Water Leak

[watzup]

Well after 6 yrs of "trouble free" use, discovered saturday, during my weekly maintenance ritual, that the water level was down about 2 inches.  Having filled it up from the week previous when it was down 1 inch decided to remove the access panel and see what was going on.  Looks like the flexible hose connecting into one of the "shut off gates" is dripping water out of the bottom.  This is the input hose for the pump.  Of course it is in one of the most difficult areas to get to.    It is given that I must drain the tub in all options?? The flex hose has to be sawn off,  install a coupling, and then  I must either bypass the "shut off gate" or buy a new one and also the 90 degree pvc pipe connection to the pump. (The factory left no pvc exposed to glue on new fittings)  So, asking for some advice on how to best tackle this:  1). Remove the motor and all its connections to have acces to this area.  2. Remove the side panel, notice it is next to the screen enclosure and either remove the enclosure OR get a couple of strong guys (sons) to move the tub in its entirety a couple of feet from the screen to have access. Drats!!!

I could browse for the files in this forum but could not find out how to attach,  appreciate any guidance for future.    Tried this instead:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/drip2.jpg     http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/694/drip1.jpg

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

If I were you I would start "fresh" from the suction side of the pump....your material list would look like this: 2" union, 2" sweep 90', 2" gate valve, 2" coupling, and a small section of 2" pipe, glue, primer and rags....of course the tub will have to be drained for this "surgery" to take place.  I know 100% it could be fixed where it sits, of course I do this for a living so if your comfortable moving the spa out and removing a panel that is fine as well, if you wanna save some time buy your self a "cable saw" which can be found cheap at home depot, Lowes, etc. so that you can get in there and cut behind the gate valve without moving the tub.

one other note: not all threaded unions have the same threads so I would remove that union and take it to a local spa place if possible to match it up so that you know the new union will thread onto the pump with no problems...although it looks like a fairly standard waterway union

good luck

[watzup]

Great, that is what I wanted to hear.  When I cut it off, I was going to take the pieces with me to get a match.  Question about the glue up...standard pvc cement or the "blue" stuff that I have used with success on lawn sprinklers etc or is there special glue for hot tub connections.  Also the removable screw on fittings, any pipe dope on the threads or silicon grease or ??  The question about the "gate" as I best remember was the dealer told me that unless I exercised them regularly they were more trouble then they were worth.  I understand that if I were replacing the pump, I would not have to drain the tub by just closing the gates, but like you said, the problem is on the tub side of the gate and those gates do me no good.  I don't know how many normal people get under there and "exercise" their gates    I think after tonight's soak, the power will be off and the drain will begin. 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Great, that is what I wanted to hear.  When I cut it off, I was going to take the pieces with me to get a match.  Question about the glue up...standard pvc cement or the "blue" stuff that I have used with success on lawn sprinklers etc or is there special glue for hot tub connections.  Also the removable screw on fittings, any pipe dope on the threads or silicon grease or ??  The question about the "gate" as I best remember was the dealer told me that unless I exercised them regularly they were more trouble then they were worth.  I understand that if I were replacing the pump, I would not have to drain the tub by just closing the gates, but like you said, the problem is on the tub side of the gate and those gates do me no good.  I don't know how many normal people get under there and "exercise" their gates    I think after tonight's soak, the power will be off and the drain will begin.

I strictly use glues from IPS/Weld-On like shown here:  http://www.ipscorp.com/weldon/lowvoc/lowpvc/pvcmedbodlow  I believe they sell them as small as 1oz. cans as well

also no pipe dope, teflon tape or anything else is needed on the union...it is strictly an O-Ring seal which also means don't go nuts when re-tightening (get it as tight as you can by hand, then a 1/4 turn with a channel lock should be all you need)

[watzup]

OK thanks again.  My local HD has 4 cable saws in stock

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

OK thanks again.  My local HD has 4 cable saws in stock

little tip for the cable saw....once your start "sawing" don't stop, just keep going until your all the way through otherwise you will get it stuck in the "melted plastic" so to speak

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

You might be able to fix it another way. If you can block off enough of the water intakes so that when the pump is running it's sucking air into the leak, you might be able to hit it with primer, then glue, and seal the leak.

