I have an old Polynesian hot tub that currently has a 120V spa pack. I would like to upgrade it to a 230V heater/controller. I am thinking of going with the Balboa VS501Z so that I can keep both my water pump/motor and air pump. The current controller is pneumatic and and the Balboa would upgrade it to electronic controls. The other reason for this controller is that I am planning on buying the Balboa Dolphin waterproof remote to control my tv and dish receiver. It also allows for control of the tub from the remote.

The only concern I have at this point is the size of the controller. It won't fit where the original controller currently is (see photo). I was thinking of moving the pump more into the far corner of the cabinet and rotating it 90 degrees so the pump would be parrallel to the back wall of the cabinet. Then I would use PVC flex tubing from the pump output to the new heater/controller. I would then run flex pvc tubing from the controller to the filter. The new controller would then fit where the pump and current controller is now. Does anyone see any negatives to doing it this way?



Thanks

h2oski

No negs, just get it done the best way you can.

The old polynesian set ups, and others similar make it a real pain simply because of the hanging filter cannister. Be sure to remove the cannister from the housing flange when removing everything so you don't put any added stress on the plumbing it's connected to.

I didn't even think of how I am going to support that filter since it is now supported by the plumping. I will probably have to make some kind of mount to support the flange portion of the filter. Now I see why you say these types are a pain.

Thanks

h2oski

I was thinking of a better way to install the new spa controller and came up with the idea of rotating the pump housing so the pump outlet is pointing out the side instead of the top. In otherwords I would rotate the entire pump 90 degrees relative to the pump motor. This would allow me to mount my new controller where my current controller is because the outlet could be plumbed around the controller. The only problem I see is that I may have to put a spacer on the motor mount so that there is enough clearance between the pump and the floor. Is there any reason why I can't do this?

No problem with that, however you may have air lock issues when draining/refilling because you'll have a cavity full of air when refilled in the wet end.

Unless you've got a drain plug on the wet end that'll end up being at the top end, you can expect this specific issue.