I so need help! I'm a newbie!

[llco87]

we have wanted a spa for so very long and since we simply could not afford a brand new model off the floor, we opted to purchase a used model.

We just purchased a used hot tub. It is a Catalina Mariah. It is a 1992 model.

We went to go look at it prior to purchasing it. The tub was up and running. The water was hot and all was working fine. The guy showed me the door where the control panel is along with the timers and such. He showed me the red light indicating the heater.
We paid for it and went back 2 days later (giving the present owner time to drain and disconnect the spa).
We loaded it up with no problems and transported it on a flat trailer to our home.
We unloaded it. Again with no problems. We set it up on a flat level surface. Power was connected and the tub was filled. (it's 220)
The valves were opened so the air could escape as it was stated on the paperwork.
It was turned on.

No red light.
Pumps work fine. Jets work. Plenty of water movement.
No light.
We have waited and the temp does not seem to be getting any warmer. It's been 12 hrs and the temp is only 5 degrees warmer than when first filled.

We are not sure if the absence of the light means that the heater is not working. Or if the light is just burned out. Since the water does not get warm, it's not working. Don't know if it is bad and needs replaced (oh my goodness, that would stink) or if something is not connected properly after the move. (where do we look)

What are we doing wrong if anything?

The system inside is a Acura Spa Systems Inc.
There are two timer dial thingies. One says it is FILTER. One says that it is HEATER.
There are "pins" all the way around them.
We don' t know if they are supposed to be up or down. We don't know if they are supposed to match each other.

We did get some paperwork with the spa. However, it does not give us our answers anywhere. It does not say how or what to do with the dials. It does not tell us whether there is supposed to be pumps or jets or something on all the time or not.
We are very confused. We have never had a spa before and are not sure as to how to work it or what to do with it.
I have looked on the internet searching for information on this particular model and pak.

I have had no luck.

So now I am turning to you.

Please help! We don't know what we're doing!


I will be sitting by waiting for your reply. I definitely won't be relaxing in the "hot" tub unless of course it magically starts working correctly during the middle of the night.

Your advice on how we maintain the spa as far as when for it to run and how long, how to work the timers etc if GREATLY appreciated.

Please help!

Desperate in KS.

[drewstar]

Not sure if this will help you, and perhaps some of the techs who are pros in this area hopefully will chime in, but on my new tub, I had a problem with tripping the heater when I powered up.

I did not let the jets run for several minutes to fullypurge the air out, and the heater tripped.

In my instance, I needed to shut off both breakers to the tub, push a reset button the heater, then turn on the breaker for the pumps only, and let the pumps run for  several minutes to purge all the air out and then turn the breaker on for the heater.




And after reading Brewman's response below I am reminded on my first tub. Like yours it was used.  When I moved it to my house and hooked it up, the display panel  wasn't working, the pumps seemed to work, but not the panel. Shutting the breakers down for a few minutes and fllipping them back on did the trick.  

[Brewman]

If working properly, your spa should heat water at the rate of several degrees per hour.  Our is maybe 5 degrees or so.  That light being out probably means your heater isn't on.
If your pumps work as expected, then maybe you have a flow switch error.  The flow switch keeps power going to the heater as long as the switch detects sufficient water flow.  Maybe the move jarred the switch.  
Also possible that the heater itself is bad, but it was working fine a few days ago.  

As drewstar mentioned, air in the lines can cause flow error conditions.  I have to occasionally prime our pump when I drain and refill, to get the heater to come on.


Try turning your GFCI breaker on and off a few times to see if that doesn't help.  

Assuming parts are available for this spa, it shouldn't be horribly expensive to repair either the flow switch or the heater.  But you'll probably want a qualified repair tech to diagnose the problem vs just replacing parts and hoping for the best.  

Have you called any local repair people to see if the can service your spa?

Brewman

[orlandoguy]

I saw the techs put the hose directly into the water intake for the pumps to prime it, is that the normal way??

[Brewman]

I think that may depend on the spa.  For ours, putting a water hose on the pump intake is one way, and loosening the diverter valve to bleed air is another.
That's for our 2003 Optima.  
Brewman

[samhunter]

How about asking the person you bought it from, I'm sure he knows that tub better than anyone.

[chuckkey]

I have a Hilo by Catalina and the spa pack is probably similiar. I do not have two timers. Mine is different in that it has freeze protection but it works with the one timer. There is a reset button on the panel on mine for the heater. See if that is tripped. Of course you do have to turn up the temperture control for anything to happen. When you turn it up, you should hear a "clunk" from the relay supplying the heater core with voltage. You should be able to turn it down and hear another clunk when it releases. The red light is directly across the heater element and if there is voltage there, it should light. The two dials. The one for filter should have some pins pulled out for the filter to turn on - low speed of course. I run mine and hour a day, many people say more is needed, like four hours.

Seeing you have anohter dial that states "heater" you might have to pull out some of those thingy's to get power to the heater. I guess that is sorta of a freeze protection device, but like I said I done have the heater dial.

Hope this helps.