We just purchased a house with a Tiger River Siberian spa on the deck (I think installed in 2000). The only visible problems are a few missing parts on some of the jets, warped/discolored siding, and some insulation shavings behind the access panel (mice?).

When I tried filling the spa today, water started running out of the heater (No Fault 6000). The plastic end was cracked - it looks to me from freezing. I would like to go ahead and find out what other problems I've got rather than replacing parts one by one. I've removed the heater, and thought about connecting the inlet hose to the outlet hose and filling/running the spa - however there is another, small hose that runs from the heater into a hole at the back of the equipment bay. Can I just plug this up and go ahead and fill and start up the spa?

I've never owned a spa before, and other than having read the manual and some of the postings in this forum, I know next to nothing on the topic. I did own a house with a pool years ago, and understand water chemistry. Any other suggestions?

Finally, are replacement parts available for these heaters or do I just need to buy a new one (or is that a matter for another post in another category of this forum?). Thanks in advance for any guidance.

That will work fine, bypass the heater and clamp off the line to see if there are any other leaks. If there are more leaks in the internal plumbing then you would be in for some real work to fix it. Good luck.