Flo Error !

[bilbo44]

Hey,

I recently inherited a Sundance Rio 98 spa with a house we purchased during the winter. Soon after, we noticed we started getting a FLO error, so, we drained the tub for the winter and restarted it up in the Spring.

We called a service shop and got a few parts replaced - filter, circulation pump, flow switch

So, during the summer we would sporadically get the FLO error again and the only way to fix it was to power cycle the tub and everything went back to normal.

So, we started getting it again! Here's what happens:

So, last weekend we went in the tub (at 100 degrees) and when we were done, we put the temp down to 90 degrees. Today, i checked on the tub and the temp was 93 degrees, and we decided to go in tonight so we put the temp back up to 100 degrees, and got the errror!

Any ideas?

[mrfixit]

Hmm... new flow switch, new circ pump.. unlikely the circ pump is the problem.

Try adjusting the flo switch, if possible. If it has a wheel, it is adjustible. It may be set to a pressure just on the threshold of being too high for your circ pump. The other possability is that it is a bad relay causing your problems.

[bilbo44]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm going to have the service place come out tomorrow to take a look. I'll make the recommendation for them to check that out.

They did say on the phone that it could be a wire loose. Can you explain how to adjust the flo switch?

I'm new to this stuff so I'm not exactly sure what it looks like or what to do. If you can describe, I can take a look tomorrow.

[bilbo44]

mrfixit -

Could the problem have anything to do with any of the other pumps? I noticed that whenever the water is circulating - it sounds like some other pump is running. I'm not sure what this 'pump' is, but, according to the spa diagram, it is NOT the circulation pump. This weeekend, it sounded like this 'pump' was trying to run, and then, had some trouble, but, eventually got up running.

But, the wierd part (as i mentioned) is that when i power cycle things, everything works perfectly.

[n1oty]

mrfixit -

Could the problem have anything to do with any of the other pumps? I noticed that whenever the water is circulating - it sounds like some other pump is running. I'm not sure what this 'pump' is, but, according to the spa diagram, it is NOT the circulation pump. This weeekend, it sounded like this 'pump' was trying to run, and then, had some trouble, but, eventually got up running.

But, the wierd part (as i mentioned) is that when i power cycle things, everything works perfectly.

The flow switch is not adjustable and is probably OK. Your circ pump is probably fine also. When pump #1 runs on your tub, some of the water flow is re-directed through the heater circuit. The electronics shut down the circ pump during this time. If pump #1 does not run when it should, this is the problem that you get.

John

[mrfixit]

John obviously knows these tubs better than I do, and I am glad he chimed in. if the #1 pump is the issue as he described, them my suggestion would be to pay attention to when you have this problem. I would suspect that it would be during the filter cycles or when you are using pump #1? The other question I have would be why is pump #1 not running as it should? Considering you said that it sounds like the pump has a hard time starting, that really narrows it down.

[bilbo44]

Who would want to read that junk, It's not even formatted correctly! I guess lovers 123 has no real love for PSF.

They also posted on another string. I reported it on one string.

Bilbo44 - did you ever try removing the filter when you get the flow message?

Yes I have removed the filter and have seen no results. The service place is coming out Friday morning so I will let you know what they say.

[bilbo44]

Hey,

So, here's the latest news - we had the service guys come out and check everything and they could not find anything wrong. The service tech thinks that there is a problem with the board. I'm not sure if I believe this - seems like a phone catch all excuse.

The service company claim they called the hot tub company and spoke with their top tech support guys. Supposedly the problem could be coming from a compatibility issue with the circulation pump that was installed with the hot tub - though this has not been proven. The service company wants to come by and put in a 'compatible' circulation pump to see if the problem will resolve itself.

Seems a bit fishy that a compatibility issue would cause this problem. Anybody ever hear of this?

[n1oty]

Hey,

So, here's the latest news - we had the service guys come out and check everything and they could not find anything wrong. The service tech thinks that there is a problem with the board. I'm not sure if I believe this - seems like a phone catch all excuse.

The service company claim they called the hot tub company and spoke with their top tech support guys. Supposedly the problem could be coming from a compatibility issue with the circulation pump that was installed with the hot tub - though this has not been proven. The service company wants to come by and put in a 'compatible' circulation pump to see if the problem will resolve itself.

Seems a bit fishy that a compatibility issue would cause this problem. Anybody ever hear of this?

There are only so many things that make a circ pump "compatible", voltage, flow rate and plumbing connection. Your tub uses a circ pump with 3/4 inch barb fittings. Nothing weird there. I presume that the new circ pump's voltage is the same as the old circ pump. Not too many people screw that up. So, that leaves flow rate. Generally speaking, the Sundance circ pump outputs approximately 12 GPM for flow. The Harwil brand flow switch requires a minimum flow rate of 8 GPM to engage properly. This allows the filter to get a bit dirty while still energizing the heater.

So, the operative question now is whether the replacement circ pump is an actual Sundance circ pump or a generic. If generic, what is it's flow rate?

John

[bilbo44]

So I called the service department to get an explanation of what the hot tub tech support said. The tech support thinks that the problem is that the circulation pump that was installed is a newer model that has a computer chip in it that is misfiring error information to the hot tub circuit board.

So, they are planning on coming out sometime this week to swap in the new pump to see if that fixes the problem. I'll let you all know what happens.

