SpaMon345

I recently had to change out the wet end on one of my spa pumps. First timer here. The reason is the spa had been drained for about 5 months, and at some point the wet end began leaking onto the pump shaft, the shaft rusted and became enlarged. I destroyed the old wet end forcing it off the motor. After using a wire brush and file on the motor shaft, the shaft had warn down considerably in the center, and became sort of bowed. However the threads seemed ok, that is until I scuffed a couple of them up somehow. Putting on the impeller proved to be challenging. It was extremely difficult to tighten sufficiently. I eventually got it to not leak at the shaft seal. I do not want to remove it again or it surely won't go back on as I am guessing that I have likely wrecked the brass threads of the impeller. The next time it has to be replaced, though, I'd like to have an appropriate die available to chase the motor's threads. I have spent likely over an hour and am unable to fully confirm the thread size of my motor. The motor is:Model: Emerson T55CXBMM-986Flo-Master CP by Agua-floModel # 03621000-2Code 06093 I "think" the size is "3/8-16 UNC 2A Right Hand" Any and all insight is appreciated. Please and thank you.

Thank you for the information.

OK thanks. At what housing temperature should I become concerned?

I recently replaced a wet end on my east spa motor, matching it to the 2HP wet end that was previously installed. It was a learning experience for me, as I have not dealt with motors or pumps much at all. I mistakenly got a side discharge instead of a center discharge replacement wet end, however my plumbing reaches. The wet end I purchased is a Waterway 310-0810. Running both spa motors on high speed after about 30-45 minutes, using an infrared thermometer the west motor housing reached a temperature of 135F-140F and the east motor housing reached 151F. Both of these seem excessive, but especially the east motor. I have spun both motors by hand, and there is no binding in either one - they both spin relatively easily. Both motors are the same age - about 11 years, and there has been just moderate use of the tub all those years. The breaker for the spa is normally left off for week or two at a time, as I will occasionally run the spa for a few minutes. There is no sign of water damage to either of the motors. Also the motor labels are not browned at all. There is some airflow going through the motors, and none of the motor ventilation holes are blocked. There is no excessive vibration, and there are no electrical smells. It is possible that the east motor always ran this hot (151F), as I have never felt them before after running the spa for a long period of time. I would say that there has been no change to the west motor so It must have always run 135-140F. The motors are: Model: Emerson T55CXBMM-986 Flo-Master CP by Agua-flo Model # 03621000-2 Code 06093 Are these temperatures OK / normal?

Well, by trial and error so far I have discovered it is bigger than 10mm and smaller than 12mm. That means it almost has got to be 7/16.

Hello. I have a couple of leaks at the jets on my 2004 Leisure Bay spa. I am trying to find the size of the hex wrench (aka alan wrench) that would fit the center of my spa jets so that I can tighten it against the jet body. I'm guessing it could be 7/16in or perhaps 1/2in or similar. I've done numerous google searches but since Leisure Bay spas seem to have been discontinued, I am finding it difficult to find this information. Also, what is the recommended tighten torque? I read in one place someone torquing it to 10ft lbs but I am not sure if that is a good rule -of-thumb or not. Thanks!

OK no problem. I just throw in a little powdered oxidizer every week or two. I also installed a shower near the spa so ppl we can rinse off before getting in the spa. As promised, here is a pic of the pillows after I sealed the base of the pegs to the pillow: (Click picture for enlargement.)

OK no problem. I just throw in a little powdered oxidizer every week or two. I also installed a shower near the spa so ppl we can rinse off before getting in the spa. As promised, here is a pic of the pillows after I sealed the base of the pegs to the pillow: (Click picture for enlargement.)

I said that I change the water every 2 or 3 uses, not every 2 or 3 weeks. What I did not state is that we don't use the spa very much. Maybe on average we use the spa once per month. If we used it more frequently, then I might consider chemicals, but right now I prefer very little chemical. The cost to drain and refill my spa is about $7 in water.

Last night I cleaned up the rust stains on the pillows as best as possible, and I squeezed the pillows and also used compressed air to blow out as much water as possible. I accidentally burst one of the pillows using too much compressed air. Then I used the goop I was talking about and sealed around each of the pegs. I'll post a pic soon. I use tap water when I fill my spa. I change the water every 2 or 3 uses. I don't use chemicals except after it has been used I throw a little powdered oxidizer in there. Our water here is pretty "good". I run the spa an hour or two once each week when not being used. I did clean up 99% of the rust chips in the spa this weekend. A magnet really helped. Unfortunately it was near the end of my cleanup job that I thought to use a magnet, lol. I believe that the cause of this is that I may have had to water level higher than it should have been, and water creaped up to some of the pillows and rusted the internals. Nonetheless, it is still unbelievable how these pillows have rustable metal in them yet they are not sealed!!!

There are 2 plastic pegs that protrude from the back of each pillow as seen in the first pic. The pegs are pushed into holes on the spa-side. The holes have plastic liners as seen in the second pic. Basically the pillows appear to be held in by friction. I suspect that on the inside of each of the pillows, there is iron of some sort for some unbelievable reason...talk about LOW quality! I'm thinking to somehow allow the pillows to dry out, then saturate the base of the pegs with flexible goop (a sort of semi-flexible waterproof clear sealer), so that no water can get by the pegs and up into the pillows.

