humming noise

[riddler]

I have a very annoying humming noise coming from just inside the right panel of my Caldera Martinque. Any ideas or suggestions as to what could be causing this . Everything seems to be running fine, but the noise can be somewhat annoying after a while. I am trying to avoid a hefty service call from the dealer. Thanks guys !

[Spatech_tuo]

I have a very annoying humming noise coming from just inside the right panel of my Caldera Martinque. Any ideas or suggestions as to what could be causing this . Everything seems to be running fine, but the noise can be somewhat annoying after a while. I am trying to avoid a hefty service call from the dealer. Thanks guys !

Open up the compartment and you should be able to figure it out. It may be the buzz of the ozonator (normal to some degree) or it could be the circ pump or something else but I'll bet you'll find out pretty quickly. Then tell us what you find.

[riddler]

O.K , I took off the panel and i am 95 % sure the hum is coming from the circ pump. If I put some pressure on it with my hand it tends to quiet things down a bit. It seems to be vibrating and causing other parts to make the hum noise. It started to make a flutter type of sound for a minute or so ,  and then the hum started up again.  My dealer told me to try the garden hose and put some water pressure through the hole where the ozonator water comes out in the tub.  Is this the first sign of needing to replace the pump?? Tub is 6 1/2 yrs old and has been very good to me. No repairs yet !  Thanks for any advice !  By the way , the bad news the dealer gave me was that its about 300 bucks to install a new one !!  Ouch !

[rphman]

My Caldera moorea has been doing this too, I noticed it gets quieter as the water gets older?? I do not have an ozonator. I'ts been a year or so and no problems with it.

[SpaGuy911]

Could be a pump working air out... have you ever tried filling the tub threw the filter line?

[wmccall]

O.K , I took off the panel and i am 95 % sure the hum is coming from the circ pump. If I put some pressure on it with my hand it tends to quiet things down a bit.

Did you look at its mounting screws and see if it was held in place tight?  I had one bolt of a pump that didn't get tightened down and it worked loose and created almost a buzzing sound till tightened.

[PoolandSpatech]

I've run into this a lot with hot tubs with a circ pump.  sometimes it is air in the pump which would make sense if its worse when you fill the tub.  there should be a union in from of the pump you can loosen to bleed the air out.  also they like to vibrate a lot with the mounting screws. you can pick up rubber washers or rubber to make them at your local hardware store.

[rphman]

Spoke too soon!!! Went out to put some chems in and my water is cooler and the display is flashing "----" when I shut the breaker off and then on it trys to start and I can hear the cicr pump trying to start (like a car with a dead battery) then it goes to flashing. On the board when it starts I can see green light at the top of the main board then in the middle a led turns red that is labled D17 and the green goes off. If I wiggle the circ line it try to start. I'm assuming the circ pump is dead. Guess I'll have to call the new dealer in town for warranty and see how they are.

[rphman]

Back up and running! Took the tech 1/2 hour to swap out the pump, he put in the original style (blue pump) that supposedly Watkins doesn't make anymore, guess they still have some left, he told me that this was a better pump as the newer one is all plastic. Now to see the bil,l they mentioned a trip charge ($75) plus what ever the warranty didn't pay for. I know they can charge a trip fee but can they charge above what Watkins pays them?? I will give them an A+ for service I called yesterday and he was here first thing today. If the bill is reasonable might have to start buying chems from them.

[SerjicalStrike]

How far away from the dealer are you?

[ejf The Spa Guy]

On warranty calles most manufactures pay a flat fee per service. Depending on if it is electrical, plumbing leaks. etc. usually 50 -75 dollars wether the job takes 10 minutes or 2 hours, they usually do not cover the trip charge of fuel just the part and the flat rate labor charge.

[Tman122]

On warranty calles most manufactures pay a flat fee per service. Depending on if it is electrical, plumbing leaks. etc. usually 50 -75 dollars wether the job takes 10 minutes or 2 hours, they usually do not cover the trip charge of fuel just the part and the flat rate labor charge.

And this folks would be why I struggle doing warranty work for dealers as an independent. 50-75 bucks for 2 hours and no fuel. I have had calls take 15 minutes but they were 45 minutes away. I burn 8-10 bucks worth of fuel and almost 2 hours. I have 100 bucks invested and they are going to give me 50-75......seems like a loosing deal? Or is it just me?

[rphman]

How far away from the dealer are you?

I'm 3 miles from the new dealer

[SerjicalStrike]

Wow, so $75 for 1/2hr of work and basically 0 drive time.  I would hope they don't charge anything else.

[rphman]

Wow, so $75 for 1/2hr of work and basically 0 drive time.  I would hope they don't charge anything else.

Still waiting for the bill, will update when the surprise comes!