Evolution by Strong, 7 Year Report

[arf1410]

I bought the Evolution line of a Strong tub at Costco, 7 years ago.  Was working fine until last month, when I noticed a leak.  It appeared to be at the wet end seal, of the #1 pump... which also seemed to be noisier, upon closer listening, with cabinet opened up.  Pump was a 4 Hp Executive by Waterway.  After speaking with several local spa repair folks, they stated that pump failure at 7 years was not that unusual, and suggested $450 for the pump, + ~$150 to install.  found what I think is the identical pump / perfect replacement at SpaDepot, which they had in stock, as they stated this might be the single most common spa pump used... got it for $279... and decided to install myself.  Mostly uneventful, with two minor stumbling blocks:

/1/ there are 2 x 1/2" lines coming out of the front of the wet end, connected by a by a barbed fitting, that I think are to circulate to prevent freezing, among other things... I could not for the life of me get those lines off the barbed fitting, so I had to cut them.  One of the lines was plently long, so loosing 1" was a non issue.  The other line, the was no extra length, so I had to splice in an additional length.  I found more line at home depot, though after reviewing the specs, it is rated at 45 psi.  The OEM line was rated at 55 psi.  Is this a big problem?  What is the pressure coming out of the front end of those pumps?

/2/ the spa used gate valves, rather than ball valves, and one of the gate valves did not 100% stop the water flow, so I had to drain the tub.  I'm told ball valves are better.  Do most spas use ball valves?

 

[castletonia]

Those two 1/2” lines were probably siliconed or glued onto the barbed fitting which is why the wouldn’t come off.  Usually those are just bleeder lines and most company’s will just use a hose clamp.

I doubt the different psi rating will matter, but don’t know for sure.  I have never seen a ball valve in a hot tub, only slice valves.  Not uncommon for them to not seal as they age.

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

As castletonia said, the bleed lines are to prevent air locks when filling the tub up.  They sometimes work.  Many repair guys just plug up the hoses when replacing the pump.  Personally, I try to use them. 

I've run into plenty of older spas where someone has put a pencil, bolt or dowel into the hoses with a hose clamp to close them up.  

To remove the hose from the old wet end, a heat gun will generally loosen the glue, or you can just cut like you said.  Strong Spas, who manufacture the Evolution, like to spray insulation onto the base of the tub interior, sometimes immobilizing those hoses.  The different PSI rating won't matter, as the water in those lines isn't under pressure, it's connected to the suction end of the pump.

Gate valves are great for the first few years of the spa's life.  When parts start to get old, so do the gate valves and they become a problem.  The only time I've ever seen a gate valve stop the flow of water was in a spa less than a year old.  Otherwise, I carry plugs to put in the hoses.  For a really old spa, I won't even attempt to close the gate valve, I just drain the tub.  I've seen a few gate valves break or leak after being used, and draining the tub is less work than having to turn a pump replacement into a pump replacement and plumbing repair job.

I've seen one tub in the past 5 years with ball valves.  It was made by Arctic Spas.  The tub had had a winter freeze up and leaked everywhere except at the ball valves.

Dave

[arf1410]

Thanks Dave and Casteltonia. Before draining the tub, I did try to buy a 2" screw on cap to close off the line, however Home Depot did not sell one.  I did end up calling Strong this morning, and I 've called a few times over the years, and tend to get fairly knowledgeable folks on the phone.  The basically confirmed what you stated about those 1/2" lines, that they were low pressure suction, and didn't see a problem at all with a lower PSI rated replacement.  And you were spot on about some excess phone sprayed on, at the bottom of the tub, to "tack down" some of the lines.  I considered removing it, but for the line in question, I still did not see any excess length that it would free up.

And also thanks for not calling Strong a low quality junk tub, like some folks on the forum liked to do a few years ago, when I was last here.

[Cusser]

I have a 1988 CalSpa with gate valves that leak somewhat, glued-in ones, they'd be difficult to replace because of access.  Once the up-handle broke in the closed position (which partially sealed off the valve and would prevent spa use) so I bought replacement gate valves at local Ace Hardware which had same 4-screw pattern, and used the "innards" of those in mine, that worked for a while.

A few years ago I engineered a workaround for the horrible in-cabinet spa cartridge filter (for which I always had leaks and kept breaking the really large circumference "nut") and right-angled the flow out of the cabinet to a standalone filter with a top opening which works way better for me.  I use gate valves (from Ace Hardware, naturally) on each side of the filter cartridge to turn off the water when I open it up to clean the filter.  Works for me.