[watzup]

Thats a good idea, I can only stick my finger back there and feel around.  Water seems to be coming from the intersection of the gate valve and the flex 2" hose.  I am going to try and have a look at it with a mirror and flashlight today and see if it is there or maybe the bottom of the gate valve is cracked or??  Was only able to find one spa dealer in town that had the traditional gate valve in stock, 2" $25.  Don't know if a ball valve, 2" from HD or L would work and do they measure 2" as ID or OD. 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Thats a good idea, I can only stick my finger back there and feel around.  Water seems to be coming from the intersection of the gate valve and the flex 2" hose.  I am going to try and have a look at it with a mirror and flashlight today and see if it is there or maybe the bottom of the gate valve is cracked or??  Was only able to find one spa dealer in town that had the traditional gate valve in stock, 2" $25.  Don't know if a ball valve, 2" from HD or L would work and do they measure 2" as ID or OD.

you can order everything needed from spa depot for well under a $100...quick glance gate vales are like $16, a union is around $10....you can certainly attempt to repair it, but imo I sleep better at night if I fix it properly esp. for the relatively cheap cost...either way gl

[Spatech_tuo]

Thats a good idea, I can only stick my finger back there and feel around.  Water seems to be coming from the intersection of the gate valve and the flex 2" hose.  I am going to try and have a look at it with a mirror and flashlight today and see if it is there or maybe the bottom of the gate valve is cracked or??  Was only able to find one spa dealer in town that had the traditional gate valve in stock, 2" $25.  Don't know if a ball valve, 2" from HD or L would work and do they measure 2" as ID or OD.

[watzup]

Parts should arrive this Tuesday but extracted the suspected leaking gate valve/flex hose today.  So therein shows the $100 hole .  Looks like the flex hose was not inserted "Square" to the gate valve and that is where the hole ended up.   

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/the65gto/100hole.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/the65gto/interface-1.jpg

[Flyonthewall]

If I were you I would start "fresh" from the suction side of the pump....your material list would look like this: 2" union, 2" sweep 90', 2" gate valve, 2" coupling, and a small section of 2" pipe, glue, primer and rags....of course the tub will have to be drained for this "surgery" to take place.  good luck

i didn't see the picture.  is it a sweep 90, or a street 90?  i personally don't see the great benefit of these gate valves, especially if they can be another cause of a leak. 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

If I were you I would start "fresh" from the suction side of the pump....your material list would look like this: 2" union, 2" sweep 90', 2" gate valve, 2" coupling, and a small section of 2" pipe, glue, primer and rags....of course the tub will have to be drained for this "surgery" to take place.  good luck

i didn't see the picture.  is it a sweep 90, or a street 90?  i personally don't see the great benefit of these gate valves, especially if they can be another cause of a leak.

I'm not a fan either, mostly because they tend to be of "cheaper" quality then say a Jandy valve, but one advantage is serviceability...frustrating for a service tech in colder climates to drain a tub and change out a jet pump when its 5 degrees outside

[watzup]

If I were you I would start "fresh" from the suction side of the pump....your material list would look like this: 2" union, 2" sweep 90', 2" gate valve, 2" coupling, and a small section of 2" pipe, glue, primer and rags....of course the tub will have to be drained for this "surgery" to take place.  good luck

i didn't see the picture.  is it a sweep 90, or a street 90?  i personally don't see the great benefit of these gate valves, especially if they can be another cause of a leak.

I'm not a fan either, mostly because they tend to be of "cheaper" quality then say a Jandy valve, but one advantage is serviceability...frustrating for a service tech in colder climates to drain a tub and change out a jet pump when its 5 degrees outside

I am just a DIY'er, but in this case, I don't think it was the gate valve's failure but rather the flex hose connection to the gate valve.  Either the factory person did not clean the fittings enough, applied the pvc cleaner incorrectly or not enough glue but most certainly did not insert the hose square to the fitting.  I think the same error can be made if there were no gate valve at all when making the flex hose connection to the 2" sweep 90.  I don't know if pump vibration had anything to do with it or not, it took 6 years to show up??. 

[Flyonthewall]

you're right, but it is 2 less joints to have to worry about.  its a shame that all spa owners are at the mercy of the guy who was on the line that day.