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Canadian Spa Company Swift Current V2 Impeller repair


tenzen

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Hello all,  

I opened an account just to post this because after weeks of digging, I may have found my solution and wanted to share to help other owners.

Symptoms:  Loud grinding type noise from the PCU (Portable control unit), low water flow, and sometimes a over-temperature error.  

Cause:  Broken magnetic impeller

Repair:  Purchase a Fluval 304/5 Impeller and replacement Ceramic Shaft from your local aquarium supply shop or commonly found on the internet

Guidehttps://support.canadianspacompany.com/en/support/solutions/articles/6000223884-v2-portable-control-unit-disassembly-guide-impeller-replacement     Note: I have a PDF version of this guide, so if they take it offline, I can send it to you.  

Risk:  This will void any warranty you may have, you will not get warranty on the fluval parts due to age, and while it is working in my spa, I dont have years to report that the part properly resists the chemicals and temperature.   Your mileage may vary, follow these instructions at your own risk, dont blame me if this causes you to lose your house, your car and the rest of a country music song.. :-)  

 

Now the Story for those who care to read further: 

I own a Canadian Spa Company Swift current V2:  https://canadianspacompany.ca/collections/portable-spas/products/swift-current-v2?variant=46038840199 and it is just under 1 year old.     Recently it started to get quite loud with a grinding sound, and after calling Canadian Spa Company I was glad to hear my unit was still under warranty; however, they will not have replacement parts for at least another month from now.   I also asked if they wanted the old unit back, no was the answer --- so I pulled out my handyman toolkit and started troubleshooting. 

I found that my impeller has broken away from the magnet and after trying several kinds of epoxy, i didnt find one that bonded well to the magnet and survived the chlorine and temperature, and after a bit of time, the bond always weakened and re-broke.  

I called back Canadian Spa Company and they do not sell impellers, but "helpfully" offered to replace my PCU at $800 or the pump unit (including the impeller) at $400.  (both also currently out of stock)  When I questioned spending $800 a year on a spa in repair parts, they "helpfully" offered to refund me my initial purchase price if I upgraded my unit to their next model.    But do not sell common parts like impellers for that.   

I also could not find anybody else on any forum who found a successful replacement for the impeller, so i went on an adventure, and found that the Fluval 305 Impeller, visually, was a very close match to the original impeller

I spent the $50 for the Impeller knowing that it might not work, but I had to know if i had a way to repair the PCU in the future.   

Sure enough, it has been running now for a week without issue, hoping that it keeps going as that would be a decent way to keep this spa running longer without the support of the manufacturer.  

thanks for reading and I hope this helps somebody else

 

 

 

Edited by tenzen
corrected wording
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  • 2 months later...

Hi Tenzen,

I've stumbled across your post as it all sounds very familiar. However, ours is triggered in other ways too; for example finishing the jet cycle too early causes the pump to stop working and can't be restored unless we reseat (thats all we seem to do) the impeller. 

Did you find replacing the impeller has worked a few months down the line. Our Impeller doesn't appear to be physically damaged.

Thankyou

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Hello,  I figured I would come back here and report progress.    So today the replacement impeller bit the dust.    I haven't opened it yet, but that's just a few months of use, not what I was hoping for.    

I will open the unit again soon and see what broke this time.   If I had to guess, it will be the ceramic shaft that broke and I'm working that it might be as easy as finding a good metal shaft. 

So for everybody out there, the fluval shaft worked.. but you'll be using 3-4 of them a year... maybe $150-200 is acceptable, better than $800 for a pump unit every year, but still not the perfect solution.   Having said that, if it is just the ceremic shaft that has warn, then you can buy that separately for $10 if I recall correctly -- so $40 a year in replacement shafts and the inconvenience of constant repair...

All in all, if you plan to use this spa for years... well... don't.. 

 

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On 9/1/2020 at 1:54 PM, JCSPa said:

Hi Tenzen,

I've stumbled across your post as it all sounds very familiar. However, ours is triggered in other ways too; for example finishing the jet cycle too early causes the pump to stop working and can't be restored unless we reseat (thats all we seem to do) the impeller. 

Did you find replacing the impeller has worked a few months down the line. Our Impeller doesn't appear to be physically damaged.

Thankyou

Hey there,   Yeah, it worked well for quite awhile, and then just in the last week the noise returned "buzzing" type of sound -- which i am guessing is vibration as the shaft wore down and allowed for the impeller to move laterally instead of just spinning.

For the original impeller, the blades were no longer connected to the magnet.    If yours is okay, then maybe just trying the fluval shaft to get you going will be enough -- or maybe find a non-reactive metal bar and cut it to length..

