Bullfrog A7L - Brand new and already problematic

[Hottubguy]

I love these types of threads where the new spa owner comes on and airs his grievances but then you never hear from them again!

[mightydrake]

Quick Follow-Up:
I have been on vacations for a month, then had to wait for the dealer to come in to have a look at the Spa.
Now since beginning of June I have 3 dead speakers. Dealer is ordering 3 new one.

For the vibration issue: The repairman came, have no idea how to fix that. Only solution was to ask a complete replacement from Bullfrog. Got a call from my dealer (Mermaid Spa today), said they have no idea what to do, too expensive to diagnose/repair and that they need to contact BullFrog. At this point, they are not willing to try to repair that on their own.

Will update again once I hear back from the dealer.

[Quickbeam]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I would be interested to know how this is resolved.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 So was the vibration from the jet pack or did they bother looking at that.  If you remove it does it go away?

[mightydrake]

So was the vibration from the jet pack or did they bother looking at that.  If you remove it does it go away?

If I remove the jetpack the vibration goes away. Whenever there is a jetpack (I tried all 5) in this particular seat, we get the noise/vibration. I noticed that it's worst when all jetpacks are on full power on this pump.

I don't know if it's a problem with the pipe, it's as if the sealing around the jetpack and the tub is not good (seems like water flowing between the jetpacks connector and the seat socket causes the vibration/noise).

[Tman122]

So was the vibration from the jet pack or did they bother looking at that.  If you remove it does it go away?

If I remove the jetpack the vibration goes away. Whenever there is a jetpack (I tried all 5) in this particular seat, we get the noise/vibration. I noticed that it's worst when all jetpacks are on full power on this pump.

I don't know if it's a problem with the pipe, it's as if the sealing around the jetpack and the tub is not good (seems like water flowing between the jetpacks connector and the seat socket causes the vibration/noise).

It does sound like pressure getting past the pak to shell seal and causing resination. Sadly it would have to be in the shell (pak slot) if none of your paks made it go away. Bullfrog guys, are there tolerances that may have slipped in that particular pak slot? Can a pak or pak slot be shimmed to create a tighter fit? Some kind of oversize sealing ring/s tighten it up?

I never look at them close.

[FL Person]

Quick Follow-Up:
I have been on vacations for a month, then had to wait for the dealer to come in to have a look at the Spa.
Now since beginning of June I have 3 dead speakers. Dealer is ordering 3 new one.

For the vibration issue: The repairman came, have no idea how to fix that. Only solution was to ask a complete replacement from Bullfrog. Got a call from my dealer (Mermaid Spa today), said they have no idea what to do, too expensive to diagnose/repair and that they need to contact BullFrog. At this point, they are not willing to try to repair that on their own.

Will update again once I hear back from the dealer.

Any update?

FL Person

[FL Person]

It's ironic that I was the last to post in this thread, prior to buying a Bullfrog.  I now have an R6 and have a similar problem that I have diagnosed to be a bad seal on a Jetpack.  The o-ring/gasket on the bottom of the Jetpack is cracked and the glue/silicon has that is supposed to retain the gasket has failed (the gasket can be removed, while the gaskets on the other two Jetpacks are secured in place with glue/silicone).

I'm already three+ weeks into waiting for the heater to be replaced under warranty.  I will be calling my dealer again this morning to find out what they intend to do about the faulty Jetpack gasket/seal/o-ring.

For those interested, the symptoms are similar to what was described by the OP;  with the pump running, there are all kinds of sounds and vibrations emitted from the Jetpack.  But the most obvious indication of a bad seal is the water that is clearly being forced up behind the Jetpack.

FL Person

[Hottubguy]

It's ironic that I was the last to post in this thread, prior to buying a Bullfrog.  I now have an R6 and have a similar problem that I have diagnosed to be a bad seal on a Jetpack.  The o-ring/gasket on the bottom of the Jetpack is cracked and the glue/silicon has that is supposed to retain the gasket has failed (the gasket can be removed, while the gaskets on the other two Jetpacks are secured in place with glue/silicone).

I'm already three+ weeks into waiting for the heater to be replaced under warranty.  I will be calling my dealer again this morning to find out what they intend to do about the faulty Jetpack gasket/seal/o-ring.

