Hi hope that you may help me here. I bought a hot tub in 2001 right before my 1st back surgery and it worked great, loved it. Next year it worked fine, etc. Now here we are fall of 2004 (3 back surgeries total now) and I really need my hot tub to be working and something bad I think is happening.

The pump started making a funny noise, almost like something was vibrating or a piece was rattlling around when it cycles either on high or low. I also noticed that the water level was down about an inch from the water line and I knew that was not right, I'm the only one that uses it.

So I removed the wooden side that gives access to the pump and insides. First I saw that there was water all underneath the pump basically in the area where seals are (looking at a diagram gave me that idea).

I cannot feel the water leaking out, but it puddles just below that area and I canot pin point the 'sound' that it's making. So last nite I just turned power off from it until I can figure out what to do. I have a 6 person Viking Spa with a Balboa pump inside.

Any ideas? I'm ready to remove the pump and 'finance' lol a new one just for the sake that I cannot afford it to be down for too long of a period. Is it hard to remove a pump and install a new one? I have the shut off valves on each side of the pump so water mess will be minimal, just need to get one of those wrenches big enough to turn the collars on the pvc. Whew I got winded sorry... Would it be worth my while to just call a spa repairman?

Linda

Hi Linda,

I'm about to replace a pump with a bad seal (same puddle beneath the junction of the wet end and the motor with rust showing on the shaft). I just ordered a pump from spadepot.com. I've ordered from them in the past and they've always served me well, so I'll give them a try on their pumps. They sell AO Smith pumps and Waterway wet ends which I've heard are decent brands.

Here's a link to a page on their site where they discuss replacing a pump:
http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/pumps.htm

I think the most important thing is to look at the old pump and find out what voltage it is (115V or 230V), the horsepower (normally 1 - 6 HP), the speeds (1 or 2), the amperage draw (it may have two amp ratings for high/low speed; i.e. 10A/3.4A), and the piping intake/output sizes. You want to make sure you replace it with something that has the same ratings and sizes so you don't over or underpower your spa and so it fits with your existing plumbing. For example, you wouldn't want to replace a 1 HP pump with a 4 HP pump, and likewise you wouldn't want to install a 1 HP pump if the old one had 4 HP. Also check the frame size (48 or 56) on the old pump. I don't know if it's critical to match it when you buy an entire pump already assembled, but my tub had a 56 frame pump so I bought the same type. Also check the phyiscal dimensions of your old pump to make sure the new one will fit within the same cavity in your spa cabinet. Some cabinets are packed pretty tightly.

From what I can see, it can be a DIY replacement if you can get matching sizes on the fittings. Many pump dealers sell unions to match your plumbing so if the spa plumbing is 1.5 inch and your pump has 2 inch threaded intake/output ends, the unions can "reduce" it down to your existing plumbing size. Or your tub may already have the reducing unions on the plumbing to make it work with a pump with 2 inch ends. The spadepot.com link I gave above has more info about this and I found it helpful.