Tim99GT Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Issue 1: So the other day i cleaned out my hot tub and refilled it in order to run it. Prior to this i hadn't used it for roughly a year due to a leak that i could never find. I finally found it, repaired the leak, and filled the tub. I began running the hot tub and all was going fine for about 1.5 hrs when all of the sudden my GFCI tripped and the hot tub shut off. I tried to reset the GFCI breaker and it would instantly trip. I did have the paneling off of the hut tub and i though something might have become wet and was tripping the GFCI so i decided to let it sit for a few hours before trying to restart it. A few hours later i tried again only to have the same results. I then pulled one pump plug and tried to start the hot tub in order to possibly locate the issue though elimination. I went through every motor and finally found that when the jet pump was unplugged, the hot tub would run normally. As soon as i would plug the jet pump in it would trip the GFCI. I ended up leaving the hot tub alone for a day or so due to work. After about two days, i went back to the hot tub and began messing around with it again. I did this because it seemed to run completely fine before tripping the GFCI the first time. I plugged in the jet pump and reset the GFCI and the hot tub came on. The GFCI didn't trip this time. I turned the jet pump on and it runs. I had the gate valve closed on accident and when i noticed i shut the pump off and went to open the valve which leads to the next issue... Issue 2: I had closed the gate valves on the pump when i was messing around with it in order to give me more room to work in and when i went to open the one on the discharge of the pump the whole handle assembly pulled out of the valve body and water began to leak out. The bottom of the stem looks to have a groove cut all of the way around the stem as if it just snaps into the internal parts, however, im not familiar with this type of valve and dont know if it actually does or not. I did stick the stem back in and the leak stopped. I pulled the stem back out in order to open the valve and it feels like it is open, but im really not sure. The leak did stop, but the jets still arent working. I would take the valve apart, but the type i have doesnt have the screws on the side. If i have to replace it i will have to cut the valve out and replace the whole thing which looks like it will be a nightmare. So, with all of that said, the pump shaft spins and appears to be working, however, i am not getting any flow through the jets in the hot tub. Do you think the valve is still shut even though the stem is pulled to the open position? Is it normal for the valve handles of these valves to pull completely out? What would cause my pump motor to trip my GFCI breaker like that and then all of the sudden work fine (or appear to anyways)? Thank you in advance for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaSage Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 It sounds like you suspected a component may have gotten wet at one point. Perhaps you were correct. If water came in contact with the pump motor if could trip the breaker. Once the pump dried out the tripping issue would stop; usually happens that way. Unfortunately, I can't tell you if the knife valve is broken or not. If it is broken, and the valve is closed, that explains why the jets aren't working. The pump can't pull any water passed the closed valve. If the valve is working, and it is in the open position, it is possible that you have an air bubble trapped in the wet end of the pump. This is a fairly common occurrence when hot tubs are not filled through the filter compartment. In this case, since the valve was closed before the water was added, it doesn't really matter how you filled the hot tub. Try shutting the power off to the spa and cracking the union on the front of the pump. Just open it gently. Once a bit of water comes out, tighten the union back up, flip the power back on, and see if it goes when you press go. If it doesn't, your valve is probably broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim99GT Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Ok, I will do this when i get home and post the results after. Thank you SpaSage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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