Well I checked and I didn't see any screws on the spa-side: (Click picture for enlargement.) Am I misunderstanding the location of the suspect-screws?

Suddenly There Are Rust Chunks In My Spa Hello everyone. I have a Leisure Bay model Chesapeake (model #L403SDRC2) spa purchased in 2006, and it has mostly been trouble-free. One week ago I drained the spa, cleaned the spa and filter, then refilled it with tap-water, something I do every 2 or 3 uses since the purchase. I generally don't ever use chemicals at all except a little bit of powdered oxygenator here and there. Today, suddenly I have found rust chunks on the surfaces of my spa and discolored water. My suspicions included the old waterheater I pull hot water from to clean out the spa and filter, then I thought possibly the city water itself was to blame. But neither seemed likely. I then suspected that the spa itself is rusting internally - perhaps the heater. But then I discovered that 4 of my 5 headrests have serious rust stains behind them. Check this out: (Click picture for enlargement.) How on earth could spa headrests rust like that? I don't really see how chunks of rusty material came out of them but I must admit that these rusty headrest seem the likely culprit. Anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know where I can find replacement headrests that DON'T CONTAIN RUSTABLE METALS?! My warranty states that "pillows" are wearable items, and further, are excluded from coverage. I assume that what I am calling "headrests" are indeed "pillows". ASAP, I will drain the spa and thouroughly clean it out to try and get all of these rust particles out. All thoughts and suggestions are welcome! Thank you.

I wanted to update everyone monitoring this thread. I ended up fixing the problem myself. I installed a 240v double pole switch onto the side of the spa, and ran 12 guage wiring back to the spa control panel where I spliced in to the heater leads. I enclosed the switch in a plastic box, and used a plastic isolating-type switch throw lever cover plate. I picked 12 guage wire since my heater is rated 4000w @ 240v; that equals 16.7A which 12 guage wiring is suitable to carry) So this setup is completely safe from shock/electrocution hazard, and further, it works very very well. It cost about 20 bucks and 2 hours to do. I am very happy with this setup. If anyone wants a picture of the finished product please reply.

Thank you Hillbilly Hot Tub. I've finally had a chance to do some basic troubleshooting. I removed the access panel to the spa's inner workings, and I found a very clean (no corrosion or etc) area inside, including the topside control panel from underneath (I removed the screws). The topside control panel has a sort of clear rubbery protectant which is undisturbed, and the circuit board as well as the multipin connector has absolutely no corrosion, and it all looks brand new. Anyway, I sprayed some cleaner on the RJ45 plug that connects the topside cable to the main control box. My +- button on the topside control panel still does not work. How do I determine if the topside control panel is the problem, or if something inside the main control box is the problem? What color wire(s) on the topside control panel correlate to pushing the +- button? Perhaps I could short those manually to see if it works or not. And the way I normally operate this hot tub is like this: When I am not using it, the circuit breaker is always off. I periodically turn on the circuit breaker to run it (usually once a week) for about a half hour. If the hot tub was used, I generally drain it and fill it with clean water. Here are a few pictures of my system for reference: Spa Access Panel Removed Topside Control Panel - The +- button no longer works, therefore I am unable to shut the heat off. Topside Control Panel - Underside Control Center Sticker #1 - This is a Balboa Instruments model V240R / part # 52108-02 Thanks everyone!

Wow, this forum is dead!

It has been suggested to me that the problem is likely the control panel on top of the spa. Can anyone give me a part number for this control so that I may see where I can purchase one of these control panels? I believe my spa is a Leisure Bay, Chesapeake Series C, with Balboa instruments but not sure about that. Thank you.

No nothing at all. I'm not aware I have a lock function on the tub. It is like the +- key is disconnected.

Yesterday I noticed that I couldn't get the temp to go up or down by pressing the +- key. It seems that the key is faulty but I am not sure. The spa is an above ground Leisure Bay Chesapeake series C I believe, purchased new April 2005. We barely use the spa but I run it for a few minutes at least once every 2 weeks. The circuit breaker is always kept off when the spa is not in use. I am not sure what model the electronics are but the top control panel has a buttons for pump, light, and temp +-. Can anyone give me some advise as to how to troubleshoot and fix? Thanks.

Newbie spa owner here. I have been using the Baqua chemical system. However, I don't care for the foam that is created when in use. After 15 days, I had to change the water as it was so foamy and became cloudy. What about using good old fashioned clorine? thanks.

a-mazing

You must be a math major.

Um, because that is my spa.

If I am not going to use my spa for weeks or maybe a month is it better to just drain it? Other than turning off the power and draining it, is there anything else I should do? Spa = Recreational Factory Warehouse - Leisure Bay - model Chesapeake

Just posting a follow up folks. A week after I purchased this spa, the whole Recreational Factory Warehouse stigma was wearing on me. That along with an inconsistent warranty document given to me prompted me to go back to RFW and question the salesman. I basically had him write a comment on my invoice "Same Warranty As Millenium" then sign off on it. Then I had his manager sign off on it. I received the missing accessory in the mail. I am satisfied now. I don't feel I was ripped off. I think the bottom line is that Leisure Bay / RFW is nothing more than a bit disorganized (as far as MY experience with them is concerned). The spa is still working well. We are in the process of beautifying our porch. Life is good but it the weather is so hot now that we haven't used the new spa much.