Spa drains into pool , Only while Valves turned to Spa

[tstiles]

Sorry if I sound illiterate about pools ( 1st time pool owner & 1st post here )

Love my new ( to me ) pool / spa , but I've detected a bit of a problem.

When in spa mode ( manual valves at the pump station ) , I keep losing water in the spa ( assuming it's going back into the pool ) ... When we get in the spa the water level is right at the spillway back into the pool. After about an hour , the level of the spa has dropped 4 - 6 " and the jets are almost exposed.

When I return to pool mode ( by manually turning the valves ) the spa level returns to normal.

Am I correct in assuming that there is a leak in one of the valves that allows water to return to the pool or is it something else ?

Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The most likely possibility is that the pool/spa return valve is not completely switching over to spa mode, allowing some water to return to the pool. You should check that the actuator (if automated) is moving the valve the full distance, and that there isn't any debris inside the valve preventing a proper seal.

It is also possible, though less likely, that there is a leak in the spa or spa plumbing, allowing water to escape completely. If this is happening, you should see loss of water in the pool over time when running the spa in spillover move, though the rate of loss could be slow enough that this is not immediately obvious.

 

[jblizzle]

Sorry for the silly question but: Does the water drop while you are in the spa? Or after you get out?

I had a party once that had so many people in the spa, that when everyone got out there was hardly any water left in the spa as it had a all spilled over into the pool.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[tstiles]

Sorry for the silly question but: Does the water drop while you are in the spa? Or after you get out?

I had a party once that had so many people in the spa, that when everyone got out there was hardly any water left in the spa as it had a all spilled over into the pool.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

It drops while we are in it ... Not a lot of activity / splashing / ect , the level just drops ... I can feel / see the return doing it's thing ( it's very small ) but it can't keep up. Could it be that the return outlet ( into the spa ) is sized too small to be able to keep up ?

It's not automated ( that's on the short list of improvements ) , I move a couple of valves to get it in spa only mode

I don't think it's leaking , I think I would be able to find that much water

Sounds like my choices are :
- a - Valve worn out
- b - Valve has something stuck in it
- c - I'm not getting the valve turned all the way
- d - return inlet sized too small

 

[JasonLion]

Inlet/outlet size would not affect the water level. The pump/heater should be a closed loop when running in spa mode, so it can't drain out more water than it returns even if the fitting sizes are out of balance.

You a, b, & c options are the primary possibilities. It is time to open up the valve and see how things look inside.

 

[ping]

Jblizzle might also be on the right track. Does the water level in the spa level drop when no one has used the spa? You answered that the level drops when you are in the spa, which is normal, but you are not clear if it also drops before anyone gets in the spa.

 

[tstiles]

Jblizzle might also be on the right track. Does the water level in the spa level drop when no one has used the spa? You answered that the level drops when you are in the spa, which is normal, but you are not clear if it also drops before anyone gets in the spa.

I really not sure , our routine has been :

- turn the valves / turn on the pump / heater
- Wait 20 minutes
- Get in the spa

I've never paid attention ... Maybe I should do a test run and measure what happens.

Our spa is not raised , it's at the same level as the pool , we are not splashing out the water , it's got to be returning to the pool

I'm going to dig into the valves when it warms up