Inground spa not heating & drains when turned on

[jtb777]

Hi all, my inground spa no longer heats when I turn it on. I was reading that clogged filters can cause this problem. Would an inground spa have it's own filter separate from the pool filter? If so, do you know where I would find this spa filter?

I'm not familiar with my pool / spa plumbing so any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Post pics of your pool and spa equipment.

 

[jtb777]

Post pics of your pool and spa equipment.

 

[jtb777]

Hi all,

Just wanted to follow up on my question and attach some updated pics. I’m still not all that familiar with my pool/inground spa mechanical equipment, so hopefully I’m attaching the right types of images.

Issues:
1) My inground spa doesn’t heat and starts draining water to the top of the return jets when I turn it on.
2) The buttons on the heater don’t turn on.
3) Not sure if the heater is incorrectly reading the spa temp at 105F? (please see pic) The water definitely isn't that hot.

Settings:
4) Spa Jets are set to AUTO ON 1
5) Spa Drain set to AUTO ON 2 (the label is fading so I think it says “Spa Drain”)
6) Red heater knob is turned up (I believe that’s the ON position?)

Question:
7) Would an inground spa have its own filter separate from the pool filter? (again, still learning the equipment)

I did confirm that valve knobs turn when I turn the spa on and off. On my pool remote, I turned the manual heat setting to "On." It was set to off before, and I'm not sure which setting is right.

I’m not sure what else to check and do to get the heater working again.

Thanks for any replies!

 

[RDspaguy]

This is pool equipment so you may have more luck in that section.
I am no pentair expert, but I'll tell you what I know.
The valve actuator switch selects between the two valve positions, the "right" setting is determined by how it was plumbed. Without knowing which pipe is what we can't know which position it should be in at any given time.
The temperature displayed shows the set temp / actual temp if I remember correctly.
The heater will not work without proper flow, and if it is draining the spa to run it then you're just heating the pool anyway. I'd say your valves are not set right, but there could be another issue as well if you never see anything on the heater display. Perhaps it is turned off at the heater or breaker in the easy-touch.

 

[jtb777]

(Deleting since it's a repeat of #4 post)

 

[jtb777]

This is pool equipment so you may have more luck in that section.
I am no pentair expert, but I'll tell you what I know.
The valve actuator switch selects between the two valve positions, the "right" setting is determined by how it was plumbed. Without knowing which pipe is what we can't know which position it should be in at any given time.
The temperature displayed shows the set temp / actual temp if I remember correctly.
The heater will not work without proper flow, and if it is draining the spa to run it then you're just heating the pool anyway. I'd say your valves are not set right, but there could be another issue as well if you never see anything on the heater display. Perhaps it is turned off at the heater or breaker in the easy-touch.

Thanks so much for your response. I'll repost in the pool equipment section.

Do you happen to know what may cause the valve settings to change? In other words, could it happen using the remote, or can a setting move if the equipment is bumped into?

We haven't purposefully done anything to change settings (other than attempt to turn the spa on and off) so I'm wondering why this might have happened. Everything was running normally until recently.
Thanks again!

 

[ajw22]

Keep your discussion here.

Show us wider pics of the valves so we can understand where the pipes go to.

Lets first confirm your actuators are turning properly.

Show us pics of your suction and return valve positions when in POOL mode and then in SPA mode.

Do both actuators turn 180 degrees between modes?

 

[ajw22]

You have two bodies of water - POOL and SPA - that share one set of equipment- pump, filter, heater, chlorinator.

The actuator on the SUCTION and RETURN valves change the equipment between the POOL and SPA depending on the mode of your EasyTouch system.

This is complicated by some method used to keep your spa water chlorinated and fresh while in POOL mode using a continuous running SPA spillover or scheduled SPILLOVER mode on the EasyTouch system.

 

[jtb777]

Keep your discussion here.

Show us wider pics of the valves so we can understand where the pipes go to.

Lets first confirm your actuators are turning properly.

Show us pics of your suction and return valve positions when in POOL mode and then in SPA mode.

Do both actuators turn 180 degrees between modes?

Hi, thank you for clarifying my question about the equipment. Yes, both turn 180 between modes. I'm attaching new pics -- hopefully, these are better. Thanks!

 

[1poolman1]

Hi all,

Just wanted to follow up on my question and attach some updated pics. I’m still not all that familiar with my pool/inground spa mechanical equipment, so hopefully I’m attaching the right types of images.

Issues:
1) My inground spa doesn’t heat and starts draining water to the top of the return jets when I turn it on.
2) The buttons on the heater don’t turn on.
3) Not sure if the heater is incorrectly reading the spa temp at 105F? (please see pic) The water definitely isn't that hot.

Settings:
4) Spa Jets are set to AUTO ON 1
5) Spa Drain set to AUTO ON 2 (the label is fading so I think it says “Spa Drain”)
6) Red heater knob is turned up (I believe that’s the ON position?)

Question:
7) Would an inground spa have its own filter separate from the pool filter? (again, still learning the equipment)

I did confirm that valve knobs turn when I turn the spa on and off. On my pool remote, I turned the manual heat setting to "On." It was set to off before, and I'm not sure which setting is right.

I’m not sure what else to check and do to get the heater working again.

Thanks for any replies!

No heater will turn on with a reading of 105. The set temperature in the automation is lower than that, so it won't try to fire the heater. Until the automation completes the circuit, the buttons in the heater won't do anything. You most likely have a bad water-temp sensor for the automation.

 

[jtb777]

No heater will turn on with a reading of 105. The set temperature in the automation is lower than that, so it won't try to fire the heater. Until the automation completes the circuit, the buttons in the heater won't do anything. You most likely have a bad water-temp sensor for the automation.

Thanks so much!