Quote:
Just so you know- a plumbing diagram is no help in locating a leak in any Hot Spring Spa.
Swine, I'd never thought of using the diagram as a means to find the leak. However, it would be a very useful tool in determining where the lines run BEFORE I hack into the foam blindly and accidentally nick one of the vinyl tubes like I did. I had to remove part of the tubing and put a coupling in to replace the damaged portion. If I had known that there was supposed to be a line in that area, I could have worked faster, yet still avoided the unnecessary incident.
Additionally, it would allow me to ascertain the sum of the plumbing parts, should I decide to rip everything out and start anew.
I come from a more mechanical (small engines, car engines, etc.) background as far as my do it yourself projects are concerned and aftermarket companies create their own documentation (Chilton's, etc.). I'm surprised that the DIYers of the spa and tub industry haven't shared a little more graphical and technical information in a similar manner. I figured that if I looked long enough, I'd find some site that has scans of service manuals, etc. So far, no luck.
The temps have dropped here and all I'm waiting on is an O ring and getting the wiring in the ground before I fire my spa up. I found three leaks. One was a bad union between a piece of flex pipe and an elbow. I replaced that. The next was a sorry installation of a T junction by whoever installed the ozonator. The third was what took the cake. The face plate on the wet end on my jet pump was missing one of the eight screws that holds it on!
This accelerated the deteriation of the O ring gasket and created a weak point in the seal. I spotted the leak during a test run of the spa (sans heater hookup) last week. I could see water dripping from the wet end but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. So, I pulled the heater, circulation pump, and finally the jet pump assemblies out. I was astonished to find that one of the screws on the face plate was missing. To be honest, I can't find any evidence that the screw was ever installed. The other seven screw holes show indentions where the torque depressed the composite (plastic) material. When I pulled the O ring, I noticed that it had dry rotted and was cracked in several places. It probably didn't ever leak until the cracks formed in the O ring. If it weren't for the poor condition of the O ring, I'd just reassemble and replace the missing screw and maybe add a little black RTV silicone to the seal to make sure it never leaks again but I'll wait until the $1.94 part that I paid an additional $7.95 + tax (total $10.03) to ship it less than 500 miles arrives. Thanks
Spa Babes. I guess I should be happy it didn't cost more.
Now, my focus is on the best way to build a new cabinet for the spa. I'd like to make it out of wood. It would be simpler if I didn't build the curves into the corners but if I don't do the curves, I'll probably need to design some way for water relief or shielding for the protruding edges (tops of the sides of the cabinet). I'll look around and see what examples I can find. If anyone knows of any, I'd be glad to look. If you've done the same project and would like to send pictures, etc. My email is my handle at yahoo.com.
Cheers,
Jeff
I was given a Hotspring Sovereign spa. I was told it had a small leak and otherwise worked fine. That leak has rotted the outer 2X4s that make up the base. The rest of the wood appears fine as far as the frame is concerned. However, the skirt (?) (cedar panelling around the spa) finish is dull and the lower edges of it are rotting. I'm about to tear into it to fix the rotten base and then I'll decide on how to best replace the panelling. I've considered building a "skirt for my skirt" and just cut out the rotten parts around the bottom and replace it with some sort of trim. The previous owners said that the ground would get wet on the right side of the spa towards the back (if facing the control panel). So, I'm inclined to think that the leak is at least on the right side of the spa somewhere. That's where I'm going to start my surgery. While I have it apart, I plan to replace the vinyl hoses and most of the hose clamps.
