deteriorated flex PVC pipe, help!

[drader]

Hello - We bought a house with an old Sundance spa (maybe 10 years?) A few weeks ago I hear a "pop!" as its cycling... a few days later I check on it and half the water is gone! I discovered that the welds that hold the main pump to the mounting bracket were broken, so the pump was twisting every time it turned on. This tore the flex PVC at the pump union. So when I get in there I see the inside of the 2" flex PVC is completely deteriorated - small holes, looks like acid has been working at it. I am assuming chlorine and heat. While this isn't the source of the leak I am reluctant to just put it back together. What's interesting is the 1/2" tube going to the pump looks fine inside. This 2" piece is ribbed inside, while the 1/2" is smooth.

Now what? Is it worth it to re-plumb the whole thing? I can't afford a new spa, so if I can't fix it - that's it. Also it is below ground; I can remove the deck, but how do I lift this thing out to work on it? Can someone give me an estimate for what a shop charges to do something like this?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

I don't think there is a need to talk about re-plumbing the whole spa or replacing it quite yet, have the 1 leak in question repaired and see what happens.  Based on what you described it is exposed and would fairly easy to fix, most likely a 1 hour charge from a professional if you are not comfortable doing it yourself...price will depend on where your located and who you use to do it but most spa techs/companies are $70-$125 an hour for labor on avg.

[Chas]

The PVC flex tends to shrink with age, unlike most of US.

As a result, it can put quite a pull on things. Look at your pump, and see if you think that pulling actions might be the reason the motor was pulled off it's mount.

It's not tough to work with PVC flex - although I ALWAYS heat it up as I'm working with it: sometimes just setting it in the sun on a hot day is enough, other times I run hot water through it, or I may use my heat gun or even a torch. When you do the repair, be sure you use primer AND PVC cement, and allow just a bit longer pieces than you think you need to allow for future shrinking. Be aware that plumbing on the other side of the pump may have also shortened up over time, so don't worry if the mounting bolts don't line up in the exact same location when you are done. You may have to put a lag screw or bolt into a slightly offset location: it should be fine as long as the pump doesn't flop around or vibrate noisily.

I know it may look odd if you end up with the pump sitting a little bit crooked, but it will work just fine as long as you make good plumbing joints and secure the pump in it's new location.

HTH