Vicki5112 Posted June 13, 2020 Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 Hi, I have a Tiger River Sumatran 2001 model and I bought it for $100 knowing it had a leak. Loses about 5 inches per week. We have re-filled once a week & used it all last fall & winter waiting for the weather to get nice so that we could rip it apart & try to find the leak. Well during my internet research, I found a product that I could buy to stop the leak providing it was small. It is called Fix A Leak. I figure it's worth a try before hubby & I start looking or calling for service. The question that I have is the product says to run the jets continuously for quite some time and ours shut off automatically after 2 hours. Is there any way to override that feature or am I going to have to get up every 2 hours to restart the jets? Thanks, Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 13, 2020 Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 No way to override. And don't be too disappointed when it doesn't work. It is a band-aid at best and usually doesn't work at all. Makes a huge mess, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 Ah good o'l fix a leak @RDspaguy we need to find out whats in it and start bottling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks guys...we figured that we'd give it a try. Nothing to lose since we most likely will not have service on it if the Fix A Leak doesn't work. We initially thought we might have the tech come out but when we saw what others are paying or estimating for a leak repair, it may just be time to write off the $100 tub & go for a new one. We aren't sure we can justify putting $1000-$2000 in a 19 year old tub. We feel we have gotten our $100 use out of it over the months we've had it. We will just take the good parts off of the tub & try to sell them & junk the tub. Of course I may feel different tomorrow...you know how women have that prerogative to change their minds 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 20 hours ago, Vicki5112 said: waiting for the weather to get nice so that we could rip it apart & try to find the leak Rip it apart and find the leak perhaps it is an easy fix. Nothing to loose 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 1 hour ago, CanadianSpaTech said: Rip it apart and find the leak perhaps it is an easy fix. Nothing to loose Agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks guys. Not sure if I can talk hubby in to taking on this job. We just moved in to a place that is needing lots of repairs and he has to get that work done first. I'll run it by him if this Fix A Leak doesn't work. We are unable to see where it is leaking since there is no wetness around the tub at all. It sits on shale but we were hoping that where it was leaking would show by making the shale show a darker gray. The guy we bought it from had already tried to fix it once & he told us where he thought the leak was. He tore it apart & resealed something he said, then used many many cans of that spray foam to reseal only to find that he didn't get the leak fixed after all. Since he was the only one who ever used it, he didn't want to invest any more time or money in it. He had been topping it off each week like we have been but he had to pay for his city water & he had a family, he didn't like that added expense on the water bill. I'll let y'all know if we have a hit or miss with the Fix A Leak. Seems from what I read, it works about the same as the Stop Leak my dad was always putting in his car radiator when I was a kid...sometimes it worked & sometimes it didn't 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 So we did go ahead & put the Fix A Leak in the water & I'll let y'all know if we are one of the lucky ones that it works for. I am confused though about whether or not to turn the tub off all together for it to "cure". Our tub has little bubbles that come out of the heater return/spa drain all the time so I'm assuming it is circulating the water in a small way since we don't do anything special with it in the winter & it didn't freeze. The jets never cycle on or off every so many hours like they did on our Nordic tub. We keep it set at 86 during the winter & 82 in the fall, spring & summer. In reading the reviews on Amazon, some people shut theirs down & some didn't. I don't know what we should do. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Follow the instructions on the bottle, which will tell you to run the pumps. You want it to leak while the fix-a-leak builds up in the leak point, not just get a film over the leak point that will blow out when you turn on the pump. Success or failure is determined primarily by pipe movement. All plumbing moves when the pump is turned on due to pressure and vibration. If the leak is at a spot that is stable, such as a jet wall gasket or diverter valve manifold, it will hold. But if it is at a jetback or inline manifold or fitting it will crack out in no time. If it is on the suction side it will not work at all. Foam insulation also plays a part in stabilizing the pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Thanks 🙂 We are currently letting the jets run. The directions were a tad vague on the bottle so we are mostly basing the course of action on the posted reviews of the various people who have used it. We are not planning on getting up every two hours to keep the jets running but we will keep it running until bedtime tonight. I wish I could keep the jets running longer but the Tiger River jets shut off after two hours & I was told there is no way to override this feature. It will be a day or so till we'll be able to tell if the tub is still leaking since we don't lose a lot each day. We do plan on running the solution through again if it doesn't stop it this first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Be happy with 2 hours, some spas only go 30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cusser Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 I have not been able to find the leak in my '88 CalSpa for at least 6 years. It has one side near the house and cannot access. No leak in the equipment area either. My water loss is way less than yours though. I remove the filter, add Leak Seak like twice a year, works for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 36 minutes ago, Cusser said: I have not been able to find the leak in my '88 CalSpa for at least 6 years. It has one side near the house and cannot access. No leak in the equipment area either. My water loss is way less than yours though. I remove the filter, add Leak Seak like twice a year, works for me. And that is a best case scenario. Minor leak. Twice a year. @Cusser, start a thread or pm me a pic of the suspect side of your spa. Perhaps I can offer a suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 Oh wow RD..our Nordic ran until I'd shut it off...lol This is only my 2nd tub so I thought they were all the same. Good luck Cusser 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 So here we are...24 hours after the application of the Fix A Leak. We ran the jets for about 10 hours, shut the jets off & just left it sit. Checked it just a few minutes ago & we have not lost any water so far. It's early in the game with this stuff so we are cautiously optimistic. Several people have stated it word for a short while & started leaking again & others said theirs was fine for months & a few even years. If I have to put the stuff in every so often it's still better than adding water every week. We plan on letting it sit for another day or so then draining, cleaning, & refilling it. The water doesn't feel or smell funny like I thought it might. I'll keep y'all posted as time goes on & thanks everyone for the help & suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 Day 2 & still holding but I suppose the real test will come on Sunday & beyond. We will drain it tomorrow, clean it, let it sit overnight then refill it Sunday & turn on the jets. Wish us luck 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 19, 2020 Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 So now we have decided a different course of action. Tomorrow we will turn on the jets for a few hours to see if we get a leak once the lines have pressure on them. If we do, we'll add another 6 ounces & see if that helps. After thinking about it, it kind of made more sense to run it while the first dose is in rather than drain it out & clean it when it might need another treatment or so. Save on water & work that way 😉 There were no real instructions on the bottle so we're like everyone else, we just are trying to do what makes sense to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 19, 2020 Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 Sounds like a plan.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Today we drained & cleaned the tub. It's refilling now & if it doesn't rain this evening we plan on taking it for a test drive 😉 Clean up was very easy. I wasn't sure how it would be. Once it's filled, we'll put the filter in & run it for a few hours, then take it out & clean it. I imagine there will be a small residual amount in the lines when the jets are turned on. I wonder if we'll be one of the lucky ones??? Sure hope so. Even if I just don't have to refill it every week, I'm gonna take that as a win lol 😉 Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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