Pilot Pete Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Hi Everyone, i purchased a Viking Executive tub from Great Escape about 3 years ago. This winter, during the coldest week of the season, by spa breaker tripped and I did not know from almost a week. The result was that after a couple of trips out from the Great Escape service dept., on Friday the tech thought that I had gotton lucky and that I only needed a new pump face plate. today, not 48 hours later, the tub is hald empty again. Since I have the hard foam around the pipes, I am worried that it will take these guys forever to figure out where the leaks are, as there are probably multiple leaks. On a added note, it was rainind all day on Friday with the tech here, so i am not sure if he could even tell where the leaks were. Can someone shed some light on what I am in for, and should i expect this repair to take a long time and cost over $1,000? Thanks in advance for any help. Pete - Elgin, Illinois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imnay Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Hi Everyone, i purchased a Viking Executive tub from Great Escape about 3 years ago. This winter, during the coldest week of the season, by spa breaker tripped and I did not know from almost a week. The result was that after a couple of trips out from the Great Escape service dept., on Friday the tech thought that I had gotton lucky and that I only needed a new pump face plate. today, not 48 hours later, the tub is hald empty again. Since I have the hard foam around the pipes, I am worried that it will take these guys forever to figure out where the leaks are, as there are probably multiple leaks. On a added note, it was rainind all day on Friday with the tech here, so i am not sure if he could even tell where the leaks were. Can someone shed some light on what I am in for, and should i expect this repair to take a long time and cost over $1,000? Thanks in advance for any help. Pete - Elgin, Illinois Don't know what you paid for your hot tub. We have a leak in our hot tub. We chose to not pay the seller/authorized factory guys to find and fix it. Instead we have an appointment Tuesday for a respected area spa repair guy to look for our leak. The authorized dealer estimated it could cost as much as $2k for them to do the repair - the spa repair guy averages $300 to $500. This could also be a DIY project if you are into that. Your hot tub is simple in overall design - a shell filled with water with water outlet that a pump pulls water out and then pushes it back in through a number or outlets (jets) all connected with a mix of rigid and flexible PVC pipe. It all sits inside a frame usually full of foam insulation with some sort of siding on the outside. Our "spa guy" will either have to punch holes into our foam from the bottom til he finds leak point OR remove the side panels and start digging out foam til he finds leak point. I could pretty easily pry the sides off myself and dig out a bunch of foam and probably find the leak myself but doing that and then replacing the foam and then replacing the siding is just more than I care to do myself. We don't mind spending a few hundred up to a thousand bucks for repair cause it beats heck out of paying the price of a new one. If you paid like $6000 for your hot tub three years ago it would probably be worthwhile to have someone fix the leak. Best of Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilot Pete Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Hi Everyone, i purchased a Viking Executive tub from Great Escape about 3 years ago. This winter, during the coldest week of the season, by spa breaker tripped and I did not know from almost a week. The result was that after a couple of trips out from the Great Escape service dept., on Friday the tech thought that I had gotton lucky and that I only needed a new pump face plate. today, not 48 hours later, the tub is hald empty again. Since I have the hard foam around the pipes, I am worried that it will take these guys forever to figure out where the leaks are, as there are probably multiple leaks. On a added note, it was rainind all day on Friday with the tech here, so i am not sure if he could even tell where the leaks were. Can someone shed some light on what I am in for, and should i expect this repair to take a long time and cost over $1,000? Thanks in advance for any help. Pete - Elgin, Illinois Don't know what you paid for your hot tub. We have a leak in our hot tub. We chose to not pay the seller/authorized factory guys to find and fix it. Instead we have an appointment Tuesday for a respected area spa repair guy to look for our leak. The authorized dealer estimated it could cost as much as $2k for them to do the repair - the spa repair guy averages $300 to $500. This could also be a DIY project if you are into that. Your hot tub is simple in overall design - a shell filled with water with water outlet that a pump pulls water out and then pushes it back in through a number or outlets (jets) all connected with a mix of rigid and flexible PVC pipe. It all sits inside a frame usually full of foam insulation with some sort of siding on the outside. Our "spa guy" will either have to punch holes into our foam from the bottom til he finds leak point OR remove the side panels and start digging out foam til he finds leak point. I could pretty easily pry the sides off myself and dig out a bunch of foam and probably find the leak myself but doing that and then replacing the foam and then replacing the siding is just more than I care to do myself. We don't mind spending a few hundred up to a thousand bucks for repair cause it beats heck out of paying the price of a new one. If you paid like $6000 for your hot tub three years ago it would probably be worthwhile to have someone fix the leak. Best of Luck Thanks for the reply. When the guy came out last time he estimated around $800. Where do I find a local spa repair guy? Also, I paid $4,500 for the tub, which was a $6,000 spa on sale. I agree though, that they should just rip off the foam and look for the leak and not keep messing around and charging me. Atleast if I knew the worst case scenario i could relax, but this trial and error crap is getting me a bit concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis_skywalker Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Usally those Vikings freeze and crack on the main line on the left hand side around to the back, Last one I did cost about 350.00 parts and labor. there was 3 manifolds, 1 check valve and about 6ft or line that I had to replace. Although, don't be surprised to pay more....That foam they use is like chipping away at concrete. It's a P.I.T.A, and takes forever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilot Pete Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Usally those Vikings freeze and crack on the main line on the left hand side around to the back, Last one I did cost about 350.00 parts and labor. there was 3 manifolds, 1 check valve and about 6ft or line that I had to replace. Although, don't be surprised to pay more....That foam they use is like chipping away at concrete. It's a P.I.T.A, and takes forever... Thanks for the heads up. I just want to be sure that they work as efficiently as possible so that I don't pay more than necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Usally those Vikings freeze and crack on the main line on the left hand side around to the back, Last one I did cost about 350.00 parts and labor. there was 3 manifolds, 1 check valve and about 6ft or line that I had to replace. Although, don't be surprised to pay more....That foam they use is like chipping away at concrete. It's a P.I.T.A, and takes forever... I recently inherited a viking spa and have been fixing leaks on both sides of the motor. I didn't have to change the check valve on the left (or right for that matter), but I did find a major crack under the closed cell foam on the left hand side between two manifolds. I think I found the end of the crack on both sides and they don't appear to go to the manifolds as far as I can tell. I'd rather not have to chip away the insulation on the manifolds to find out if they are cracked or not, so I'm wondering if you replaced them as a precaution or if you knew they were bad. Also, how do the manifolds connect to the lines that flow out to the jets? Thanks for any info you can recall, as I have had a rough time finding much info out about these regional tubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis_skywalker Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thanks for the reply. When the guy came out last time he estimated around $800. Where do I find a local spa repair guy? Also, I paid $4,500 for the tub, which was a $6,000 spa on sale. I agree though, that they should just rip off the foam and look for the leak and not keep messing around and charging me. Atleast if I knew the worst case scenario i could relax, but this trial and error crap is getting me a bit concerned. Where are you located? I have never had a foam repair take much longer than a few hours and I get less than 100 per. So plus parts less than 500 depending on the travel time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigyoung Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 I was more than disappointed in my Dynasty Spa this past winter. Although the installation tech said that the tub would probably take a couple of weeks to freeze, after 4 days without power, I froze and broke the pump face as well as some piping. After removing the skirting and tipping the tub on its side to do the repair, I found numerous pipes without insulation on them and LOTS of cavities throughout the foam all the way to the tub wall. This just caps my frustration with Dynasty SPAS. I know they don't warranty against freezing, but this is just another item on my long list of complaints with this company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? It is a Viking Extreme and to the best of my knowledge of reading the serial number and the test sheet attached to the spa controller, it was manufactured in early 2002. It's close to its 7th birthday. I must say the previous owner treated it poorly for at least the past 18 months based on info I obtained from a mutual friend. I've had to strip the entire cabinet and will make a new one if I can stop the leaks and repair or replace the pump. Isn't the 3/4 line flexible? If I cut it are there unions that can be affixed to it like normal PVC? I'll know more this afternon when I start cutting away the foam around the manifolds. I found a source for 2lb closed cell online, but does anyone know a good source for finding it locally at a decent price? Spa/Pool repair businesses or Big Box hardware chains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? It is a Viking Extreme and to the best of my knowledge of reading the serial number and the test sheet attached to the spa controller, it was manufactured in early 2002. It's close to its 7th birthday. I must say the previous owner treated it poorly for at least the past 18 months based on info I obtained from a mutual friend. I've had to strip the entire cabinet and will make a new one if I can stop the leaks and repair or replace the pump. Isn't the 3/4 line flexible? If I cut it are there unions that can be affixed to it like normal PVC? I'll know more this afternon when I start cutting away the foam around the manifolds. I found a source for 2lb closed cell online, but does anyone know a good source for finding it locally at a decent price? Spa/Pool repair businesses or Big Box hardware chains? *bump* for how to on couping the flexible hose that I now have exposed on my spa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis_skywalker Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? It is a Viking Extreme and to the best of my knowledge of reading the serial number and the test sheet attached to the spa controller, it was manufactured in early 2002. It's close to its 7th birthday. I must say the previous owner treated it poorly for at least the past 18 months based on info I obtained from a mutual friend. I've had to strip the entire cabinet and will make a new one if I can stop the leaks and repair or replace the pump. Isn't the 3/4 line flexible? If I cut it are there unions that can be affixed to it like normal PVC? I'll know more this afternon when I start cutting away the foam around the manifolds. I found a source for 2lb closed cell online, but does anyone know a good source for finding it locally at a decent price? Spa/Pool repair businesses or Big Box hardware chains? *bump* for how to on couping the flexible hose that I now have exposed on my spa. 2" is just sched. 