Air Valve Trouble

[Bill_Stevenson]

I had a service call yesterday.  The air valve for the neck jets on my Envoy was making a loud air intake noise.  The valve body is split according to the service guy.  He also found that the air jet valve for the adjacent corner seat was not working properly.  Two new valves are on order.

Questions:  Could I have done something to cause these valves to fail?  If so, what?  Are these valves subject to failure?  The dealer says that they don't stock these valves because they rarely if ever have needed them.  Is this credible?

Thanks,

Bill

[Spatech_tuo]

I had a service call yesterday.  The air valve for the neck jets on my Envoy was making a loud air intake noise.  The valve body is split according to the service guy.  He also found that the air jet valve for the adjacent corner seat was not working properly.  Two new valves are on order.

Questions:  Could I have done something to cause these valves to fail?  If so, what?  Are these valves subject to failure?  The dealer says that they don't stock these valves because they rarely if ever have needed them.  Is this credible?

Thanks,

Bill

I think what he's saying is credible. I doubt you could have been the cause.

[mark 2550]

Who knows my local hotsprings dealer seem's to tell me of every horror story about other manufacture's problem's so maybe I'll just the choose the tub we both like not alway's the most popular decsion ?

[cappykat]

I heard those horrow stories also...about the "other" guys.  We went with what we liked.

[wrobo]

Bill,

I own a Niagara, which we know is made by Watkins, which makes your spa (Envoy).  I say this because there might be a possibility that the air control valves used by the Caldera and HS are similar (or the same).  I am sure that Chas can ring in on this, seeing that he sells both.

I am on my 6th air control replacement (some of which are being replaced a second time).  I actually called up Watkins to see if I was doing anything wrong.  They said no - they occasionally come out of alignment (I would say that they should substitute the word regularly for occasionally).  I also asked if there was any way that they could send me a few replacement valves themselves, so that I could just pop them in.  A $60-70 service call seems like an awful lot to spend for a $5-$10 part that just twist in.  Watkins stated that I just should go through the dealer.  I will do so - I did my best to try and keep warranty costs down for them.

I just wanted to chime in to share my experience - and let you know that the problem is not unique.

Jeff

[mxw128]

 He also found that the air jet valve for the adjacent corner seat was not working properly.  Two new valves are on order.

Bill,

What was the other air control valve doing that made him say it wasn't working properly?

[aquaman]

2nd air control valve here on my less than 1 yr old  tiger river bengal. Its nice to have a good dealer and a good warrentee as this is where the higher initial cost of a better spa pays for itself.

[jsimo7]

It seems like it shouldn't fail that soon. I have a Envoy 4mos old I hope it doesn't give me trouble for a long while.

[Chas]

The only ones I have had to replace were ones my delivery crew bumped or banged while delivering.

I don't know how they do it, but they have messed up three over the past year.

Well, one was a stray tree branch which just didn't want to get out of the way as the spa came through, and I don't know what happened on the others.

We did have to order the parts, because we haven't had enough trouble with them to keep any on hand.

I have seen the Diverter valves get broken by large people climbing in and out over them - those handles are bigger than the air controls and tend to stick out a bit more.

[Bill_Stevenson]

Thanks everyone.  My dealer is very reputable and responded by sending their service man out without even being asked.  All they knew was that one valve was making a loud air intake noise.  He checked all the valves on his own initiative while he was at the house.  I have every confidence that this problem is minor and will be rectified quickly.

The second valve is simply not working at all.  Meaning that in any position the jets work the same.  All of the valves are wide open, all the pumps on high, so that is not the problem.  I can't tell if the valve failed open or closed, but my guess is open.

Regards,

Bill

[tonyp]

I had a similar problem with my Envoy.  Seat diagonal from the filters.  Control did not work,  Turned out to be a mis-aligned jet.  Service checked over the whole spa and even replaced the aux. panel for a problem that I would have never noticed.  It was responding sluggishly.