Spa heating only

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Gigles13

Member
Jun 17, 2021
13
NY
Hi,

I’ve been following this website for a good year or so and finally opened up the pool myself this year. We bought our house that had this pool with spillover spa about 3-4 years ago. The heater went the first year and finally just got it replaced this year.

I know there’s a way to heat the spa only, but I’m not entirely sure I’m going to do it right. The pool guy I had last year said there was a way, but unfortunately I didn’t remember how since we hadn’t had a heater.

I attached a photo of our set-up with some markings. There’s only blackout return but that’s for a water fall feature we don’t use so it stays permanently off.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 

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With your system you heat the spa when it is turned on, all valves adjusted for spa only. Make sure the "Pool MD" port on that pump far left is closed or you will continually have colder pool water entering the spa. Not really sure what that pump does unless it is a separate jet pump. Turn on heater and you're good. You will lose the heat the next time the pool runs in "pool" mode.
 
1poolman1 said:
With your system you heat the spa when it is turned on, all valves adjusted for spa only. Make sure the "Pool MD" port on that pump far left is closed or you will continually have colder pool water entering the spa. Not really sure what that pump does unless it is a separate jet pump. Turn on heater and you're good. You will lose the heat the next time the pool runs in "pool" mode.
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Awesome! That’s what I thought and I’ll try it this week to see how it goes. Thank you!

Yeah, I’m not entirely sure why that motor is not hooked up to the filter. It definitely powers the spa more so it spills over.

We have a spa blower, but I do not believe it works. I turn it on at the breaker and it doesn’t do anything. The buttons/knobs on the fiberglass spa itself don’t work either. Eventually we will replace it.
 
Gigles13 said:
Awesome! That’s what I thought and I’ll try it this week to see how it goes. Thank you!

Yeah, I’m not entirely sure why that motor is not hooked up to the filter. It definitely powers the spa more so it spills over.

We have a spa blower, but I do not believe it works. I turn it on at the breaker and it doesn’t do anything. The buttons/knobs on the fiberglass spa itself don’t work either. Eventually we will replace it.
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If you don't want an early death for your heater, don't use that tab feeder. It will eventually ruin the heater.
 
When the pump shuts down, eventually the corrosive "soup" that is in the feeder will work its way back into the heater. Even the "chemical resistant" check valve Rainbow (now Pentair) makes will fail and, since it is sealed, you never know until too late. Those feeders were originally made for commercial pools that would have pumps running very long cycles. They cause damage there, too, and are no longer legal on commercial pools in many areas because of the high CYA levels they cause.

I've seen it happen many times. About two years ago removed one before a new heater install. Customer had another company reinstall one. Six to eight months later the heater was leaking terribly. Of course they wanted it covered under warranty. Chemical damage is very easy to spot, no warranty.
 
1poolman1 said:
When the pump shuts down, eventually the corrosive "soup" that is in the feeder will work its way back into the heater. Even the "chemical resistant" check valve Rainbow (now Pentair) makes will fail and, since it is sealed, you never know until too late. Those feeders were originally made for commercial pools that would have pumps running very long cycles. They cause damage there, too, and are no longer legal on commercial pools in many areas because of the high CYA levels they cause.

I've seen it happen many times. About two years ago removed one before a new heater install. Customer had another company reinstall one. Six to eight months later the heater was leaking terribly. Of course they wanted it covered under warranty. Chemical damage is very easy to spot, no warranty.
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Ah, interesting. Thanks for the insight! Pool guy installed it 2 years ago with the sand filter.
 
So… I know this is an old thread, but I diverted all the lines to spa this year (I know- finally. I had my patio redone). And the spa was emptying completely instead of filling up. Any ideas?
 

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Post pics of your new equipment pad and show how you changed your pipes.
 
Show us the valve settings in how you diverted the lines to your spa.
 
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ajw22 said:
Show us the valve settings in how you diverted the lines to your spa.
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Everything was set to off and the only open lines are circled in yellow. Note this is an old photo and doesn’t reflect where the valves were switched. I’m not home to take a photo so I just edited it.
 

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Post pics of the actual valve settings when you get home.
 
13,

If the problem is that the spa drains, when in the spa mode, it means that you are simply removing more water from the spa then you are putting back...

Tell us about the valves on the return side, which we can't see well in your pic.

It "appears" that there are three pipes on your return side... Please tell me where the three pipes go.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
13,

If the problem is that the spa drains, when in the spa mode, it means that you are simply removing more water from the spa then you are putting back...

Tell us about the valves on the return side, which we can't see well in your pic.

It "appears" that there are three pipes on your return side... Please tell me where the three pipes go.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
One is a waterfall which is always off.
One is the pool return which is off in that picture.
One is the spa return which is on in that picture.
 
You have manual valves.

If the both valves are not set perfectly closed then you will have an imbalance in the water flow with some water leaking into the pool.

It can also be caused if the diverter int he valve is not sealing properly.

Show us overhead pics of the suction and return valves so we can see exactly how they are set.
 

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