Jandy/Polaris QT Spa Blower Replacment

[InvaderZim]

Our spa is pretty far from our equipment, so we have a spa blower that sits on top of a pipe -- it looks like the current Polaris QT blower, 240V 2A, plastic case.

Back in 2007 or so, pool water backed up into it (yikes), so the maintenance guy elevated it, but it's never worked properly since -- shuts off after just a couple of minutes. To fix that, he drilled some air holes in the pipe directly underneath the blower (presumably to relieve pressure) and that let it run longer between shutoffs, but it still doesn't make it past 15 minutes. I recall it going the full 30 before the water backup issue.

So I'd like to replace it. AS I said, I found the Polaris QT blower but there are also metal Zodiac blowers that cost $60 less, along with a bunch of other brands.

Should I replace it with another QT, or are the metal ones more rugged? Which is quieter (don't want to annoy the neighbors), and are all the connections compatible?

Any advice or recommendations for something I can swap out myself would be most welcome. (I can safely handle the wiring.)

 

[tim5055]

They all make noise, lots of it.

A photo of how it is installed would help, but it is a very simple system of switched electric and air blowing down the pipe. Minimal skill will probably be necessary.

I will guess you have an air switch that controls an electrical receptacle which the blower is plugged into. It's probably noting more than cutting the pipe if the current blower is glued on and setting the new blower in it's place.

I had a couple go out through the years, but to be honest never replaced them due to the noise and the fact that I really didn;t like the bubbles.

 

[InvaderZim]

Thanks! The Aqualink RS controller turns it on and off and there is a button on the Spalink control panel built into the spa. It does turn on, but doesn't do much -- I remember initially it bubbled a lot more.

It is glued down and I can deal with that. Someone else in this forum suggested that it shouldn't be glued but instead attached with self-tapping screws -- sounds like a fine idea.

I can post a photo tonight after I get home. But mostly I'm looking for advice about whether the $160 metal blower would be as good a choice as the $220 or so plastic blower and if one might be quieter than the other. I think the plastic one would be easier to replace since it looks identical to what I have now. Or is there some other brand that might be better, quieter, and longer-lasting?

It looks exactly like this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Zodiac-1-480-02-240-Volt-Polaris-Blower/dp/B000N2B90U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434989646&sr=8-1&keywords=2hp+blower+polaris but this one http://www.amazon.com/Zodiac-1-566-03-240-Volt-Polaris-Bottom/dp/B002SG7NXG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434989646&sr=8-2&keywords=2hp+blower+polaris is cheaper and might be just as good?

 

[OldPoolMan]

Hi Zim. Plastic or metal doesn't matter. What does matter is the brand. The price on blowers is usually indicative of the quality. Matching the voltage and horsepower Is key. You're probably losing air because of the air holes. Most of the manufacturers require a check valve. Also using glue is a no no. The glue fumes can cause a fire or worse if ignited by the blower (sparks in the motor). Use long screws to secure it to the pipe. All blowers are loud!

 

[InvaderZim]

Thanks! I think the air holes were an attempt to make it run longer. I'll replace that section of pipe with the blower and screw it to the pipe. I now remember there was a check valve but it must have failed since water did get into the blower. But I'll look for that in the pipe.

 

[InvaderZim]

I went ahead and replaced the blower with the same Polaris plastic-covered 2HP 240 model that I had (Zodiac 1-480-02 2-HP 240-Volt Polaris QT Spa Blower). Replacing the blower was easy, but not much was happening even after the replacement so I figured it might be the check valve, so I took the old one to the pool store and they told me that I wasn't going to be able to find one of those anywhere in town.

They were right -- it appears to be some kind of special check valve that's designed to not impede the airflow when open. After much googling, I still couldn't find an exact match, and the blower instructions said to get one with a 1/2 pound of resistance max, so I found one at Amazon (Valterra 200-C20 PVC Swing/Spring Combination Check Valve, Clear, 2" Slip) that seemed to fit the bill. So I installed that on the 2" pipe, let the glue dry for 8 hours, then screwed the blower to the top of the pipe.

The good news is that this seems to have helped. The new blower is much quieter (it's actually tolerable -- sounds like a relatively quiet vacuum cleaner) and produces massive bubbleage. I also discovered that some of the six spa jets were twisted closed, and opening those helped a great deal. They're the spinner variety but weren't really spinning anymore, so I replaced them and that helped even more. I guess good water and airflow is required -- if I close off one or two, the remaining jets don't get stronger, but weaker, which is weird but maybe expected.

I did notice that the flapper in the check valve doesn't open very far (it's transparent and easily visible), so I'm wondering if I should still look for the proper check valve made specifically for a blower. The blower is mounted on top of the pipe; the vertically mounted check valve is about 18 inches under it, and then the pipe disappears into the ground.

Does anyone know if there's a better check valve for the blower than what I have? Maybe something not spring-loaded, but will open down when the blower comes on, and would be closed up by water pressure like a float? The old one is hard white plastic and I can't see much of the mechanism, but I'm wondering if it's like a float valve, where water coming up from the bottom would close it up internally.

Thanks again for all your advice.