[otis_skywalker]

The circ pump does not "send error information" to the board... The flow switch reads if the circ is functioning correctly or not, if no flow threw the switch, then it flashes flo on the screen and disables the heater.

From what you are describing, The circ pump is just probally bad.

When the flo error was on the screen, did it go away when ever you turned the two speed pump on low? If so then its the circ pump...

The circ pump draws water off of the pressure side of the 2 speed pump, when you turn the pump it will push water through the non-op circ, heater & flow sw... so the spa will heat when the 2 speed pump is on.

[Don R]

Is the Flo switch making contact when the circ pump is running?

[bilbo44]

Hey Everyone,

So the spa service guys came out today and put in the "compatible" circulation pump. So, here's the deal:

The spa seems more stable now (at least for now) and I haven't seen the FLO error playing around with it when trying to recreate how I used to get it.

But, I'm noticing some different behavior, and I'm not sure if it is normal or not. I will call the service department tomorrow to confirm.

I notice that when I turn the temperature up, the pump kicks in and indicates FLOW and HEAT, however, now, the JET light flashes and the low jet pump turns on. Does this seem normal? The old circulation pump light up the FLOW and HEAT, but, the low jets did not turn on.

Thanks again everyone.

[n1oty]

Hey Everyone,

So the spa service guys came out today and put in the "compatible" circulation pump. So, here's the deal:

The spa seems more stable now (at least for now) and I haven't seen the FLO error playing around with it when trying to recreate how I used to get it.

But, I'm noticing some different behavior, and I'm not sure if it is normal or not. I will call the service department tomorrow to confirm.

I notice that when I turn the temperature up, the pump kicks in and indicates FLOW and HEAT, however, now, the JET light flashes and the low jet pump turns on. Does this seem normal? The old circulation pump light up the FLOW and HEAT, but, the low jets did not turn on.

Thanks again everyone.

If the low speed of a jet pump is being used for flow during a call for heat, then there would be no need for a circ pump.

John

[bilbo44]

Hey Everyone,

So the spa service guys came out today and put in the "compatible" circulation pump. So, here's the deal:

The spa seems more stable now (at least for now) and I haven't seen the FLO error playing around with it when trying to recreate how I used to get it.

But, I'm noticing some different behavior, and I'm not sure if it is normal or not. I will call the service department tomorrow to confirm.

I notice that when I turn the temperature up, the pump kicks in and indicates FLOW and HEAT, however, now, the JET light flashes and the low jet pump turns on. Does this seem normal? The old circulation pump light up the FLOW and HEAT, but, the low jets did not turn on.

Thanks again everyone.

If the low speed of a jet pump is being used for flow during a call for heat, then there would be no need for a circ pump.

John

Are you saying that this is not normal? I read some other posts in other forums that said it was normal. Anybody know?

[bilbo44]

OK - the drama continues......

I called the service department to question this. They told me that they "compatible circulation pump" they had in stock did not fit in our hot tub (for whatever reason)...... so they rewired something so that the jet pump acts like the circulation pump and ultimately the circulation pump is bypassed.

Does this sound legit? I told the service guy this sounded like a hack. They told me that there are hundreds of people who do this with our model hot tub (b/c when the model was originally offered, the circulation pump was an add-on). I'm not so sure that I believe this.

I told them to order the compatible pump and do it the correct way.

What do you guys think?

[n1oty]

OK - the drama continues......

I called the service department to question this. They told me that they "compatible circulation pump" they had in stock did not fit in our hot tub (for whatever reason)...... so they rewired something so that the jet pump acts like the circulation pump and ultimately the circulation pump is bypassed.

Does this sound legit? I told the service guy this sounded like a hack. They told me that there are hundreds of people who do this with our model hot tub (b/c when the model was originally offered, the circulation pump was an add-on). I'm not so sure that I believe this.

I told them to order the compatible pump and do it the correct way.

What do you guys think?

Well, from a practical standpoint, it's not a big deal. During filter modes, the circ pump would be shut down anyway and circulation from that jet pump would provide the needed circulation. Outside of the filter modes though, the circ pump would normally provide that circulation. The net effect with your current arrangement is that you will use more electricity to run that pump, but you will gain additional water filtration. At least now we know what is happening.

John

[otis_skywalker]

Thats a hack move to me...Those pumps are not hard to come by... Sundance part# 6000-125, old part# 6500-035. both are interchangable.

Although it will work if they changed the Eprom chip to a non-permaclear logic one . (Which I would make sure they did)

I like a circ pump on them, because it's quieter, more efficent, better filtration and more ozone in the water.

Is this being done at a cost to you? or is this under warranty from spring? Either way it's yours, and if you happy with it this way... leave it.

[bilbo44]

Thats a hack move to me...Those pumps are not hard to come by... Sundance part# 6000-125, old part# 6500-035. both are interchangable.

Although it will work if they changed the Eprom chip to a non-permaclear logic one . (Which I would make sure they did)

I like a circ pump on them, because it's quieter, more efficent, better filtration and more ozone in the water.

Is this being done at a cost to you? or is this under warranty from spring? Either way it's yours, and if you happy with it this way... leave it.

Otis -

The dealer ordered part 035. Supposedly my old one that was causing the problems was part 125. Makes me wonder if it was a bad pump to begin with. But, the dealer told me that the chip was causing the problem. I guess it was easier for them to just order the part 035. Hopefully they can get their hands on it and put it in to solve the problem. I'll keep you updated.