Caldera Cumberland bursts during 2nd day of use

[neocacher]

This is my first post, and it is not a pleasant one!

I was my new hot tub for the 3rd time (I used it twice yesterday after waiting 40 hours for it to heat up - 115 volt) and after about 10 minutes I hear a gushing noise.  I thought that the filter may be clogged but upon looking, noticed water gushing out of the top and bottom of the tub just to the left of the control panel. I have called the Caldera dealer and he is sending out someone within the hour to look at it.

Should I INSIST upon a new tub?  I am very upset and disappointed as you can imagine.  Should I ask the dealer for more test strips and chemicals, as I used about 20 of them to get it just right.

HELP!

[drewstar]

This is my first post, and it is not a pleasant one!

I was my new hot tub for the 3rd time (I used it twice yesterday after waiting 40 hours for it to heat up - 115 volt) and after about 10 minutes I hear a gushing noise.  I thought that the filter may be clogged but upon looking, noticed water gushing out of the top and bottom of the tub just to the left of the control panel. I have called the Caldera dealer and he is sending out someone within the hour to look at it.

Should I INSIST upon a new tub?  I am very upset and disappointed as you can imagine.  Should I ask the dealer for more test strips and chemicals, as I used about 20 of them to get it just right.

HELP!

YES.

I bet a clamp or a pipe let go and is an easy fix, but now water may have gotten into place you don't even want to think about. (Control panel, foam, wood frame).  

Insist on a new one.

[Spatech_tuo]

This is my first post, and it is not a pleasant one!

I was my new hot tub for the 3rd time (I used it twice yesterday after waiting 40 hours for it to heat up - 115 volt) and after about 10 minutes I hear a gushing noise.  I thought that the filter may be clogged but upon looking, noticed water gushing out of the top and bottom of the tub just to the left of the control panel. I have called the Caldera dealer and he is sending out someone within the hour to look at it.

Should I INSIST upon a new tub?  I am very upset and disappointed as you can imagine.  Should I ask the dealer for more test strips and chemicals, as I used about 20 of them to get it just right.

HELP!

Wait and see what they find; it is going to be simple I'm fairly sure. The one experience I had similar was in helping set up a new spa and the nut on 2' line to the pump must have had a crack because when we turned on the pump the water gushed out like a fire hydrant. I bet its the fitting to the pump or heater from your description and if so it'll be an easy fix but ask them to show you.

[SugarBear]

I had a similar problem with my Arctic about a month after delivery.  One of the lines off of a diverter did not seal properly with the glue and let loose.  The dealer was very responsive and sent out a service tech and repaired the line, checked all the systems and it was as good as new.  Six months later and no problems.  Let the tech check everything out and make sure that there are no other problems.  You should be fine.  I would tell him that you had just got your water perfect and now have to start over again, and he should make up for your chemicals and strips.  Good luck!

[hottubdan]

Let them check it out.  If easy fix, let them do it.

If not, REQUEST a new tub.

Request for small compensation is not unreasonable.

[wmccall]

Looks like you already have some good replies.  Hopefully by the time I get back from lunch, you will have some answers.   Let us know.

[drewstar]

Let them check it out.  If easy fix, let them do it.

If not, REQUEST a new tub.

Request for small compensation is not unreasonable.

Request?  Bah!


What are the potential problems of having a pipe let go like this? What should Neo be concerned with?

Foam getting wet?

Electronics (board, oznaotr, lights) being soaked?

Wood damage?

Indicitive that QC missed this tub?

Improper installation?

Could a soaking like this cause premature failure of anything years down the road?

[shortspark]

Ask for a refund and go get yourself a Hot Springs.

[neocacher]

As many suspected, one of the spring clamps let loose on a hose located in the service compartment. It wasnt' a pump hose but it was one of the larger hoses, maybe to the diverter.  

