Everything’s working great - cleaned up the SPA, bought a new soft cover and thermometer – set for the Oregon winter, right – WRONG!

Now I have a plumbing leak somewhere! It’s not in the equipment bay, so it has to be underneath (in the very well insulated plumbing fittings) somewhere. Now I’m looking for your expert advise on how to best tackle this repair dilemma.

FYI – My 1988 (yes that’s 1988) Sundance Supra Longer is basically completely rebuild now (from an Equipment Bay perspective), and the fiberglass and red cedar skirt are in excellent shape. Unfortunately (now that I have a leak), its also very well insulated.

How do I get to all the plumbing fittings? Any tips on how to tell which fitting it is – short of flipping the SPA over, removing all the insulation, elevating it, re-filling it, and watch and wait????

I hope I haven't responded to your question too late. What I have done in the past to determine where the leak is in a multiple jet spa, such as a Sundance, is to separate the tub into 3 secitions. What I did was place painter's drop cloth in the tub, and attaching it with duct tape, dividing the spa in 3 sections, one being the foot well, and the other two being the sides with the majority of the jets. Then I filled them each separately, evenly, until the tub was full. Then I placed 2 vials of food coloring in each of the side partitions, leaving the foot well clear. That will at least narrow down where abouts the leak is, depending on what color leaks out. My experiance with Sundance spas is the models with the vertical jets in the bottom of the foot wells are the likely culprit, since they retain water and then often freeze, cracking the jets. There are repair pieces available for this exact issue, or you can replace the whole jet (as I have done). Be warned, however, you will spend a lot of time removing a lot of insulation, and can easily rupture a good line in the process. My best tool is a small prybar, removing little chunks of insulation at a time. My first experiance, using a steak knife, left me replacing about a half a dozen lines that were fine, due to my excitement in cutting the insulation, and the knife didn't know the difference between insulation and hose.

GOOD LUCK! line leaks in a well insulated tub are a virtual nightmare!