Hot Springs Sovereign Question

[Chas]

The Temp Sensors (Thermistors) are on the heater. They are not interchangeable, one is for the control thermostat system, the other for the High Temp safety system ("Hi Limit"). They cannot be installed in the wrong spots as they have different size threads and different connectors.

The place to feed in the snake would be the fitting nearest the wall of the motor compartment - you will have to remove the vinyl tubing which goes from the heater to the wall. With the tub empty, you may still get a small amount of water out of the tubing, but slide the clamp back and work the tubing off the PVC barbed fitting which leads into the wall of the compartment. It may have a short length of flexible PVC showing, that's the very "pipe" you want to clean. You can also get to it from the drain fitting in the bottom of the tub, but then the crud has no place to go. It needs to have some water flow to work the stuff out of the tube as you break it free.

You will have to remove the circ pump to clean it - I have flushed them out in-place by removing one tube and letting the water flow out as I carefully worked a wire or other probe into the pump, but the best way to get it really clean and clear (by far) is to remove it and dismantle it.


HTH

 

[woodchopper]

The Temp Sensors (Thermistors) are on the heater. They are not interchangeable, one is for the control thermostat system, the other for the High Temp safety system ("Hi Limit"). They cannot be installed in the wrong spots as they have different size threads and different connectors.

The place to feed in the snake would be the fitting nearest the wall of the motor compartment - you will have to remove the vinyl tubing which goes from the heater to the wall. With the tub empty, you may still get a small amount of water out of the tubing, but slide the clamp back and work the tubing off the PVC barbed fitting which leads into the wall of the compartment. It may have a short length of flexible PVC showing, that's the very "pipe" you want to clean. You can also get to it from the drain fitting in the bottom of the tub, but then the crud has no place to go. It needs to have some water flow to work the stuff out of the tube as you break it free.

You will have to remove the circ pump to clean it - I have flushed them out in-place by removing one tube and letting the water flow out as I carefully worked a wire or other probe into the pump, but the best way to get it really clean and clear (by far) is to remove it and dismantle it.


HTH

 

Thanks again for another informative post. Weather depending I'm going to try and do this Sunday. We're getting snow on Saturday. I've since found out my insurance  company is going to require the install if inspected so I'm going to pull a permit and hire a REAL electrician to hook everything up. Since we'll be using the tub only during the colder months I'm thinking about having it wired for 220. I've already have the thick black wire  at our other residence that was used with our other tub that was 220. I figured if I'm paying for an electrician anyway I might as well do it right. The heater can't keep up when you're using the blowers in real cold weather. Having it wired for 220 makes sense. I can't wait to get the tub drain all cleaned out and the heater installed. It's been a long time coming. 

[woodchopper]

Well I worked on the tub today and ran into a few problems. I snaked out the hose from the pump from both sides. Didn't find any debris or anything that would make it drain slow.
 I removed to pump and was unable to remove the cover because I didn't have the right Allen wrench. When I was handling it I noticed a rattling sound and it looks like the impeller is either broken or disconnected. I wonder if there was water in there which froze up and broke something in there ? Because I can't get the cover off I'm not sure how bad it is. Anyone know what size Allen wench I need ?
  When I looked at the heater I ran into a few problems. 1] There's a electrical wire coming off the heater that goes into the IQ 2000 black box that I haven't been able to figure out how to disconnect to install the new heater. It looks like it might stay in place on the small box that sits on top of the heater. I think that box gets remounted on the new heater.  2] There's a ground wire on the back of the heater that is held in place with screws that have heads that aren't Phillips, slotted, or allen. They look square.  Any idea what I need to remove those screws?  I bought a bottle of filter cleaner and will clean the filters this coming week. The center one was dirtier than I had originally thought. I think there's a strong possibility once the heater and silent-flo 5000 are replaced and filters cleaned I'll be good to go. TIA

[Chas]

I didn't have the right Allen wrench. Metric
When I was handling it I noticed a rattling sound and it looks like the impeller is either broken or disconnected. Normal

When I looked at the heater I ran into a few problems. 1] There's a electrical wire coming off the heater that goes into the IQ 2000 black box that I haven't been able to figure out how to disconnect to install the new heater. It looks like it might stay in place on the small box that sits on top of the heater. I think that box gets remounted on the new heater.Unplug all three wires (white/black and green) in the IQ-2020. Squeeze the cord clamp where the heavy cord exits the bottom of the box. Reverse to install new heater (it comes with a cord)

2] There's a ground wire on the back of the heater that is held in place with screws that have heads that aren't Phillips, slotted, or allen. They look square.  Any idea what I need to remove those screws? There is only one screw which clamps the wire in place - it is a square/slotted combo. But if you can't get it loose, simply cut the wire right next to it.

[woodchopper]

Thanks Chas !!  So far it looks like there wasn't any frost damage and the circulation pump and Wave mater are undamaged and ready to use. I'll know for sure after the electrician has everything hooked up. The weather is supposed to be decent this coming Saturday and I hope to have everything except the electrical connections done. Hopefully I'll be able to post a video of my tub up and running.
 Thanks everybody who was kind enough to take the time to offer their advice in this thread. I appreciate the offer of help very much !!!