times with Balboa circuit boards. No Error codes and temp hovering around 80. If you remove the circuit board from the housing you will likely find a darkened area to a full burn out of the heater relay (small Black squares on the circuit board). The front side of the board will not show any defect but the back will. Heater relays can be removed and replaced with new if the damage on the back is not to extensive. Relays are around $10 but doing a proper job removing the old solder and redoing it is a job I leave to a local guy that does circuit board repair. When he does a relay repair for me he does all the relays on the board hi limit, pump and heater relays. PM Sent

Try it for a month and you will know. I use economy year round and have it set to run a filter cycle from 6 pm to 8 pm. Usually get home and go in tub around 9 so it has had a 2 hour filter cycle and a heat and spa is always at the set temp when I go in. No waiting if there has been heat loss during the day.

2 hours 2x per day is enough for most users and factory setting on a lot of spas ...that will cut 4 hours of running time per day and equal big savings IMO If you have an economy mode try that as well and see if it is to your liking. In Economy it will only turn the heater on during the filter cycles. The other 10 hours between filter cycles if there has been heat loss it will not heat to set temp until the next cycle starts. If you turn the "dial" one way the water should run clear if you turn it the other it should add the air into the stream of water and run white and bubbly. Usually the small bear claw on an arctic spa. It takes air from inside the cabinet to inject into the spa. That air from inside the cabinet might be cooler than the water and have a cooling effect on your set temp. Even during heat and filter cycles when you are not using it with the cover closed

How long of filter cycles are you running? Turn off any air injection when not using the spa The $30/mth might be cost averaged out over a year Are you spending more time at home with other factors coming into play on your overall electrical usage

Again the word assume, Your set up might be different.

First check filter cycle duration and make sure it is set to F2 (2 hours 2x per day) If it is set higher the heat from the pump running to long will heat the spa inside out. Next clean filters Next check your install of the temp sensor. As it is an older Gecko pack I am going to assume the temp sensor you replaced goes through the side wall of the spa and into direct contact with the water. It should sit with the nose of the sensor just a 1/32 of an inch sticking out past the acrylic. Make sure the back side of the sensor is covered with a foam plug or tape and not picking up cooler air from inside the cabinet. If there is a pump nearby when the pump turns on it can blow cooler air onto the back of the sensor an mess with the reading a bit. Let us know results

Glad it worked out... Enjoy

Enjoy

I carry seals, impellers and bearings and do the rebuild onsite off the tailgate of my truck. I can usually complete one in under 30 mins. What I find for a leaking seal or seized motor is what usually happens is the the shaft of the motor just before the threads where the impeller goes will balloon a bit from centrificle force and cause the impeller shaft to expand into the seal and either crack the impeller shaft causing a leak or to lock/seize in place. When I do a rebuild I will usually only replace the front bearing if it looks or sounds like water has run down the shaft and into the front bearing. Most times if the shaft is clean and clear of rust and not making noise I don't even touch it. If the shaft has ballooned and or is rusty I will use my grinder and shave it down a bit so the impeller screws on easily. Hardly ever do the rear bearing and usually only re grease it. Not every pump can be saved but I will give my customers several options and prices. New, Rebuilt or a lot of times if the motor can't be saved I strip a lot of used spas going to the dump but will often have pumps and other good parts and price them in between new and rebuilt. Only offer warranty on new. I inform the customer what the risks are for rebuilt and used and let them make the decision. For a rebuild I am usually under $50 in parts (less if I don't have to do the bearing) and a half hour of time plus the trip fee and re and re labour. I can usually be in and out in 2 hours if access to the pump is good. I don't carry new pumps on my truck not enough room and if I do have one on board it is usually the wrong one...lol. I add in a bit of travel time to go and get one if it is needed. Luckily I have a wholesale distributor 20 minutes away. Stay Safe Cheers

