I would try just using a coating of silicone for the sealant. But, I do wonder, might you have a hairline crack in the nipple from the manifold? In my experiance, it is unusual for these to leak, especially after attaching a new section of hose!

Well when I removed the vinyl from the nipple it slipped off very easy with no resistance, kinda like it was slack, someone should invent a barb that slips over and glues over those smooth nipples.I was thinking the same thing,about the hairline crack, but it is very hard to tell, any way to use a dye and see if it gets sucked up? Thats a much bigger job, where do you get those manifolds are they custom made for the industry?

Hi Charger,

Just went out again with my glasses , magnifier and lantern light, I could not see any hairline cracks. I did notice that in removing the old hoses I made some razor cuts the length of the nipple and this could possibly create a channel for the water to flow thru. I guess I need to lightly sand, I was reading a tech from the spa doctor and he talks about using Oatey Green or blue to build up. Put it on then let it dry. Plus some silicone as you say. Thanks for the help.

Just had another thought, the nipples are slightly upward pointing, can I use an eyedropper to fill the body with a food dye and wait to see if it comes thru anywhere?

You could use an eye dropper for food coloring, but I don't think that will do what you are looking for. If you do have a hairline crack, if you LIGHTLY insert an object into the opening that is tapered, it will flare the crack and make it visible.

BTW the manifolds are often available. They are speciffically made for spa use, and I'm not positive if spababes has them listed or not, but I do know they are out there for replacement.

Hi Charger,


You were right it appears to be a very fine crack in the manifold, I have the area but not found crack yet. This is a 2" manifold with 4 3/4" inch nipples that glues into another 2" manifold with 4 3/4" nipples, you can understand the job to replace the manifold. Remove,repair, replace 8 water lines plus extending the 2" lines to compensate for the removed lengths. I'm leaning towards 2 part marine epoxy or some type of fiberglass and resin matting to just repair the existing manifold. Your opinion and any possible idea would be appreciated.

Is this what you were looking for?

Made by Waterway, part number 425-5040.

Is your manifold for Air or Water? If it's air, you can get a 2 part plastic repair epoxy at Wal-mart for a very reasonable price. If it is for water, and the crack isn't severe, you can take a medium weight pvc cement (use primer too) and build up the area SLOWLY, layer by layer, letting it dry fully between coats. You only need to use the primer on the manifold, not between layers. I've done this personally on jets. The two part plastic epoxy may be strong enough for pressure, but I haven't tested that out as of yet. I've only used the build up method and had great success with it, so as far as marine grade epoxy, it might work just fine as well, I really don't know.

Hi Charger,


Not exactly mine. All my nipples are on one side pointing in same direction, and my nipples are not barbed(why not???) like the one you show. Otherwise the ends of the body seem the same. The leak is slow and hard to pinpoint, almost as if the plastic is porous.These are all water lines. I think the only benefit of marine grade epoxy is that it dries under water.

Wow, I think I found it! I found a drop of water on the side of the pipe coming out from the body, it's a tiny pinhole. Its either a manufacturing defect that took time to show or some chemicals must have eaten away at a weak spot of the PVC wall. Ever seen/heard of this, I'm new to spa's so I'm just guessing. I'm gonna try the primer, pvc cement buildup. I(t's just luck that I was ever able to zero in on this manifold and find that leak.Along these lines I know there is a stop leak product, like for radiators, the overall consensus is not that great, but maybe in a situation like this it could be good preventative medicine. The spa was made in 2000(not that old) and works great otherwise. Thnaks for all your time, again.