Aquaterra Spa - FLO trouble

[august87]

Hi Folks,

I inherited an Aquaterra brand hot tub with the purchase of my home. I had it up and running for several weeks to start the fall and it was working perfectly. Then I removed the filter to clean it, and when I placed it back I noticed the control panel displayed the "FLO' message. I discovered in the manual that you're not suppose to remove the filter before powering off the hot tub. I'm kicking myself for that now!

There's plenty of water in the tub, I bought a new filter which is now installed, and cracked open some fittings in an attempt to purge any air in the lines. I'm not seeing any accessible flow sensors to investigate and am wondering what I could have damaged or screwed up by running the spa without a filter. I even tried draining the whole thing and refilling it. Nothing has worked yet. It's just so strange since it was working well before I removed the filter for cleaning. Any pointers would be appreciated

Thank you!

[In Hot Water]

Removing a filter with the power on may suck debris into the system, but don't beat yourself up for that.

If it did, then removing the intake union and checking for obstruction would verify that as the problem.

if you have noticed any floating objects missing ("Scum Ball") or ("Foam Spider") then yes, pump is clogged.

Other than that it may be a coincidence that the pump failed.

We will need more information, does the motor sound like it is coming on, Does it sound "Strained" if so?

Is the FLO error correct with poor jet performance?

etc

[august87]

Thanks for the response!

I'll check that intake union. But I assume that requires draining of the hot tub first?

The motor does kick on and runs a short time before shutting down and showing the 'FLO' message. There is no movement from the jets whatsoever. I'm not sure if it sounds strained or not. I sort of forget what the normal sound was like.