Hot Springs Sovereign Won't Heat

[5by5]

I have a '98 Hot Springs Sovereign that started to have the High Limit Thermostor trip and refuse to heat up. I replaced BOTH the High Limit Thermistor and the Control Stat Thermistor figuring I might as well while I'm working on it.

Now when I power up the tub the LIM OK and HTR ON lights on the circuit board both light up. Then I hit the heater reset switch hidden in the back on the heater box. I can hear the water swooshing around for a 30 seconds or so and then there's a loud click and both the LIM OK and HTR ON lights go off.

Did I botch the repair or is something else wrong? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Tony

[Dan.The.Spa.Man]

I have a '98 Hot Springs Sovereign that started to have the High Limit Thermostor trip and refuse to heat up. I replaced BOTH the High Limit Thermistor and the Control Stat Thermistor figuring I might as well while I'm working on it.

Now when I power up the tub the LIM OK and HTR ON lights on the circuit board both light up. Then I hit the heater reset switch hidden in the back on the heater box. I can hear the water swooshing around for a 30 seconds or so and then there's a loud click and both the LIM OK and HTR ON lights go off.

Did I botch the repair or is something else wrong? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Tony

Most likely the swooshing around is the water in the heater boiling due to a lack of flow. You probably have a bad circulation pump. Reset power and see if the silent-flo circ pump is vibrating at all.

[hjames710]

These pumps are not reliable. I had a similar problem with mine earlier today. Try resetting the heater, and run water from your garden hose through the jets and intakes. Try tapping the pump with something. Worked for me.

[5by5]

Well it took some time to get a free day where it wasn't raining all day but I was finally able to try the 2 suggestions.

The Silent-Flo pump is definitely not vibrating. I also tried forcing some water through the jets and then tapping the pump with a rubber mallet. The tapping actually got some water some flowing through but only while I did it.

So it looks like I have a dead circ pump. Is this easy enough to replace myself? It looks fairly straightforward except maybe for the electrical connection.

Tony

[Spa_Guru]

The new pump won't come with an electrical wire attached, so draw yourself pictures or take a picture.

[PreservedSwine]

The new pump won't come with an electrical wire attached, so draw yourself pictures or take a picture.

Not sure how much taking a picture would help, since the new circ pump will likely be quite different from the original. It comes with instructions, follow them. Be sure the wires are securley in place on the new pump.

[5by5]

I got the new pump yesterday and read over the instructions several times. It seems like something I can do.

Then I looked over the current pump and a few things puzzled me. First, the directions say to clamp off the hoses to the pump before removing it. But the hose is pretty solid and won't compress easily. Are these older hoses not meant to be clamped and I should just drain the tub?

Second, it looks like the hoses running the water in and out of the old pump are of a much larger diameter that then connections on the new pump. And since the hose doesn't seem to flex I can't clamp it way down. Do I need some type of hose size converter?

Third, the new pump a bonding post. I don't see one on the old pump so there is no wire running to it to use on the new pump. There is however, a bonding wire of some type that is attached to the heating unit. Can I bond the circ pump to that same wire by extending it somehow?

Thanks again for your help!

Tony

[Spa_Guru]

I got the new pump yesterday and read over the instructions several times. It seems like something I can do.

Then I looked over the current pump and a few things puzzled me. First, the directions say to clamp off the hoses to the pump before removing it. But the hose is pretty solid and won't compress easily. Are these older hoses not meant to be clamped and I should just drain the tub?

Second, it looks like the hoses running the water in and out of the old pump are of a much larger diameter that then connections on the new pump. And since the hose doesn't seem to flex I can't clamp it way down. Do I need some type of hose size converter?

Third, the new pump a bonding post. I don't see one on the old pump so there is no wire running to it to use on the new pump. There is however, a bonding wire of some type that is attached to the heating unit. Can I bond the circ pump to that same wire by extending it somehow?

Thanks again for your help!

Tony

The pump should have come with a clear piece of pipe about 3" long which you cut in half to use as an adapter, Just slip half over each portion of the pump, and the old pipe overtop the new, and clamp it, you may have to replace the original clamps with screw type clamps to get it to hold water.

And yes, it is likely you should just drain the tub to do the work.

You can add a bonding wire, and the pump also has an internal ground. Figured out the terminal connections yet? You will need 1/4" of bare wire and no burrs on the cut insulation to get the leads in far enough to connect.

[Dan.The.Spa.Man]

No nipple needed...although they may look like different diameters, they are they same unless you bought the wrong pump. The new E5 pump uses the same 3/4" tubing as the old silent flo 5000. The nipple is only needed to retro-fit the pumps into the Caldera spas which used a 1" pipe.

The best way to clamp off the lines is to heat them up with a heat gun or blow-dryer. Needle-nosed vise-grips will clamp right down on them after some heat.

As far as bonding...if the original one wasn't bonded, the new one doesn't need to be. It has a bond location because some of the newer installations need to be bonded. If you want you can get a small piece of copper and run a separate bond to the bar.

[Spa_Guru]

Heating up a pipe full of cold water could be a bit tough, for a noob I would definately reccomend draining the spa.

[Sailing_Faith]

Heating up a pipe full of cold water could be a bit tough, for a noob I would definately reccomend draining the spa.

I have a similar vintage HS Sovereign...

... all the replies are good, but FWIW there is something that I have not heard mentioned.

On my spa I occasionally have to 'burp' the heater when I refill the tub. If it has air trapped in it, it will do EXACTLY what you describe.

I assume the heating element is partially exposed (where the air gets trapped) and gets too hot and trips.

What I do is to tip it up to purge the bubbles out... make it tip with the connetors up. You will hear air escape.

I do this a few times, right after I turn the pump on and it seems to prevent the problem you are having.

(maybe newer heaters have a better 'purge' system, but our mid / late 90's models don't seem to.

Good luck!

[5by5]

Thanks to everyone for answering my questions and providing some additional tips. I think I know enough to give it a shot now. I'll let you know what happens.

Faith, I will try the "bubble purge" first. Although the way go for me, something that simple is never the solution.

Tony

[5by5]

Success! Here is a brief summary of what I did in case someone else has to do it.

First I drained the tub. Then on to removing the old pump.

Removing the old pump was the hardest part. With a hot tub this old many of the connections were stuck. After a while I was able to disconnect it. I then unscrewed the back of the old pump and disconnected the wiring connections.

Connected the wire to the new pump. Pretty basic, Black(hot), White(neutral), Green(ground). No issues here.

Connecting the hoses to the new pump was easy compared to removing them from the old one.

Filled the tub and turned the power back on. The new pump started whirring and I could see the water circulating. Waited 15 minutes and then reset the heater. Several hours later the tub was heating up nicely.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice!

Tony