Spa drains while in Freeze Protection Override

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Ordered aftermarket valve replacement kits. Two complete kits (valve plus o-rings) for less than 30 bucks with same day delivery. One Jandy kit is $66 on Amazon. We'll see.

I assume I should reverse the intake valve, drain the spa into the pool, leave the intake valve in the spa position and then try to get that valve off? That should minimize backflow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1poolman1
Valve replacement went well. The good news - no leak during while the valve rotates between spa and pool modes. And there is noticeable improvement in the amount of pump suction.

The bad news - the spa is still draining slowly into the pool when in spa mode. After running the spa for 30 minutes, the water level was down four inches or so. I can only assume the return valve is to blame, so I plan to replace that one unless someone has a better idea. One question - do I need to drain the spa water back into the pool before replacing that valve as well?
 
hillyjd said:
Valve replacement went well. The good news - no leak during while the valve rotates between spa and pool modes. And there is noticeable improvement in the amount of pump suction.

The bad news - the spa is still draining slowly into the pool when in spa mode. After running the spa for 30 minutes, the water level was down four inches or so. I can only assume the return valve is to blame, so I plan to replace that one unless someone has a better idea. One question - do I need to drain the spa water back into the pool before replacing that valve as well?
Click to expand...
If you're going to replace the entire valve, and the spa is raised, yes, drain the spa to the pool first. If just the diverter, and the spa is raised, and you're fast, no, but you will get wet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hillyjd
Replaced the return valve diverter. Went well but has not solved the problem. Steady, slow drain from spa to pool when in spa mode. Ran the spa for about 40 minutes with pump on high and water level dropped about 6 inches. Is it possible the return valve is not perfectly aligned and is allowing some leakage? The valve position looks very square to me. What's next? Try to tweak the return valve alignment? Or is it time to replace the entire valve. One thing I noticed - the lid that holds one way check valve in place that is just downstream of the return valve on the spa side is badly cracked and will have to be replaced. But there's nothing leaking from that valve. Can't see how that could contribute to the leakage. Or could there be something going wrong on the intake side. Seems unlikely.
 
I should also point out after I replaced the diverter, I cycled the spa valve, ran the spa, saw the spa drain, cycled back to pool mode for a while and then tried the spa mode again. So cycling the valve did not help the situation.
 
hillyjd said:
Replaced the return valve diverter. Went well but has not solved the problem. Steady, slow drain from spa to pool when in spa mode. Ran the spa for about 40 minutes with pump on high and water level dropped about 6 inches. Is it possible the return valve is not perfectly aligned and is allowing some leakage? The valve position looks very square to me. What's next? Try to tweak the return valve alignment? Or is it time to replace the entire valve. One thing I noticed - the lid that holds one way check valve in place that is just downstream of the return valve on the spa side is badly cracked and will have to be replaced. But there's nothing leaking from that valve. Can't see how that could contribute to the leakage. Or could there be something going wrong on the intake side. Seems unlikely.
Click to expand...
Check valve won't be an issue in "spa" mode. Yes, the return valve actuator can be set wrong and need to be adjusted. The cams internal to the actuator can wear and need readjusting. Doesn't take much mis-alignment to allow a leak. Remove the actuator without disturbing valve position, place the handle back on the valve stem and see if it can move to the stop. If so, the valve was not closing completely.
 
I took your suggestion. When I removed the actuator, it did not feel like I could rotate the valve stem any further counterclockwise; it was right against the stop. But I went ahead and ran in spa mode with the pump at full speed. Pretty much the same result; after about 20 minutes, the spa water level was down three or four inches. On a whim, I rotated the valve one detent clockwise and let the pump continue running at max rpm. And the spa continued to drain at about the same rate. After forty minutes, it was down a good six or seven inches. So I switched back to pool mode to let the spa refill. Then I put it back in spa mode and this time I rotated the return valve two detents clockwise so that the handle was noticeably not aligned with the plumbing. After about 25 minutes in spa mode with the pump at max, the spa had only drained maybe an inch at most. Hmmmm??? Is it possible the valve stop inside has worn to the point that it's letting the diverter go past the optimum stop point? I was out of time but I will run a longer experiment tomorrow and report back. Thank you for all the support.
 