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On 9/5/2020 at 3:12 AM, tenzen said:

Hey there,   Yeah, it worked well for quite awhile, and then just in the last week the noise returned "buzzing" type of sound -- which i am guessing is vibration as the shaft wore down and allowed for the impeller to move laterally instead of just spinning.

For the original impeller, the blades were no longer connected to the magnet.    If yours is okay, then maybe just trying the fluval shaft to get you going will be enough -- or maybe find a non-reactive metal bar and cut it to length..

Hi!

Sorry, I didn't realise you'd replied. Having looked at the shaft in more detail, it does appear to be worn. And theres definitely some lateral movement when in the impeller. Theres a shiny point on the magnet so its clearly rubbing somewhere.

I've taken your advice and ordered a new stainless steel shaft. Its for a lazy spa but hopefully the same length. Only £3 so worth a shot, otherwise I'll go off in search of bar to cut down. 

Thanks again

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On 9/10/2020 at 12:23 PM, tenzen said:

Let me know how it goes.  I'll have to open the broken pump soon enough to repair it.     But for now, I've got to track down a slow leak now... 🤦‍♂️

I bought what was advertised as a LazySpa Impeller Shaft from eBay... Sadly its slightly too short. Decided to give it a go anyway... It works but doesn't hold it straight I don't think... its just as if not more noisy so I've turned it all off.

Complained to CanadianSpa about their lack of customer service and product quality... dealing with the CEO now. We shall see how that goes, but they don't seem to acknowledge any of my concerns and insist on paying to ship it to them and pay through the roof for them to do something I can do in 10 minutes.

Its easy to find a LazySpa Impeller replacement, but give they're different sizes theres no way to tell what to go with.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all

Came across this thread while looking for anyone with similar problems !!

Firstly thanks for sharing the info!

Had our v2 for about 4 months and while we've had some enjoyment while it's been working the customer service is terrible. Had loads of problems with the inflatable lid which we binned in the end for a home made hard lid

Anyway after many non responsive messages to CS about the noise the box was making I came across this thread and successfully changed the imprellor shaft for a new ceramic one supplied by our local garden centre. The had an imprellor virtually the same size but the fins weren't as big which they suggested wouldn't be enough for the pump. The shaft was very slightly longer but fitted almost perfectly other than the impeller had a very, very egg shaped hole due to wearing away but for a couple of weeks it was as silent as when it first arrived.

Why I'm posting is I am asking of there has been any updates from anyone that has changed both parts an for which ones?

It  cost me 11 pounds for the ceramic shaft which is nothing othe than it lasted 2 weeks and if the impeller was all slightly worn anyway then I can't complain.

Many thanks in advance

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Thanks for the impeller info Tenzen.   I have had nothing but problems with my V2  unit.  No replacement parts and they wanted to sell me a 800 new unit, haha.   They had to send me 4 of them before I got one that worked when I "upgraded" from the V1.    The Fluval 304/5 impeller has been working fine for me for the past month or so, even thopugh the blades are slightly different from the original impeller. 

I could only find the impeller so I reused the old ceramic shaft which was very worn (hourglass shape), but had a tight fit in the Fluval impeller.  It is so quiet I can barely tell its running.   Now I'm also working on finding a liner leak, arghhh.

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3 hours ago, GPS said:

Thanks for the impeller info Tenzen.   I have had nothing but problems with my V2  unit.  No replacement parts and they wanted to sell me a 800 new unit, haha.   They had to send me 4 of them before I got one that worked when I "upgraded" from the V1.    The Fluval 304/5 impeller has been working fine for me for the past month or so, even thopugh the blades are slightly different from the original impeller. 

I could only find the impeller so I reused the old ceramic shaft which was very worn (hourglass shape), but had a tight fit in the Fluval impeller.  It is so quiet I can barely tell its running.   Now I'm also working on finding a liner leak, arghhh.

Hi do you have a link to the impeller you used please ? I got a stainless steel shaft for a few quid from a really helpful guy on eBay but he couldn't help with the impeller one of the bushes is worn quite badly though so although it's quieter it's still noisy

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Hi, all some interesting info on here and I need help big time. My sister in laws V2 shaft has snapped and she needs a new one. Can anyone tell me the size thickness and length please? So I can send her one and help her fix it over video chat. Would go fix it myself but she lives quite far and I'm stuck in lockdown!!! 😑

Also if you need some new bushes you can make them out of marine grade flat rubber. 

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Here you can see the Fluval 304/5 on the left hand side compared to the Canadian Spa impellor on the right with the only real difference in size is the blades.

