Hot Tub Trouble Shooting Guide

By Marcus Sheridan

Since our company's inception in 2001, hot tubs have been a significant part of our sales and marketing efforts at River Pools. With over 300 hot tubs in the field at this time, we find that more then 75% of our service calls we receive can be quickly fixed by the homeowner when they are able to diagnosis the spa's problem. In this article, we will cover some of the most common spa service calls as well as what you, the customer, can do if any of these issues ever arise.

Problem #1: Pump Air-Lock

Very often I receive calls from customers telling me that when they turn their pump(s) on they can only hear a buzzing, but nothing is coming out of the jets. My first question in response is: When was the last time you re-filled your tub? The reason why I ask this is because often times, when a spa owner drains and re-fills their hot tub(this should be done every 4-6 months), air gets trapped in the plumbing lines. The result of this is what is referred to as "air-lock". Basically, the pump is locked because the air is preventing water from flowing through it properly. The solution to this problem is a simple one. At each one of a spa's pumps, there is a union used to connect the pump to the internal plumbing. These unions are threaded and can typically be loosened by hand. Once you identify which of your spa's pumps is "locked", the next step is to loosen its union just slightly, until air fizzes out (some water will drip out as well here but it is of no concern). Once you have allowed the air to release, retighten the union. This should always be done hand-tight, and not with a plumber's wrench, as this can cause stress cracks to occur. With the union back to normal, you should be able to turn the pump on again and notice its normal performance has returned.

Problem # 2: Spa Not Reaching Temperature

Another question we often hear is: Why is my spa not heating? Although many times these calls are legitimate, and there really is something malfunctioning with the heater, more often then not if someone's spa is not reaching the proper temperature set on the thermostat it has nothing to do with the heater at all. This is because every spa heater is equipped with a flow sensor. This sensor detects the flow of the water passing by its coils. When water does not pass through the heater fast enough, the heater will automatically shut down. This is a safety feature meant to eliminate any dry-fires stemming from the heater. The most common reason for poor water flow stems from the spa's filter cartridge. When a cartridge filter collects too much debris, water passes through it much slower and therefore can cause the heater to shut down as well. This is the reason why we recommend that our spa customers remove their spa cartridge for 30 minutes if they find the heater is not working. Once this action has been performed, the heater typically comes on and the temperature goes up, which in-turn indicates the filter needs to be cleaned or replaced. This is why spa filters should be sprayed off on a weekly basis (if used more than once a week) and also replaced every 12 months.

Problem #3: Spa Temperature Too Warm

During the summer months, our service department often gets calls from spa-owners to tell us that their spa's water is too hot, well above their set temperature. Because spas are so well insulated, and with the fact that the air inside moves very little, it is only natural that a spa's water temperature reach well over 102 degrees during these warm sunny days. Because spas do not come with a built-in cooler, it's basically impossible to prevent this from happening. The only solution I've seen to this problem is by adding large bags of ice to the water, which of course is only a very temporary solution. Removing the spa's cover can also help, although this can lead to leaves and debris blowing into the spa.

Although there are obviously other spa problems we could discuss here, these are the most common issues we notice. Hopefully this article will help some of you in the future if problems do appear. If these or other problems do arise though, and you are unsure as to how to resolve the issue, please don't hesitate to call our store. We are always happy to answer your questions and also set up a service call if needed.