40 pvc. use 2" couplings, unions if you want... On the 3/4 clear. What I do is, cut the barbs off on the manifolds right at the end of the hose, heat the 3/4 lines up one at a time with a heat gun and work the old barbs out with a pair of needle nose pliers. you could use 3/4 barb/barb fittings to extend those lines if needed. the 3/4 was glued originaly, but I put spring clamps on my repairs so that next time a customer lets it freeze it's easier to repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? It is a Viking Extreme and to the best of my knowledge of reading the serial number and the test sheet attached to the spa controller, it was manufactured in early 2002. It's close to its 7th birthday. I must say the previous owner treated it poorly for at least the past 18 months based on info I obtained from a mutual friend. I've had to strip the entire cabinet and will make a new one if I can stop the leaks and repair or replace the pump. Isn't the 3/4 line flexible? If I cut it are there unions that can be affixed to it like normal PVC? I'll know more this afternon when I start cutting away the foam around the manifolds. I found a source for 2lb closed cell online, but does anyone know a good source for finding it locally at a decent price? Spa/Pool repair businesses or Big Box hardware chains? *bump* for how to on couping the flexible hose that I now have exposed on my spa. 2" is just sched. 40 pvc. use 2" couplings, unions if you want... On the 3/4 clear. What I do is, cut the barbs off on the manifolds right at the end of the hose, heat the 3/4 lines up one at a time with a heat gun and work the old barbs out with a pair of needle nose pliers. you could use 3/4 barb/barb fittings to extend those lines if needed. the 3/4 was glued originaly, but I put spring clamps on my repairs so that next time a customer lets it freeze it's easier to repair. Thanks for the info! Any good source of 3/4 barb/barb fittings either online or somewhere I might look locally? I've found barbed to pvc and barb reducing, but not 3/4 on both sides. Thanks all for your help. I hope to put the new manifold on tomorrow and hope for no more drips (I'm not optimistic though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 both those manifolds are probally cracked. you'll have to cut the line out and see... the 3/4 line is glued to the manifold ports also. what year and model is it? You must be psychic. I replaced the manifold on the left side closest to the mechanical area and filled it with water only to find that as you predicted, a slow leak occured under the other manifold. I cut the foam off on the top and didn't see anything, but I wasn't thorough enough. When is enough, enough on a spa repair? I know the motor is bad, but how do I know if the heater and control pack are working? Also, I have a 5 hp waterway 2 speed motor, can I get away with a 4hp 2 way? I was thinking if I could, I may just buy an entire spa pack with motor included. (after I get it to stop leaking, that is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 *bump* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis_skywalker Posted June 14, 2009 Report Share Posted June 14, 2009 plumbing repairs are fun... huh? The balboa pack they use in there is pretty reliable, the heaters suck though. you could test the heater for continuity to see if its good... a 4hp 2 spd deal would work, Might make the jets a little weaker. I would find a rebuild shop to take your original pump to and get it rebuilt, probally cost about 100 bucks for bearings, seals, labor ect... those heaters are cheap about 150, or you can replace just element cheaper. I'd get it to hold water first myself, before I spent the money on a new pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable17 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 plumbing repairs are fun... huh? The balboa pack they use in there is pretty reliable, the heaters suck though. you could test the heater for continuity to see if its good... a 4hp 2 spd deal would work, Might make the jets a little weaker. I would find a rebuild shop to take your original pump to and get it rebuilt, probally cost about 100 bucks for bearings, seals, labor ect... those heaters are cheap about 150, or you can replace just element cheaper. I'd get it to hold water first myself, before I spent the money on a new pack. You read my mind. I've been working on getting it to hold water like you suggest. I've replaced one manifold and filled it only to find a much slower leak on another one. I watched carefully as it was filling and to the best of my knowledge, it is only leaking under manifold number two (opposite side of spa pack). I haven't worked on it for a week or so, but I plan to get back to it after this weekend when our visiting guests depart. Let me tell you, the wife is not happy that the beast is in the backyard under my deck with all the panels removed. I've called a shop about the motor rebuild and they bench test for free so once water will stay in this thing, it is off to fix-all electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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