First post in this forum...when I need help, naturally!

Found that my Laing circulation pump stopped working a few days ago. It always had a vibration to it, so I'm guessing it might have frozen or something (won't know until I yank the thing out). Anyways, the display was alternating OH and FLO error codes. I "rebooted" the spa, and it just gets the FLO error now.

Can I safely assume that I was getting the OH error because the circ pump likely failed when the heater was on, thus overheating the water in the heater "core" itself?

Another question: I have already replaced the circulation pump once. I'm hoping that I can cannibalize parts from both pumps and get a working one going. In order to test it out, is it okay to very briefly run the pump dry, just to see if it works? Or is there a better way to safely bench test it without having to install the thing?

I wouldn't waste 10 seconds on it and swap in a more reliable and less expensive version:

http://spapartsnet.com/Spa-Pumps/Circul ... 5_1_1.html

Cheaper?

In the long run yes Swine.

Once the plumbing has been done you won't have to go back to the original, and I've never had a failure rate with GF that I have had with LG. The GF can tolerate worse water condtions longer - years longer.

I've been especially disappointed with LG since they force pulled all Noryl pumps for spas from their regional distributors a few years ago to give the oem's and high volume distros sole source availability.

I'm tired of warped and clogged up rotors, the ease at which they fail and outright quit operating because of out of balance problems, physical mounting issues (they really all should be mounted vertically), garbage accumulation etc.

Note what the poster said:
Another question: I have already replaced the circulation pump once.

How many Leisure Bay spas with 15 year old grey grundfos pumps have you serviced and that old thing is still pumping?

I'm also in the parts business and we get tons of sob stories about failure after failure of LG pumps. I don't mind repeat business where people pay us money for failed parts we sold them in the previous 2-3 years, but to take advantage of it in favor of a specific brand isn't right.

Pageup: I did actually see the "Cheaper way" link for the Grundfos unit prior to posting, and will consider it. Room is a bit tight under the spa (Marquis), so I'll have to get creative.

I still intend to try my "cannibalization" fixit approach with my two dead Laings, at least to give it a shot. But I might order your suggested unit as a hot spare, in case my handiwork doesn't last.

Also, I had asked:


Is my theory valid? My biggest fear is that I'll put the new pump in, and I'll still have overheating problems.

Thanks for the info!

That's the typical result... circ pump with limited flow - eventually fails and heater gets too close to oh temp.

Only way to be sure is to get the circ pump working first.

Just following up:

Well, I quickly determined that trying to combine parts from my two dead Laings wasn't going to work. So I went ahead and got a Grundfos (per Pageup's recommendation) and the requisite plumbing fittings to convert from 3/4 threaded to the 1" barbs, and all is working again, after a lengthy battle to get everything tightened up and leak free. Not sure why it was so much harder to tighten things up this time than the first time I replaced the Laing. I had to run to HD and get a large pair of Channel-lock pliers to get enough leverage and grip. It'll be a lot easier next time, now that I have flexible tubing instead of the hard-plumbing. But hopefully I won't have to do this again for many years.

I can't help but think my second Laing was defective from the get-go. I bought it from a spa warehouse about 30 miles from home. It had a very noticeable vibration from the start; enough to cause the aluminum electrical box on the heater to rattle sometimes. The Grundfos makes almost zero noise...much better!

Curiosity question: what would a typical service call to replace a circ pump cost? I.e., how much are my sore knees, back, and narfed-up hands worth?

Anyways, thanks all!

350-650 depending upon how hungry the tech is... and whether or not they're having a good day, whether or not traffic was bad, a/c was out in the van, or if we're talking an up and coming shop with all new vans, service equipment etc, I've seen as much as:

'ahem, well your spa is too old and you need a new one, because they don't make parts for this thing anymore - lemme talk to my boss and we'll see what he can give you on a trade in '.

When I first got into this business back in 96, I couldn't stand circ pumps... and hated grundfos. Little did I know that these stupid little things outlast everything I've ever seen since, and are a gem of a replacement circ pump for just about everything around. They also tolerate bad water chemistry better too - but bad water chemistry will still eat them up in the long run too so be cautious. I just pulled a grundfos circ pump out of an old cal spa that had been running for more than 15 years... it finally gave up for the gfci tripping. The internal seals gave out feeding water to the electrical parts - but it still pumped water!

I'm a fan of circ pump systems now, simply because replacing a complete spa pack is so much easier if the spa was designed for one. No bothering with 2" plumbing to a new control system heater from the main pump, just go ahead and plumb the existing grundfos spa pump output directly to the new system heater - (or if it had another brand circ pump, install a grundfos to eliminate call backs) - and wala.. new system operates 24/7/365 without problems.

When you were talking about having difficulty working with the plumbing to the new grundfos pump, well... it's like this. Get rid of and forget everything that was 3/4 in there before. Get about 5-10 feet of 1" fiber webbed flex... and just work it in anyway you can, just be sure that the suction lines stay low. Discharge lines from the pump to the heater can go anywhere they need. Idea is to do it all up without kinking the lines.

Glad to hear of your success with your installation. Now that you've done all this, next time (and hopefully a long time from now) you won't have to work so hard for sure.


Best of luck and thanks for posting your results.