Help with Changing the Water

[paul]

I am having diffculty draining my spa (2005 Sundance Optima) so that I may change the water.  I attached the garden hose to the hole in the cabinet through which the water is supposed to drain, and pulled out on the connection in order to commence the flow of water.  No water comes out.  The water flows out, though slowly, when the hose is not attached, but stops flowing out when the hose is attached.  I checked the hose, which is working fine when I run water through it from the outside faucet.

Any suggestions?

[jim97219]

Well, here's what I do.  Is your spigot at a point that's lower than the lowest part of the tub?  Mine is so I just let it siphon out. Hook up a hose to the spigot then run it to the tub.  Turn the spigot on until there's water coming out of the hose into the tub. Turn off the water and immediately unhook the hose from the spigot. You've now got the siphon going and the tub will drain itself.  If you've got more than one hose, just repeat the process with each hose.  You may have to put a weight on the end of the hose.  You should be able to get down to about an inch or less of water if you work at it.  Once you're to that point, just get out your shop vacuum and finish it off.

Other people will suggest getting a submersible pump, which is a good idea but I'm too cheap to get one.

Good luck and don't hesitate to post if you have any more questions.  This is a great forum!

Jim

[Brewman]

Sounds like your drain valve might not be opening all the way for some reason, like it may be clogged or something.  Have you spoken to your dealer about this?
It'd possibly be a warranty repair if the valve isn't working.

Possibly they changed the drains since I got my 2003 Optima- I did my water change this past Saturday, and it took about 40 minutes or so to drain.  I use a 3/4" garden hose that's about 100' long and I run it to the pond behind the house.  The ground drops by at least 6' in that span, so maybe having the outlet of the hose that much lower than the spa drain helps.

[wmccall]

I've seen tubs where you have to twist that connection to open it. I have not looked at the drain of this tub, but on some right where the hose connects twisting it counter clockwise opens it.

[marks]

As said above I would recommend a sump pump.  I bought mine at Home Depot for about $70.  It takes about 20 minutes to empty the spa.  Another great thing is I don't even think twice about emptying it now.  If the water starts to go bad I just empty it, no big deal.

[paul]

thanks for the suggestions.  I am placing the other end of the hose over a 6 foot wall that separates my backyard from the street.  maybe that is the problem.  but I don't know what else to do as I think it's the only way I can drain the tub without flodding the lawn in my backyard

[DPS]

Water won't travel uphill with just gravity pushing it.  You have a few choices.  Find a spot where you can drain the water that is below the level of the spa, or use a pump to pump it over the wall.  You can start a siphon by holding one end of the hose in front of a high flowing jet.  Make sure that the other end of the hose is laying lower than the bottom of the spa.  When water starts flowing out of the end of the hose, drop the end you are holding to the bottom of the footwell area and let it siphon out.  As long as the "spa end" stays submerged the water will continue to flow from the other end.

[bulmer4nc]

We have a 2004 Optima and I use a sump pump hose that I bought for about $10 at Home Depot.  I run the hose into the yard and then put one end in the tub.  I hold it on the whirlpool jet and turn pump 2.  Make sure the diverter has all the water going to the whirlpool jets and that the 'air' is turned off so that it's just water coming out of the jet.  I hold the hose on the jet for about 30 seconds to get a good flow going and then turn the jets off and cut the power to the tub.  It takes about 15 minutes to drain the tub that way.  Biggest thing is to make sure the hose stays under the water.  Best thing to do is to tie a brick or something heavy to it to keep it at the bottom.  For $10 it works like a champ.

[Campsalot]

I have a Sundance Maxxus that holds about 600 gallons of water.  I drain my tub quite often and use a sump pump I purchased from Menards.  To speed up the process I do not use the standard 5/8" adaptor with the pump.  I adapted a 1.5" fitting and purchased a 30' 1.5 hose.  The bottom line is I can drain my tub in 16 minutes.  Say like Tim the Tool Man Taylor "oh o oh oh"

[im45us]

I also use a siphon method to drain my tub and I drain it right onto the lawn. I have been doing this for 13 years with no problems with my lawn.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

You've got to have some method for pulling the water over the 6 foot fence (try the siphon method).

I wouldn't sweat the fact about draining the spa water into your lawn.  If you're real worried, then don't add chemicals for a day or two prior to draining your spa into the lawn.

[autoplay]

thanks for the suggestions.  I am placing the other end of the hose over a 6 foot wall that separates my backyard from the street.  maybe that is the problem.  but I don't know what else to do as I think it's the only way I can drain the tub without flodding the lawn in my backyard

It will only drain as far as gravity will allow it.  The 6' barrier is like 6' too high lol.

There are several ways of draining a spa. 1 is the gravity method. 2 is the sump pump method(I'll use the pump on my tile saw on occasions) and 3 is to use a shop vac. Using a shop vac though,you're emptying the shop vac frequently.


99% of the time when I drain my spa,I let gravity do most of the work.....and then will sponge out the remaining 20-30 gallons of water in the nook n crannies.
When I'm in a hurry,I'll use the sump pump/gravity drain.....and the shop-vac all at the same time.

Lastly...cut a small notch (or dig a small hole)at the BOTTOM of the 6' fence lol.

[paul]

obviously i am not a handyman type.  anyway, thanks for the suggestions.  I ended up just letting the water run on my lawn.  no problem, except that I can't get the last inch of water out.  I suppose I need to buy a pump?

[TN__HOT_TUB]

obviously i am not a handyman type.  anyway, thanks for the suggestions.  I ended up just letting the water run on my lawn.  no problem, except that I can't get the last inch of water out.  I suppose I need to buy a pump?

Try using a plastic cup to scoop most of the water out.  Once you get most of that inch of water out you can use sponges and/or towels to soak it up.