For those interested, the symptoms are similar to what was described by the OP;  with the pump running, there are all kinds of sounds and vibrations emitted from the Jetpack.  But the most obvious indication of a bad seal is the water that is clearly being forced up behind the Jetpack.

FL Gulf

3 weeks for a heater replacement?  Wonder if bullfrog had a bad run In the production run

[FL Person]

3 weeks for a heater replacement?  Wonder if bullfrog had a bad run In the production run

I don't know.  Ironically, about 20 minutes after posting this morning, the repair contractor called and said they'd like to come to install the replacement heater   So, the new heater is in but I have't yet refilled the tub.

With regard to the torn and loose gasket at the bottom of the Jetpack, the repair guy bedded it in a think layer of silicone.  It's still setting-up.  He's going to order a replacement since this one is torn but hopefully it'll seal properly for the time being, once the silicone cures.

Here's a couple pictures of the gasket.  You shouldn't be able to remove this from the Jetpack.  It should be glued (siliconed) in place.

FL Person

[BullFrogSpasMN]

It's ironic that I was the last to post in this thread, prior to buying a Bullfrog.  I now have an R6 and have a similar problem that I have diagnosed to be a bad seal on a Jetpack.  The o-ring/gasket on the bottom of the Jetpack is cracked and the glue/silicon has that is supposed to retain the gasket has failed (the gasket can be removed, while the gaskets on the other two Jetpacks are secured in place with glue/silicone).

I'm already three+ weeks into waiting for the heater to be replaced under warranty.  I will be calling my dealer again this morning to find out what they intend to do about the faulty Jetpack gasket/seal/o-ring.

For those interested, the symptoms are similar to what was described by the OP;  with the pump running, there are all kinds of sounds and vibrations emitted from the Jetpack.  But the most obvious indication of a bad seal is the water that is clearly being forced up behind the Jetpack.

FL Person

3 weeks for a Heater? we get them in 5 days and that's assuming we have to order it from the factory which is rare because we always stock heaters.  If the JetPak is bad and/or the gasket won't maintain it's proper fit just have them warranty it...these are issues that can be resolved with a phone call from your dealer to Bullfrog, they take care of stuff very very fast and even have a full online order system your dealer can order direct from

[tmaestas95]

I'm already three+ weeks into waiting for the heater to be replaced under warranty.  I will be calling my dealer again this morning to find out what they intend to do about the faulty Jetpack gasket/seal/o-ring.

FL Person

Out of curiosity, what was wrong with your heater?  I'm having the heater in my 2 month old R8 replaced on Thursday - there is an intermittent buzzing sound coming from it when pump 1 is on low that I posted about here http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,20140.0.html that the dealer diagnosed as the element vibrating against the inside of the heater. 

[FL Person]

Out of curiosity, what was wrong with your heater?  I'm having the heater in my 2 month old R8 replaced on Thursday - there is an intermittent buzzing sound coming from it when pump 1 is on low that I posted about here http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,20140.0.html that the dealer diagnosed as the element vibrating against the inside of the heater.

Basically, the same problem, though I'd describe mine as a clanging, not a buzzing.  And it wasn't intermittent.  If the pump was in low, there was noise.  I had the tub on the default filter times.  Filter cycle 1 was 6pm-8pm.  I tend to sit on the lanai at those times and the noise was driving me insane.  It's now been replaced but I changed Filter 1 to 3pm-5pm, anyway.

The repair guys said they often open the heater and bend the element away from the housing to eliminate contact.  But since this was brand new, he'd just go ahead and replace the entire unit under warranty.

FL Person

[FL Person]

If the JetPak is bad and/or the gasket won't maintain it's proper fit just have them warranty it...these are issues that can be resolved with a phone call from your dealer to Bullfrog, they take care of stuff very very fast and even have a full online order system your dealer can order direct from

I'll refill the tub today and see if the gasket seals properly.  If not, my next call will be to Bullfrog.
 
FL Person

[FL Person]

Just had another Bullfrog Jetpak gasket break free.  Terrible quality control. 

I'm beginning to wonder if my spa was built on a Friday afternoon.

FL Person