Well my pump just quit. Impeller is making all kinds of noise. With a new tub I put up had the same problem with flakes after about 9 months. I always changed the water every few months and kept the chemicals up. I would say it’s the orings deteriorating and the hoses that run from the farthest water intake . The pvc cap I used I drilled multiple holes in it so the water could come out and I used the white fish tank filter screening to filter out the particals.
Intex inflatable Hot tub has black carbon flakes in the water
- Thread starter Red Shirt Ensign
- Start date
My intex hot tub is going on over 2 years now, it still functions but I get the dreaded black flakes too from my pump/heater unit. I only use liquid chlorine in mine and maintain pH, I also do regular water changes so I don't believe it's chemistry related. For me the solution was taking the 2nd filter off the inlet (that never seems to get dirty anyways) and putting that on the outlet, the cartridge catches all the junk before it goes into my hot tub. I do wonder if the incidence of this is related to how hot we keep our spas, mine is usually between 104 and 110 at all times (yes, I know it only goes to 104 but I modified mine to get hotter). I personally didn't notice the black flecks until I started keeping it much hotter but now it seems regardless of temperature I get the black flakes/dots. I suppose you could order and extra filter and screw it onto the outlet if you wanted to keep the other one still on the 2nd suction. Also the light I bought for mine the rubber over the buttons totally deteriorated after about a year.
My first Intex Inflatable took about 14 months before Black Flakes arrived. When I spoke to Intex customer care in the UK it was a failed pump, which they replaced. Then in March the air seal went on the tub itself and they replaced that. Now a year after the replacement pump arrived, that’s now pouring black flakes into the tub. We use standard chlorine tablets and change filters regularly and keep the water fresh. Must be something inherent in the pump design which they haven’t yet solved... I’ve emailed customer service and await their response. In the meantime had anyone actually solved this ?
UPDATE
I have a replacement pump and an explanation of sorts:
“Just a quick note to say, the black bits in the water are caused by corrosion of too much chlorine/ incorrect pH levels in the water.
As this time next year you will be out of the warranty, I don’t want this to happen to you again. Please just keep an eye on the chemical levels in the water.”
I hope this helps anyone else in the same predicament...
adam
I have a replacement pump and an explanation of sorts:
“Just a quick note to say, the black bits in the water are caused by corrosion of too much chlorine/ incorrect pH levels in the water.
As this time next year you will be out of the warranty, I don’t want this to happen to you again. Please just keep an eye on the chemical levels in the water.”
I hope this helps anyone else in the same predicament...
adam
found this post after doing my own autopsy on one of these. Like said previously the problem is the paint flaking inside the heater core.... mine was so full of flakes and mineral deposits that my pump wouldn't keep running due to reduced flow (almost none).
I suspect that some chemicals are eating away at the paint as the aluminum doesn't appear to be heavily pitted or otherwise damaged.
The paint flakes seem to peel away and hit the other side of the water channel, creating an eddy where mineral deposits and grit that makes it past the filter settles and build up... between the flakes and mineral deposits I couldn't see light through it, and had to use some force to get a long shift screw driver through the blockage.
Gonna buy a wire pipe cleaner to clean it all out and put it back together, bet it works a lot better.
Not sure why they painted the inside, seems to me raw aluminum would be more reliable
I suspect that some chemicals are eating away at the paint as the aluminum doesn't appear to be heavily pitted or otherwise damaged.
The paint flakes seem to peel away and hit the other side of the water channel, creating an eddy where mineral deposits and grit that makes it past the filter settles and build up... between the flakes and mineral deposits I couldn't see light through it, and had to use some force to get a long shift screw driver through the blockage.
Gonna buy a wire pipe cleaner to clean it all out and put it back together, bet it works a lot better.
Not sure why they painted the inside, seems to me raw aluminum would be more reliable
Any advise on how to get to the heater? I am having the same issues with black flakes. No issues with flow though. Thanks!
Belo
Well-known member
Just started for me. Tub is about 6 months old. Only changes recently is that it’s hot out and I see the temp get above 104, also added a bigger bromine floater as the supplied single puck wasn’t doing the trick. Bromine levels are right where they’re supposed to be!
Ok, so I had these flakes, and although I am not sure what is causing them I did try just about everything to clear them up and then ran across a post from someone who said they cleared theirs up with SpaGuard Enhanced Shock. I tried it and it cleared up my flakes. Half a cup, two doses and haven't had a problem since. May not work for everyone but it sure fixed mine. Got it at Amazon.
Tried the SpaGaurd with no effect. Finally came up with a work around that has eliminated the black flakes from going into the tub. I took the two filters off the intakes and put one of them on the outlet. It’s kind of working the filter backwards but it catches all the black flakes. Eventually whatever is causing this will fail but until then I have a clean tub. Every couple weeks I shut system down and remove filter and either change it or just flush it out and put it back. Do this with system off so any black Crud doesn’t flow out into tub.
Hi guys as mentioned please see the pictures below the black flakes are coming from the inside of your heat exchanger and will continue carrying on for every day simple fix for all you guys is the open the heat exchanger up and get all the paint out by using white wall washing it out very dry put it back together again and since I’ve done this I’ve had no problems I will say it is best to use the foam filters how’s the paper ones gonna catch any food debris after you’ve done this I’ve never had a problem with it the problem has been caused by
Natural corrosion inside
But the paint cannot adhere to corroded surfaces as you can see from the picture that even blocks the outlet flows which gives you false codes on your machine hope this all helps happy to answer any questions took me an hour to get into the pump and clean it out so it’s not a big job also there are descaling units now available from eBay that can flush out your pumps without having it connected to your tabs have a look all the very best keep safe Tony.
Natural corrosion inside
But the paint cannot adhere to corroded surfaces as you can see from the picture that even blocks the outlet flows which gives you false codes on your machine hope this all helps happy to answer any questions took me an hour to get into the pump and clean it out so it’s not a big job also there are descaling units now available from eBay that can flush out your pumps without having it connected to your tabs have a look all the very best keep safe Tony.
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