Down East Pump Runs Continuously

[bill44]

I have a Down East 2-pump spa that uses Balboa equipment. The primary 2-speed pump recently started running continuously in the low speed (not designed to run continuous). I’ve shut the entire system down, and inspecting the circuit board it appears the pump has a power relay for each pump speed. Can anyone tell me if the problem might be a stuck relay?

I’d be calling the dealer for service if weren’t for 2 issues; the spa is 10 months out of its 2-year warranty, and more importantly, I fell victim to the cashable voucher scam in which Master Spa has participated to the tune of $7,500. I don’t think I’ll pay more.

thanks in advance,

[Roger]

I have a Down East 2-pump spa that uses Balboa equipment. The primary 2-speed pump recently started running continuously in the low speed (not designed to run continuous). I’ve shut the entire system down, and inspecting the circuit board it appears the pump has a power relay for each pump speed. Can anyone tell me if the problem might be a stuck relay?

I’d be calling the dealer for service if weren’t for 2 issues; the spa is 10 months out of its 2-year warranty, and more importantly, I fell victim to the cashable voucher scam in which Master Spa has participated to the tune of $7,500. I don’t think I’ll pay more.

thanks in advance,

Your sure it's not a programming issue? It's not set to filter continuesly?

[bill44]

Your sure it's not a programming issue? It's not set to filter continuesly?

Roger, thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure how it got reprogrammed to filter continuously, but I'll pull the manual and look into it.

I think I can rule out the relay as the problem. The low-speed pump runs continuously in the economy, and sleep modes, but will shutoff after a timed cycle in the standard mode.

Bill

[Jim_The_Jim]

I have a Down East 2-pump spa that uses Balboa equipment. The primary 2-speed pump recently started running continuously in the low speed (not designed to run continuous). I've shut the entire system down, and inspecting the circuit board it appears the pump has a power relay for each pump speed. Can anyone tell me if the problem might be a stuck relay?

I'd be calling the dealer for service if weren't for 2 issues; the spa is 10 months out of its 2-year warranty, and more importantly, I fell victim to the cashable voucher scam in which Master Spa has participated to the tune of $7,500. I don't think I'll pay more.

thanks in advance,

I have spent a lot of time warning people about that scam. I am sorry that you fell for it. It is a predictable, just like the lottery, what percentage of people are able to even perform the required paperwork on that scam. I suggest you do a lot of posting about it so others will know about that company. "If it sounds too good to be true, then it is."

If you can get the information off the circuit board and the control box, serial numbers?; board numbers? dates? It may be a proprietary (exclusive board) for them.

[bill44]

Your sure it's not a programming issue? It's not set to filter continuesly?

Roger you are absolutely correct. A closer look at the manual revealed that if the control panel displays F12 (filtering in hours) the circ pump will run continuously. I set it to F4 and the unit works fine.

[kengorman]

Your sure it's not a programming issue? It's not set to filter continuesly?

Roger you are absolutely correct. A closer look at the manual revealed that if the control panel displays F12 (filtering in hours) the circ pump will run continuously. I set it to F4 and the unit works fine.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the update. I experienced a similar problem. My low speed pump was running continuously for about 2 days and the temperature rose from a set point of 95 degrees up to 105 degrees. I checked the filtration cycle and confirmed it was set to F2 (i.e. 2 hours per 12 hour cycle).

The pump was running in low speed mode regardless of the heating mode (economy, standard, or sleep). I, too, have a Balboa control pack, specifically, a Balboa SUV M-7. I manually cycled power (using the spa disconnect) once a day so it could continue to filter the water, however, after letting it run for a few hours, I would turn it off. Other than the circulation pump, the other motors aren't designed for continuous duty and I was concerned about letting the motors run 24/7.

Last Friday, after letting the tub run for a few hours, I went to turn power off and, surprisingly, the low speed pump had cycled off on its own! It was the first time since the tub was filled (about 7 days), that the low speed pump wasn't running on its own when the tub had power. I left the power on and monitored whether the pump would cycle on.

Do problems like this self resolve? What are the likely causes - I'm thinking that perhaps there may have been a sticky or stuck relay on the control board and the manual power cycles freed the stuck relay. Does this sound plausible?

If so, should I expect a recurrence of the problem?

I called Infinity and they want to send a tech out to the house and replace the circuit board. The tub is running fine now. I'm a firm believer of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it". It doesn't appear to be broken now.

What would you do?

Ken