The stainless steel shaft I purchased from eBay sadly was too tight in the Fluval not allowing it to spin freely perhaps the bushes could be drilled to 3mm as per the stainless steel but for now I have a spare Fluval ceramic shaft which fits everything.

I've put everything back together and confirm for a few hours at least that everything is nice and quiet and seems to be pumping ok but possibly at a reduced rate but I dont think the original pumps are that great anyway.

Hope it helps someone else out

IMG-20201007-WA0003.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi All,

I saw this thread whilst looking to repair my own Canadian Spa V2 with incredibly noisy rotor, as seems to be the norm, Canadian spa refused to sell me parts or even help unless I sent the whole thing back to them (at great cost) for a diagnostic. I argued that I did not need a diagnostic and was not prepared to pay for it as I knew exactly what the problem was, but they were having none of it.

So here is my own experience for anyone who may be interested.

So I took a chance and purchased one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RDEXP-Magnetic-Impeller-Submersible-Replacement/dp/B01E6V649Y/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=16mm+magnetic+impeller&qid=1603265200&sr=8-2

Although the magnet is slightly smaller, the impeller part is exactly the same size. I used the rubber caps off the original part as the new ones were too small. In order to stop the magnet dropping down too far, I cut the end off one of the new rubber ends to make a spacer and slid that onto the shaft under the magnet, then put it together and tried it. 

It has now been running for 24hrs and is nice and quiet with a good flow rate. To test it I bridged the inlet and outlet ports with a pipe, filled it full of water and just left it pumping it round and round. Today I will plumb it back in to the tub and fill it all back up.

I do not know how long this will last, but if it lasts 6 months then I will be happy, for an outlay of under £4. I accept no responsibility if anyone tries this on their own hot tub and it all goes balls-up. You take my experience entirely at your own risk.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi All,

It's disappointing to hear so many are having the same problem! Also, the bad customer service.

I wrong a long email to them expressing my disappointment in their a) lack of response b) their lack of listening when they did respond and c) lack of willingness to do anything reasonable to help fix the problem!

Just incase its helpful I bought this impeller from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DRBB4WZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has lasted well so far, so thats over a month, and I checked it today. All seems to be in good condition.

Problem now is the jet pump won't turn off... I doubt I'll get anywhere with CS...

Best

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/21/2020 at 12:37 AM, YouDontKnowMe said:

Hi All,

I saw this thread whilst looking to repair my own Canadian Spa V2 with incredibly noisy rotor, as seems to be the norm, Canadian spa refused to sell me parts or even help unless I sent the whole thing back to them (at great cost) for a diagnostic. I argued that I did not need a diagnostic and was not prepared to pay for it as I knew exactly what the problem was, but they were having none of it.

So here is my own experience for anyone who may be interested.

So I took a chance and purchased one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RDEXP-Magnetic-Impeller-Submersible-Replacement/dp/B01E6V649Y/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=16mm+magnetic+impeller&qid=1603265200&sr=8-2

Although the magnet is slightly smaller, the impeller part is exactly the same size. I used the rubber caps off the original part as the new ones were too small. In order to stop the magnet dropping down too far, I cut the end off one of the new rubber ends to make a spacer and slid that onto the shaft under the magnet, then put it together and tried it. 

It has now been running for 24hrs and is nice and quiet with a good flow rate. To test it I bridged the inlet and outlet ports with a pipe, filled it full of water and just left it pumping it round and round. Today I will plumb it back in to the tub and fill it all back up.

I do not know how long this will last, but if it lasts 6 months then I will be happy, for an outlay of under £4. I accept no responsibility if anyone tries this on their own hot tub and it all goes balls-up. You take my experience entirely at your own risk.

Hi please update us on this! I bought the same impeller on amazon.ca, but my V2 PCU is still overheating and giving the dreaded e5 error. I have 2 PCU's though so I'll try the other one tomorrow just in case it's another problem.

Also, I see you are in the UK, so I'm wondering if there may be a variation in the pump assembly between North America (I'm in Canada) and the UK - the magnet is so much smaller compared to my broken impeller I'm wondering if the pump assembly it sits in is a different size in the UK?

If you take yours apart again please post a photo of the new Amazon RDEXP Impeller beside the original supplied part so we can all see how they compare.

Below you will see a photo of my original part on the left and Amazon part on the right. Do yours compare the same?

To everyone else in North America, it sounds like the Fluval 304/305 has been working as a replacement?

Thanks everyone - I'm really glad I found this thread!

