PUMP SAFETY SWITCH?

[Slappy]

Now, you have to understand that I have an "old" tub. I sprung a leak a couple days ago and luckily caught it just before the water got down below the filter intake ... barely. My question is ... on the newer tubs, is there a safety switch which turns the filter pumps off if the water is low, or does it just keep on running? Would the pump motor get hurt if this happened or just keep on running forever?

- Slappy

[hottub.pool_boy]

No, they can't tell the water is low besides it over heating due to low flow, etc. Doesn't hurt the motor, it's fan cooled. the seal in the pump can be affected, but it's replaceable.

[Chas]

The big problem is having the heater run dry. Most tubs have some sort of system to keep the heater from powering up unless there is water flowing through. For example, HotSpring has a pressure switch in the heater itself. No flow? No heat.

Other have pressure switches in the plumbing, some have flow switch instead of pressure switch, still others have temp sensors alone.

 8-)

[Slappy]

The only safety switch that I know of in my system is an overheat switch. If the water temp gets over 110, an overlimit switch will trip the tub off. This sensor is in the heater tube. I guess it makes sense that if there is no water and the heater gets too hot, it will shut off too. thanks for your input on this subject.

- Slappy