Crazyone Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hey all, I just picked up a hotspring sovereign, 2000 model, and got it home and hooked up. The good is the pumps, heater work, the bad is it has a nasty leak. The water is spilling out of the equipment area, where 3 hoses go through. I tried to track down the leak and removed the side panel next to the filter housing and first jet. It didn't leak until it hit the jet closest to the filters. I pulled foam, it's dry as can be, light housing is solid and not leaking. Anyone have a suggestion where to go next? The tub weighs 710lbs so it's hard for me to get it on end, but I guess that's my next step. Anyone have a plumbing diagram? Just like to know about where fittings and such are. Thanks a bunch! Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidpsalt Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Sorry to hear about your leak issues. I too just picked up a Sovereign - 1999 and had to replace the heater and circ pump as well as the wet end of the Jet pump and replace the bearing on the motor! I also replaced the diverter valve and o rings as it was leaking water from the top and the o ring was worn out. When I got it going I had a small leak from the connection of the 1/4 inch hose to the fitting on the 90 degree elbow from the circ pump to the heater. I had to cut off the end to get a fresh connection, heated it up with a hair dryer and got a tight fit - slid on the spring clamp and the leak was gone. I also checked the 1/4" hose on bottom of the Jet pump and it was fine. Another place to look is the fittings to the wet end of your pump. Put a long handled flat head screw driver on one of the grip edges on the collar that tightens on the pump and hit it lightly with a hammer to tighten it. Do this to both the inlet and outlet - I had a small leak there but by doing this it stopped. You may also want to look up under the bar top - there are several air hoses that come from the jets and attached to the end of them - they are air check valves. My understanding is that these are one way valves allowing air to get sucked in to feed the jets but close if there is pressure pushed the other way. If someone or something blocks a jet, water will push up the line to the end and the check valve will stop it from flowing into the equipment bay. Over time the clear plastic nozzle end that fits into the hose will crack and break off. I had three broken check valves that needed to be replace - very easy to see as the hose will be hanging down and the check valve will still be clipped into its place up under the bar top. It is an easy fix - break up the plastic in the end of the hose and make sure to get all the pieces out and slide on a new check valve and put the spring clamp back into place. It then clips into a pvc bracket up under the bar top. One other thing - you may want to determine if there is any blockage in a jet that might be causing the water to spill through the air hose / broken check valve. I pulled all my equipment out - jet pump, circ pump and heater. Then I pulled the diverter valve out (there is an expanding plastic clip holding it in place - once you pull out the clip you can pull the valve out by twisting and pulling slowly with plyers - be carefull not to tear the o-rings. Once removed, I used a shop vac in blower mode and put the nozzle on the diverter opening and blew out any and all debri in the lines. You may even want to put the blower end on the jet outlets to break any thing loose in there free. Take your swivel jets off first before blowing in there. Then blow through the diverter again. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it is worth it down the road. I wanted to go through mine and avoid any / all issues that might pop up down the road that would keep me from enjoying my 11 year old spa!!!! Hope this helps and that your leak is not too involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spa_Guru Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 It is common for that model of spa to freeze and split the flex pipe at its lowest point where water won't drain out. the quickest way in is thru the bottom, about 40% to the rear, on the left side, directly past the hole you see the pipes coming out of. You will only see the split from the bottom, it will be about 6-8" long. I usually prop them up on concrete blocks or flip them on the side to dig for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidpsalt Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Just to be sure as I own a sovereign as well - 40% back from the equipment bay to the back of the tub (long ways) .. correct? Also, not sure what you mean by directly past the hole you see the pipes coming out of. Can you give more detail? Lastly, what tools do you use to dig the foam out with to ensure you don't damage any of the other plumbing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyone Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Funny enough I was coming back to post I found the leak, 6-8 in cracked pipe from not being winterized, about 1/2 way back from equipment back, spa guy you were nearly dead on, wish I had checked this post more frequently, although I also had to replace a smaller line that was hard a a rock (clear vinyl) from the bottom of the pump, I got lots of foam to put back, gonna try using most of the old foam (that's dry) combined with some new spray foam (I refuse to buy the 80$ repair kit from my dealer) sure it might work better, but I can put 30 cans of this "great stuff" in for that. Thanks Spa Guy! Hopefully it's just this one pipe, gonna be a nightmare to replace, since I decided to replace the entire line rather than splice it Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyone Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Oh and soon as my help gets here this afternoon I will post a picture of where SpaGuy suggested. Also I will snap pics of everything I have uncovered, just in case anyone needs to find something as the plumbing diagram is pretty much 100% worthless (I will attach those as well though) Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidpsalt Posted December 25, 2011 Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 Looking forward to your pics. In addition to my Sovereign I have a Grandee that has a small leak - I believe the drain pipe going from the capped end to the drain. very slow leak but enough for me to dig in to. Can anyone post what the best tools are to use to dig out the foam without risking damage to pipes? 5 in 1 tool? Screw driver? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan.The.Spa.Man Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 Looking forward to your pics. In addition to my Sovereign I have a Grandee that has a small leak - I believe the drain pipe going from the capped end to the drain. very slow leak but enough for me to dig in to. Can anyone post what the best tools are to use to dig out the foam without risking damage to pipes? 5 in 1 tool? Screw driver? Thanks. So the water is seeping directly out of one of the holes where the drain comes out? It could be from the drain but it can be mis-leading. Check the light lens really good. Even if it seems good replace the o'ring on the drain cap. Make sure the tub is up to temp as well. Sometimes the o'rings and seals may leak when first filled with cold water and then don't when it heats up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fibercoug Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Davidpsalt, did you find the leak in your Grandee? It sounds like the same type of leak that I am searching for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac0979 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Did you guys upload the pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Sovereign Posted July 20, 2021 Report Share Posted July 20, 2021 On 12/20/2011 at 7:27 AM, Crazyone said: Funny enough I was coming back to post I found the leak, 6-8 in cracked pipe from not being winterized, about 1/2 way back from equipment back, spa guy you were nearly dead on, wish I had checked this post more frequently, although I also had to replace a smaller line that was hard a a rock (clear vinyl) from the bottom of the pump, I got lots of foam to put back, gonna try using most of the old foam (that's dry) combined with some new spray foam (I refuse to buy the 80$ repair kit from my dealer) sure it might work better, but I can put 30 cans of this "great stuff" in for that. Thanks Spa Guy! Hopefully it's just this one pipe, gonna be a nightmare to replace, since I decided to replace the entire line rather than splice it Brandon I know it's a million years later, but are there any pics left to post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratchett Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 On 7/20/2021 at 12:26 PM, 2000Sovereign said: I know it's a million years later, but are there any pics left to post? OP hasn't been logged back to site since December 30th 2011, highly unlikely they'll be back. However @RDspaguy recently refurbished a Hotspring Prodigy (smaller than sovereign, but same construction quality) and published some photos which you might enjoy over here - https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/52536-ever-wonder-what-biofilm-looks-like/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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