The service person showed up 45 minutes after my intial phone call. Even though I had shut off the pumps and pulled the plug, due to gravity,  by the time he got to my house , the tub was totally drained.  Almost 280 gallons came out through the bottom of the tub.  After talking to him, he ASSURED me that the water could not get back anywheres that would damage anything like the wood or the foam as the area was sealed off to the rest of the tub. Concerned that I should get a new tub,  I asked him 1/2 dozen times if he was POSITIVE nothing bad would happen in the future due to the incident, and he said yes.  So we started filling the tub again. Actually , there was very little water in the service compartment when he opened it up.  He dried off everything as best as he could, and I suggested he open the box where the circuit board was and we found about 1/2 ounce of water in it.  He wiped that out and then got a hair dryer and blew hot air into it for at least 10 minutes.  By this time the tub was filled, he checked the circuit board with a mutimeter, and we fired it up and it was running good as new.  I asked him if he had some test strips and some Alkaline increaser and he gave me about 28 strips and and an open 4 pound box of Alk increaser that still had about 3 pounds left in it.

I told him how dissappointed I was because it took so long to heat, so he loaned me 2 water heaters and the water should be good to go by 11 PM  or so when I get home from a class that I teach.

The service was fast and friendly, but NO WAY were they going to give me a new tub and I didn't want to be an jerk to the service guy, because he was nice, and he couldn't make that decision anyways.  I am concerned about long-term damage, but he said that any water  the could have seeped elsewhere would evaporate quickly due the the heat, and that the foam could not absorb water.  

At this point, I am going to wait a few days to see what happens, and you can be sure that I will go back to the dealer and remind him what happened, and see if I can get any further guarantee in writing or some other compensation.

I don't know how else to handle it, but for now, the important thing is that is working again.

Thanks for all your encouragment, I only did hair pulling for about an hour.

Neocacher in South Dakota

[Zep]

neo....

My only advice would be to always take pictures if possible, jot down a diary
of events, and possibly have a neighbor come over to be a witness. Hopefully it will never happen but if it ever went to court those kinds of things would help. Also send them an e-mail and discuss the event and how it was their mistake and not yours at all.....say something in the e-mail that makes them respond....and then you have documentation of them taking blame or at least it will show when exactly you first complained.

Sometimes even making someone aware you possess such documentation will sometimes frighten them into doing the right thing.

You will need to keep this all in a file in case something does go wrong later and memories of what happened and who was to blame may be blurry.

I had a neighbors fence collapsing against my house. Luckily I took a bunch of pictures of his wood fence and dirt erosion leaning against my house....because when I put up a new fence and the jerk wouldn't even contribute to the new fence project he threatened to sue me for tearing down his old rotting fence. I showed the home owners association the pics at a meeting and he was there too.....he quickly backed off and the home owners association convinced him to contribute "at least $1000 to the project" which he did. I think without the pictures he would have claimed "there was nothing wrong with the old fence"......with the pictures the jerk was busted!

[nlittle]

I know this is a bit off topic Neochaser, but how many gallons is your tub?
I'm on 115v also for 325 gals and it has been almost 24 hours and I am a little better than lukewarm.     Plus it hasn't gotten better than 30 today with a low last night of 15.

BTW, hope your tub is all set now.

[neocacher]

My tub is 280 gallons.  Your tub will take about 50-65 hours to heat if you have a 325 gallon tub and 1000w Heater.  You should get somewheres between .75 and 1.0 degree increase per hour. So if your intial water was 52 degreees , you can do the math.

You may want to purchase a couple of auxiallary heaters from your local farm or supply store.  They are called Bucket heaters and will heat the water an additional amount equal per hour , as these are rated 1000w also.  Just make sure to insert them in a submerged bucket, so they don't damage the side of your spa.  They do have some thermal regulation protection so you should be ok. They cost $30 each in the store i buy them from, Campbell's Supply.  I used 2 of them when I had to refill and got to temperature in 12 hours.

And yes, the tub is fine now.  I have had up and running for 4 weeks now, since the incidident, with nary a problem.  I have done my first filter cleaning also.  I have had 75 soaks in it in the last 30 days, almost 3 times a day every day, and have guests in it 8 times.

Neo

[Chas]

This is also sold through HotSpring Dealers as the "Sorrento."


 8-)

[neocacher]

Wow, this looks EXACTLY like my Cumberland. Thanks for the pic.

Neo

[Chas]

I think the logo on the pillows is the only thing different -

 8-)