Adjustable spa jets - are they supposed to turn off?

[crustacean]

Hi,

I have a question that I haven't been able to find an answer for. With adjustable spa jets, when turning them to "off" will blower air still come right out of them?

My very new plaster spa has 6 jets. It is driven a 1.5HP Pentair VS pump (~2700RPM) and a 1.5HP blower. We get a crazy amount of bubbles, lots of small foam on top of the water. But also big huge bursting air bubbles (no foam) right by the outlets. When I turn a jet off (turning the adjustable part clockwise) the water stops or slows to a trickle but the big air seems to grow even more intense out of the off jet. Basically I'm trying to figure out if everything is working as expected with these or if there is something I (or my PB) should do. If this is all working exactly as expected, is there any advice on how to dial back the intensity and get it under control? Just a smaller blower? The blower is 2 rooms away but right above the spa is 72dB with the blower and ~36dB without. Just looking for some middle ground here.

I have Waterways or waterways compatible fittings. The PB put in 210-6040s and I was able to try various others in the same family (roto/pulsator/etc, e.g. 210-6070, 210-6090, 210-6080, 210-6700) using a poly jet wrench. I am completely unable to loosen any of the wallfitting parts so they might be glued in, so I can't really say if the 1" tube is there or has the right retaining rings or teflon tape.

Thanks!

 

[mas985]

is there any advice on how to dial back the intensity and get it under control?

Air or water intensity? Are there too many bubbles or is the water stream too powerful.

If the water volume is too strong, just dial down the RPM of the pump.

If it is the bubbles that are too strong:

Venturi jets do not always require blowers. My spa does not have an air blower and the jets work just fine. Have you tried removing the blower from the air pipe and seeing if the jets still work properly?

Another option is to put in an air bypass in the blower or downsize the blower.

 

[crustacean]

Air or water intensity? Are there too many bubbles or is the water stream too powerful.

I don't think I did a good job describing it. The small bubbles are OK and the water stream is OK. I think the water and air that mixes well inside the jet and shoots out lots of little bubbles is working well. My problem is that I feel like half the air is unmixed and basically burps out loudly right at the jet. Big bubbles that pop and shoot water 12" above the water surface. Not that I can about spraying the water but they really make the whole thing louder. I don't have a good video but here's a terrible picture of the area:



Weirdly turning off the adjustable jets makes it worse. If I swap jets around the problems tend to follow the jets. I'm trying to understand whether all PVC jets just can't hold back air, I have way too much air, didn't install them right, etc.

If the water volume is too strong, just dial down the RPM of the pump.

If it is the bubbles that are too strong:

Venturi jets do not always require blowers. My spa does not have an air blower and the jets work just fine. Have you tried removing the blower from the air pipe and seeing if the jets still work properly?

Another option is to put in an air bypass in the blower or downsize the blower.

I'd love to experiment with some of that but alas my PB glued the air blower directly to the pipe. I'll need to really commit to fixing that before I can make it happen!

 

[crustacean]

Reading another similar post maybe I mean most of my jets bubble excessively. Sounds like I may need more water or less air?

Water I guess I can check the filter as there's currently no readable flow meters in my setup.

Air sounds like I need to add a valve or some holes? But first to unglue the blower...

 

[mas985]

It sounds like the blower is too much. It should have been installed without gluing it to the pipe. An easy fix is to just cut the pipe and then use a coupler to reconnect if necessary.