This is what I send to customers. You could switch out the word Bromine for Chlorine: Clean filters every week..2 at most. Soak them in "filter wash" liquid every 6 weeks to do a deeper cleaning for the body oils and stuff you don't get out during your weekly cleaning. Add liquid to pail of warm water and let filter soak for 24 hours then rinse really well with the jet setting on your garden hose. Keep your filter clean and everything else is easier. Always recommend buying a second set of filters so you can clean and rotate filters as needed. Filter should last a year to a year and a half depending on how much you use the spa. When adding chems less is best...you can always add more but can't take it back out again. After adding any chems leave cover open and run spa for at least 1 full cycle with pumps on high and all jets and waterfall open. Pumps will run for 15 mins and then automatically shut off that is 1 full cycle. Sanitizer: Place 3 bromine pucks in floater and expose only 2/3 of the bottom puck. Pucks are slow release and might take a 2-3 days to get to safe levels. You can expose more pucks to dissolve them at higher levels faster. Expose to much for to long and bromine levels might go higher than you want. Floater is adjustable by turning the bottom of floater up or down exposing more or less of the pucks. Bromine granule: Use a bit of granular bromine to "boost" level of sanitizer quicker. (after heavy bather load bromine levels will drop) Organics: Organic contaminates are all the things you bring with you when you get in the spa. Underarm deodorant, shampoo, hand lotion, detergent in bathing suits. if you ever open the cover and the water is cloudy or has punky odor that is the organics suspending in the spa. The only way to remove is to "Shock" the spa using Spa Shock. If tub is cloudy add shock and run until spa clears and then clean filters. Use smaller amount of Spa Shock weekly to remove contaminates. If you have had a heavy bather load perhaps a small amount of shock after use and maybe a bit of bromine granule to "boost" the level back up as bromine levels will drop from increased use and then the slow release pucks can maintain level from there. Balance your water using test strips. once a week only. Set Alkalinity level first this stabilizes the water so you get accurate readings on the test strip. If the alkalinity level is not in range you will get "bounce" on the PH and bromine levels. Bounce is where if the water is not stabilized or stable you could do test strips 10 mins apart and get different readings. Use PH up, PH down, Alka rise (or PH Down to lover Alkalinity) Use a Stain and Scale remover liquid bi weekly to help sequester metal particulate (copper, magnesium etc that occurs in city/well water) and also prevent scaling. Water should always be crystal clear. If it's clear and has no odor then its good to go. If water is not clear then you need to take action. If you are getting a lot of foam on the water when running the pumps you can use a liquid "de-foamer" to quickly dissipate bubbles. Foam is also telling you there is a build up of some type of organic contaminate (detergent usually) and you might need to add some shock. If you are wearing bathing suits just rinse them do not add to regular laundry load. If you add a chem...say PH up...it needs a bit of time to work/blend into the water. So if you are trying to say raise your PH add the recommended amount and give it half a day before re testing to see if level has gone up the required amount. Again less is best...you can always add more. A sample (fill clean water bottle) of spa water can be taken to your local store and they can analyze it for you and tell you where your water is at and what you need to add. Do not over analyze your spa. Keep it simple. Maintenance should come down to 10 mins once a week. Clean filters and balance water. If it looks clean and smells clean it's clean. You need: Bromine Test Strips, A Floater to hold bromine pucks, Bromine pucks, Granular Bromine, PH up, PH down, Alka Rise, Stain and Scale remover, Filter Wash, De-Foamer liquid and try a Scent Additive if you like. I recommend you try some "scents" available at any hot tub store. Eucalyptus scent works great if you are stuffed up with a head cold. Works just like a vaporizer with the steam coming off the hot water. Just make sure they are designed for hot tub use.

To be honest don't know much about the Frog system but sounds and looks like it is not doing it's job based on the claims it is making on the web site. It is likely a slow release chemical. When you have a heavy bather load the contaminates you bring into the spa will eat up the reserve level of sanitizer that is in the spa and because it is slow release it might take a day or 2 to get back up to safe levels Maintaining a clean filter is IMO the key to using less chemicals and keeping the water crystal clear by removing the organic contaminates from the water on a regular basis and allowing them to cause havoc with your water. The scummy build up is the organic contaminates suspending in the water. Each time you enter the water anything attached to your body will stay in the water. Underarm deodorant, Shampoo detergents from swim suits grease and body oils hand lotion and the all time killer make-up. To remove the organic particulate it is common to use spa shock weekly or as required (cloudy or smelly water) The shock brings the particulate together so they are big enough for the filters to pick up. Does your dealer offer a "Spa School" to teach you how to properly maintain a healthy hot tub? At this point it seems they have done the bare minimum

And the filters? Sounds like it was getting quite a bit of use. Filters should be cleaned weekly with normal use 2-3 times a week 2 people 1/2 hour at a time. Clean filters add spa shock then run spa until it clears and clean filters again. Green can come from algae if your sanitizer was low and filters were dirty. Green can also come from copper in the water use a stain and scale remover to sequester metals in water. If you have a heavy bather load like you mentioned a shock and filter clean after might be in order.

How many times have you cleaned the filters since you got it? Are you using Spa Shock? What type of sanitizer are you using? What instructions did your dealer give you?

Yeah never had any luck with those pump rebuilds. Very easy to damage the wishbone and tiny springs popping out. To this day I don't know how they put them together. Was slowly working in that direction.

We are getting close hang in there. Remove the silver cap dead center at the back of the pump and you will see the shaft of the motor with a slot cut into it. Have a flat head screwdriver with you. With power off Remove the bottom wire from the back of the pump and wrap it in a bit of electrical tape ensuring it can't touch anything and restart power again. If the pump hums put the flat head screwdriver into the slot and try to spin the shaft and help it to start spinning. Let us know results

Just confirmed it is going to Red AC....ok thx. When you reset the breaker does the pump automatically start on high or low? Also look at the white pump #1 male end that plugs onto the board and ensure that the pins are all the way in when connected.

Yeah went back and had a second look at the photo on page 1 and it is hard to see but the White wire below and to the right (W1) of where the pump connects to the board is going to White AC (120V) and should go to Red AC. Thought we were past this point. Please confirm where the W1 wire goes.