FYI the Canadian Spa Company has confirmed they do not expect to ever have the impellers again, but they will supply complete pump assemblies with impellers for $200Cdn each including shipping - so I went ahead and bought one so I can rule out if my trouble with the RDEXP Impeller from Amazon was actually not working or if it was due to another problem.

I'll update the thread here once I have some results to share....

Kevin in Vancouver

For reference, here is a link to the part I ordered on Amazon.ca that doesn't seem to work for me:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mxfans-Replacement-Filter-Impeller-Bearing/dp/B07DRBB4WZ

 

IMG_3848.heic

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On 6/15/2020 at 2:08 PM, tenzen said:

Hello all,  

I opened an account just to post this because after weeks of digging, I may have found my solution and wanted to share to help other owners.

Symptoms:  Loud grinding type noise from the PCU (Portable control unit), low water flow, and sometimes a over-temperature error.  

Cause:  Broken magnetic impeller

Repair:  Purchase a Fluval 304/5 Impeller and replacement Ceramic Shaft from your local aquarium supply shop or commonly found on the internet

Guidehttps://support.canadianspacompany.com/en/support/solutions/articles/6000223884-v2-portable-control-unit-disassembly-guide-impeller-replacement     Note: I have a PDF version of this guide, so if they take it offline, I can send it to you.  

Risk:  This will void any warranty you may have, you will not get warranty on the fluval parts due to age, and while it is working in my spa, I dont have years to report that the part properly resists the chemicals and temperature.   Your mileage may vary, follow these instructions at your own risk, dont blame me if this causes you to lose your house, your car and the rest of a country music song.. :-)  

 

Now the Story for those who care to read further: 

I own a Canadian Spa Company Swift current V2:  https://canadianspacompany.ca/collections/portable-spas/products/swift-current-v2?variant=46038840199 and it is just under 1 year old.     Recently it started to get quite loud with a grinding sound, and after calling Canadian Spa Company I was glad to hear my unit was still under warranty; however, they will not have replacement parts for at least another month from now.   I also asked if they wanted the old unit back, no was the answer --- so I pulled out my handyman toolkit and started troubleshooting. 

I found that my impeller has broken away from the magnet and after trying several kinds of epoxy, i didnt find one that bonded well to the magnet and survived the chlorine and temperature, and after a bit of time, the bond always weakened and re-broke.  

I called back Canadian Spa Company and they do not sell impellers, but "helpfully" offered to replace my PCU at $800 or the pump unit (including the impeller) at $400.  (both also currently out of stock)  When I questioned spending $800 a year on a spa in repair parts, they "helpfully" offered to refund me my initial purchase price if I upgraded my unit to their next model.    But do not sell common parts like impellers for that.   

I also could not find anybody else on any forum who found a successful replacement for the impeller, so i went on an adventure, and found that the Fluval 305 Impeller, visually, was a very close match to the original impeller

I spent the $50 for the Impeller knowing that it might not work, but I had to know if i had a way to repair the PCU in the future.   

Sure enough, it has been running now for a week without issue, hoping that it keeps going as that would be a decent way to keep this spa running longer without the support of the manufacturer.  

thanks for reading and I hope this helps somebody else

 

 

 

This has been a huge help - thanks for starting up this thread!
I am in Canada and tried the cheaper option recommended in this forum from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mxfans-Replacement-Filter-Impeller-Bearing/dp/B07DRBB4WZ

It comes with the shaft so is much cheaper to land at your door, but didn't work for me.

I will try Fluval 304/305 with the matching shaft next. So the $50 question is: is yours still working? 

I'll be updating the thread here when I have results. I have 2 PCU's so I can swap parts from either as needed - I actually had 3 but gave one away - all had the same problem: worn out impellers that started off noisy and graduated to an e5 or overheating error.

FYI Canadian Spa Company is now selling pump units (with impellers) for $200Cdn including shipping. I still don't care to be part of a '$200 a year Swift Current Club' but it's better than $800 on a new unit (or $400 on a refurb which they've done for me twice now).

Good luck everyone!
Kevin

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Here are the dimensions of the original factory impeller and ceramic shaft:

Magnet Cylinder Diameter x Length = 20mm x 35mm

Flat Blades Diameter = 30mm 

Width of Flat Blades = 8mm

Total Length of Magnet plus Blades = 55mm

Length of Ceramic Shaft = 75mm

Diameter of Ceramic Shaft = 3mm

(Approximately - I need to bring home a micrometer from work to confirm this - I'll update once I do that)

We need to find something as close to this as possible to solve this problem once and for all.

Whoever finds the closest match should get a prize :)

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