hillyjd said:
I took your suggestion. When I removed the actuator, it did not feel like I could rotate the valve stem any further counterclockwise; it was right against the stop. But I went ahead and ran in spa mode with the pump at full speed. Pretty much the same result; after about 20 minutes, the spa water level was down three or four inches. On a whim, I rotated the valve one detent clockwise and let the pump continue running at max rpm. And the spa continued to drain at about the same rate. After forty minutes, it was down a good six or seven inches. So I switched back to pool mode to let the spa refill. Then I put it back in spa mode and this time I rotated the return valve two detents clockwise so that the handle was noticeably not aligned with the plumbing. After about 25 minutes in spa mode with the pump at max, the spa had only drained maybe an inch at most. Hmmmm??? Is it possible the valve stop inside has worn to the point that it's letting the diverter go past the optimum stop point? I was out of time but I will run a longer experiment tomorrow and report back. Thank you for all the support.
Click to expand...
There is no internal "stop," it is on the lid and the handle of a valve.
 
Since I had run the spa with the diverter at one and two detents away from the stop, today I started with it three detents away. Major drainage out of the spa and into the pool right fromt the start. So I refilled the spa and put the diverter two detents away. After 22 minutes at max pump rpm, the spa water level was about 1" lower. Then I nudged the diverter slightly counterclockwise so it would be between the first and second detent. After another 25 minutes, the spa water level was down at least another inch, maybe two. No better and maybe a little worse.

So somewhere around the 2nd detent is the "sweet spot" but I think there's still some leakage. Is there any way to find the perfect spot other than trial and error? Is it time to replace the whole valve? It's original equipment (19 years old).
 
Show us pics of the valve and the detent positions.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I have same issue. Spa drains water in freeze protection. Doesn’t do it any other time except in FP mode. I just use my manual valve that I typically leave on pool only and turn it towards spa so that some water is going to the spa when it flips automatically to pool mode in freeze protection that way some water is always going to spa. I only do this when I know the temp is going down low enough to trip freeze protection. I’m thinking my automatic valve is turning slower when it is cold in FP so some water draining to pool as it flips from pool to spa.
 
Yes - the spa leaks water back into the pool with the handle in the "closed" position. And yes, I replaced the diverter assembly last week as part of the troubleshooting process. As far as I can tell, it's a NeverLube valve. I certainly have never put any lubrication on it. As for the draining during the valve repositioning, that may be happening but it's VERY minor. In all the testing I've been doing, it's been warm and I'm manually repositioning the return valve. Almost all of the leakage occurs after the valves are in their final position and the pool pump turns back on. I'm going to do one more test - trying it with the valve in the fully closed position. But I'm starting to resign myself to the fact that the whole valve needs to be replaced. Open heart surgery.
 
Reran the leak tests at all valve positions. Pretty much the same results. It looks to me like there is an unacceptable amount of leak no matter where the return valve is set. New valve and check valve on order. Will report back once it's been replaced.
 
hillyjd said:
Reran the leak tests at all valve positions. Pretty much the same results. It looks to me like there is an unacceptable amount of leak no matter where the return valve is set. New valve and check valve on order. Will report back once it's been replaced.
Click to expand...
If the check valve is good cracked lid in the picture), the leak is probably at the suction valve. Check the diverter in that valve. With the spa full, turn the pump off and let the water settle. Place a bit of liquid food coloring close to each jet. If the "smoke" gets pulled in the leak is on the return side. If not, most likely the suction side.

If you can get some, I prefer Mrs. Stewarts laundry bluing, larger bottle is easier to use, found in the laundry aisle of many grocery stores.
 
Your response really gave me pause. I didn't have any food dye on hand, but before going to bed last night, I turned off all pool power (put the pool in service mode). This morning, the spa is 3/4 EMPTY! So what is that telling me? Either the spa one-way check valve isn't working or the leak is on the intake side? At the start of this adventure, I replaced the diverter on the intake valve (which had been leaking at the stem). So I need to find some Mrs. Stewarts laundry bluing and try this again.
 
I got the Mrs. Stewarts bluing. Shut off all the pumps, let the water settle down and then put a big blue cloud of Mrs. Stewarts in the spa intake, return, and nozzles. But I'm wondering how / where to observe the blue "smoke" that should be slowing emptying the spa? If the intake valve is the problem, won't the flow from the spa just flow past the valve and into the pool? It will not show up in the pump filter basket, will it? If I take the valve cover off, I'll get a big gush of spa water that will mask any blue smoke. I figure I've got a couple of hours to figure this out. It's a very slow leak.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply