Got A Leak, Found The Spot, But.....

[drewskie]

I'm still trying to get my 2001 Sundance altamar fully functioning. I have a small leak at the back of the tub (opposite the power pack). I removed the panel, and saw where the foam was wet. I dug fairlt deep into the foam and it was very wet, but i could not find where the leak was coming from. There is only one jet in the tub where the leak is at, and i ran the hose in the jet and no water leaked out. How can i find where it's leaking? Could it be from the jet plumbing?Is it wise to keep ripping out foam? Also, does anyone have a plumbing diagram for that spa? Thank you.

[pkillur]

I'm still trying to get my 2001 Sundance altamar fully functioning. I have a small leak at the back of the tub (opposite the power pack). I removed the panel, and saw where the foam was wet. I dug fairlt deep into the foam and it was very wet, but i could not find where the leak was coming from. There is only one jet in the tub where the leak is at, and i ran the hose in the jet and no water leaked out. How can i find where it's leaking? Could it be from the jet plumbing?Is it wise to keep ripping out foam? Also, does anyone have a plumbing diagram for that spa? Thank you.

So, I don't have a full foam hot tub, so take this for what it's worth, but before digging out foam, I would run some seal-a-leak or other leak fixing stuff through it if it's not a huge leak. It might get you sealed up and ready to go without digging anything else out. If not, order some plast-aid and get to digging

[drewskie]

Thank you. I really don't want to dig out a bunch of foam either, but the leak is realy bothering me. I hadn't though of the fix a leak. i may try that. I just wonder what plumbing is on the backside of the tub that could be leaking.

[Roger]

I'm still trying to get my 2001 Sundance altamar fully functioning. I have a small leak at the back of the tub (opposite the power pack). I removed the panel, and saw where the foam was wet. I dug fairlt deep into the foam and it was very wet, but i could not find where the leak was coming from. There is only one jet in the tub where the leak is at, and i ran the hose in the jet and no water leaked out. How can i find where it's leaking? Could it be from the jet plumbing?Is it wise to keep ripping out foam? Also, does anyone have a plumbing diagram for that spa? Thank you.

There is a line feeding that jet, it's likely the jets mate to the shell right there, connection to the line feeding it or something right there.

[drewskie]

Thanks roger. I dug out a bunch of foam and found the plumbimg. Now I need to check for leaks. If it it the plumbing there. How hard is it to get to the pipes if they need repair? Also, I took out a lot of foam, would it be necessary to replace it?

[Roger]

Thanks roger. I dug out a bunch of foam and found the plumbimg. Now I need to check for leaks. If it it the plumbing there. How hard is it to get to the pipes if they need repair? Also, I took out a lot of foam, would it be necessary to replace it?

Cut out bad plumbing and glue in new plumbing (make sure to clean mating surfaces good I find 3M scotch pads work good for getting foam off plumbing) or replace seal between shell and jet bodie and refoam with spray foam. I buy 2 part kits from Grainger.

Rip out enough foam to get a good handle on the plumbing, no big deal spraying in insulating foam takes seconds.

[drewskie]

Lil update.... maybe you can help Roger, or someone else. I removed a bunch of the foam behind where I see the water leaking, but no water comes from any of the plumbing where I took out the foam. However, there is water on both sides of the tub at the rear. Could it be from underneath the tub? Are there anty common spots under the tub that leak? If so, what are some of the possibilities?

[sdriv]

Lil update.... maybe you can help Roger, or someone else. I removed a bunch of the foam behind where I see the water leaking, but no water comes from any of the plumbing where I took out the foam. However, there is water on both sides of the tub at the rear. Could it be from underneath the tub? Are there anty common spots under the tub that leak? If so, what are some of the possibilities?

Hey Drewskie. Not sure if this helps but I had a leak on my Sundance optima. When I started digging I came across a check valve that was in the suction line at the bottom of the tub. The check valve was basically cracked in half and that was my leak. I had wet spots all around my tub so I would think if it has been leaking long enough it could be from areas farther then you think. So if you have these suction lines check the valve areas.

[Cavalier]

Probe with a sharpened wood dowel stick.

Lil update.... maybe you can help Roger, or someone else. I removed a bunch of the foam behind where I see the water leaking, but no water comes from any of the plumbing where I took out the foam. However, there is water on both sides of the tub at the rear. Could it be from underneath the tub? Are there anty common spots under the tub that leak? If so, what are some of the possibilities?

Hey Drewskie. Not sure if this helps but I had a leak on my Sundance optima. When I started digging I came across a check valve that was in the suction line at the bottom of the tub. The check valve was basically cracked in half and that was my leak. I had wet spots all around my tub so I would think if it has been leaking long enough it could be from areas farther then you think. So if you have these suction lines check the valve areas.

[drewskie]

Lil update.... maybe you can help Roger, or someone else. I removed a bunch of the foam behind where I see the water leaking, but no water comes from any of the plumbing where I took out the foam. However, there is water on both sides of the tub at the rear. Could it be from underneath the tub? Are there anty common spots under the tub that leak? If so, what are some of the possibilities?

Hey Drewskie. Not sure if this helps but I had a leak on my Sundance optima. When I started digging I came across a check valve that was in the suction line at the bottom of the tub. The check valve was basically cracked in half and that was my leak. I had wet spots all around my tub so I would think if it has been leaking long enough it could be from areas farther then you think. So if you have these suction lines check the valve areas.

Thank you. I had read somewhere that check valves go bad and are a common leak spot. How did you get to it? From underneath the tub? Is it difficult is it to replace?

[Kreg]

Does the tub stop leaking at any certain water level? This could give you an idea where the leak is coming from. There is no quick and easy fix. You have to keep digging out the foam until you find the leak. This could be a hairline crack in some pvc, a clamp that has come undone, plus water wicks from one place to another in a full foam tub, so the water could be coming from another spot especially if the spa isn't sitting level. Dig out the suspected area as good as you can, and fill up the tub and run it. When the plumbing is under pressure, the leak may be easier to find. Good luck.

[Cavalier]

Does the tub stop leaking at any certain water level? This could give you an idea where the leak is coming from. There is no quick and easy fix. You have to keep digging out the foam until you find the leak. This could be a hairline crack in some pvc, a clamp that has come undone, plus water wicks from one place to another in a full foam tub, so the water could be coming from another spot especially if the spa isn't sitting level. Dig out the suspected area as good as you can, and fill up the tub and run it. When the plumbing is under pressure, the leak may be easier to find. Good luck.

Just a thought.

My Optima leak was on a 2" suction T and only drips when the pump is off.

So if thats you situation, it probably will not leak with the pumps running.

[sdriv]

Lil update.... maybe you can help Roger, or someone else. I removed a bunch of the foam behind where I see the water leaking, but no water comes from any of the plumbing where I took out the foam. However, there is water on both sides of the tub at the rear. Could it be from underneath the tub? Are there anty common spots under the tub that leak? If so, what are some of the possibilities?

Hey Drewskie. Not sure if this helps but I had a leak on my Sundance optima. When I started digging I came across a check valve that was in the suction line at the bottom of the tub. The check valve was basically cracked in half and that was my leak. I had wet spots all around my tub so I would think if it has been leaking long enough it could be from areas farther then you think. So if you have these suction lines check the valve areas.

Thank you. I had read somewhere that check valves go bad and are a common leak spot. How did you get to it? From underneath the tub? Is it difficult is it to replace?

I pulled the whole side panel off and saw the wet spot on the pad. So I took a sheetrock saw and cut a 12" square and I could feel the wet foam. So from there I just pulled the foam out by hand until I started hitting some pipes. I came acrossed the check valve and as soon as I pulled away the foam it started gushing. So I had to drain the whole tub. This check valve was in a 1" flex PVC line so I was able to cut out the bad valve and glue in the new one. It wasn't that difficult. The hardest part was just getting started since it was only 20 degrees out!!

[drewskie]

Hello again folks. So... I drained my tub, lifted it on its side, and started hacking away at the foam underneath since it was soaked everywhere. I got to where the 2 foot (whirlpool) jets would be and like you said, it was gushing out of there. My questions are...... what are these jets usually connected to? There are 2 jets and a separate pipe running somewhere else that I cannot see because of the foam. I believe this is the leaking pipe. Also, how did you remove the faom from the pipes themselves? It seems to be very hard to get the foam off the plastic pipes and I do not want to ruin them and have another leak. Lastly, do any of the pipes simply screw in, or is it always necessary to cut and glue? Thanks.

[pkillur]

Hello again folks. So... I drained my tub, lifted it on its side, and started hacking away at the foam underneath since it was soaked everywhere. I got to where the 2 foot (whirlpool) jets would be and like you said, it was gushing out of there. My questions are...... what are these jets usually connected to? There are 2 jets and a separate pipe running somewhere else that I cannot see because of the foam. I believe this is the leaking pipe. Also, how did you remove the faom from the pipes themselves? It seems to be very hard to get the foam off the plastic pipes and I do not want to ruin them and have another leak. Lastly, do any of the pipes simply screw in, or is it always necessary to cut and glue? Thanks.

Roger says "3M scotch pads" - I use like 1200 grit sandpaper, only because I have a ton of it left over from another project I massively misjudged need for! Scotch pads are the white / blue / green things on the front of mops. They're very non marring.

In the two tubs I've owned, only the pumps and "replacable" items are screwed in. Everything else is glued into place (which is probably better considering jiggling and pressure develop every time you use your spa). If your spa has a little pinhole leak, you are going to really want to use plast-aid or some kind of epoxy. Especially with a fullyfoamed cabinet it'll be a PITA to get the pipes dug out and then replaced. Just my opinion from someone who loves me some plast-aid (and they're a local Colorado company so I'm probably biased).

[drewskie]

Thanks for the thorough reply. I was thinking the same thing when i was looking at the plumbing, it's going to be hell getting any piece of the pipes out. I decided to have the tech come look at it, hopefully they can fix it, fairly reasonably.

[Roger]

Thanks for the thorough reply. I was thinking the same thing when i was looking at the plumbing, it's going to be hell getting any piece of the pipes out. I decided to have the tech come look at it, hopefully they can fix it, fairly reasonably.

Sometimes those guys can do in an hour at 85 bucks what might take you half a day.