EB66 Posted November 19, 2022 Report Share Posted November 19, 2022 (edited) Hi all, I have a hot tub with a single two-speed pump. Sometime over the past week, the pump became much more noisy (both on low speed and high speed) and it moves much less water than before. I don't think it's an airlock because I haven't drained the tub recently. The hot tub is a generic "Jazzi" tub with Balboa internals. I recorded a couple videos of the behavior. The first video is me turning the pump on low and then on high. You'll notice the jets aren't moving water all that much despite being on high. https://youtube.com/shorts/ckycQvIKyIE?feature=share The second video is filmed right next to the pump (warning, it's loud): https://youtu.be/edyQd4Re7XY To the more trained ears on this forum: what's this sound like to you? Is it ok to keep using the hot tub when the pump is in a condition like this? The pump still circulates water so the hot tub heats up. The hot tub belongs to a vacation rental so I'm hesitant to take it out of commission until it can be repaired. Thank you! Edited November 19, 2022 by EB66 Additional question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In Hot Water Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 That is an LX pump wit a tendency to have the face of the impeller shear off, and grind itself to a horrible sounding death. Count on replacing the "Wet End" This is of course without actually being there. You may have also sucked in a toy, or bypass valve or the like. Either way, the gate valves can be closed with the power off, and you can loosen the front union to see what the deal is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EB66 Posted November 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 @inhotwater Thank you for the tip, I appreciate it! Just curious, how would it be possible for something to become lodged in the pump intake if the filter and screen have never been removed? Internal components can spontaneously break off and become lodged on the intake side of the pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted November 30, 2022 Report Share Posted November 30, 2022 4 hours ago, EB66 said: Internal components can spontaneously break off and become lodged on the intake side of the pump? Yes they can... Usually the spring loaded flapper at the bottom of the filter housing called a filter bypass valve. Scum bugs have a way of mysteriously getting past filters. https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/52483-filter-bypass-valve/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EB66 Posted December 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2022 I just thought I'd update this with the conclusion of what happened. @inhotwater called it perfectly. It's an LX pump and something had separated/sheared off inside the impeller, but somewhat miraclously was still allowing the back side of the impeller to spin. So it was still moving around, but only at ~30% the normal rate and sounded pretty bad. The whole wet end needs to be replaced just as @inhotwater predicted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted December 8, 2022 Report Share Posted December 8, 2022 Thanks for the update. Gold Star for @inhotwater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cusser Posted December 8, 2022 Report Share Posted December 8, 2022 2 hours ago, CanadianSpaTech said: Thanks for the update. Gold Star for @inhotwater And chicken dinner: "winner, winner, chicken dinner !!! My 1988 CalSpa has a Hayward pump/motor, and I either replaced its pump portion (wet end) or replaced its leaky impeller shaft seal, can't remember as it was like 25 years ago.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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