Hey everyone!
I’m new to the board, although I’ve definitely lurked here before for tips and troubleshooting issues I’ve had in the past. I’m hoping someone may be gracious enough to help me solve my problem - my former pool guy is too busy or can’t be bothered to swing by, so I’ve been trying to figure this out on my own - to no avail.
Let me get to it.
I have a 17,000 gal in ground pool with an attached, raised spa with a spillway. I recently had to change out my return actuator and that replacement went off without a hitch (I believe).
My previous actuator was set to stop at, let’s say 90% off on the spa return when it was in pool mode so that there would be a tiny bit of circulation and the spillway would run. When I replaced it, I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop just short of totally closing off the spa return. My specific model is a Tork TPE24VA, and it wasn't clear to me how to manually set the dial. As a work-around, I manually hit the switch to off once it got to that desired 90%, knowing that it would no longer be controlled by the automation system. This was a temporary work around as I had no immediate plans to run it in spa mode while I did more digging on how to manually set the limit on the rotation.
I assumed that my drain actuator would also stay on the pool setting unless I switched it to spa mode. Then I went to bed. This morning, when I went into my backyard, I first noticed that the pump sounded louder than usual, like when it’s straining when the basket is full. However, as I got closer, I realized the spa was completely drained. I immediately hit the breakers to turn the pump off.
I then filled the hot tub back up with my hose, set the actuators to just run the pool water, then turned the pump back on. It “runs,” but the pump won’t fill with water. It does not return any water to the pool, in fact, a few air bubbles slowly come out of the nearest return jet. When I open up the pump, the water inside sits at like 2/3 full.
Some troubleshooting that I’ve done so far:
-Pool/skimmer water levels are good.
-Skimmer and pump basket are not clogged.
-I used a coat hanger to clear out the pump impeller and nothing came out.
-I’ve tried filling the pump with my hose and literally had it filling for ~10 minutes and it just kept eating it - it never filled/overflowed.
-I tried bleeding the air out of the filter, and when it eventually filled up, pressure wouldn’t build, and it would fill with air again. The filter is at 0 psi.
I’m hoping with these details and the troubleshooting I’ve done so far, one of you may be wise enough to pinpoint the issue. I fear that it pulling air in from an empty spa for who knows how long could mean the pump needs to replaced.
So, anybody have a clue what the issue is? Or have any other troubleshooting tips?
Thank you all so so much for taking the time to read this! Apologies for the length!
I’m new to the board, although I’ve definitely lurked here before for tips and troubleshooting issues I’ve had in the past. I’m hoping someone may be gracious enough to help me solve my problem - my former pool guy is too busy or can’t be bothered to swing by, so I’ve been trying to figure this out on my own - to no avail.
Let me get to it.
I have a 17,000 gal in ground pool with an attached, raised spa with a spillway. I recently had to change out my return actuator and that replacement went off without a hitch (I believe).
My previous actuator was set to stop at, let’s say 90% off on the spa return when it was in pool mode so that there would be a tiny bit of circulation and the spillway would run. When I replaced it, I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop just short of totally closing off the spa return. My specific model is a Tork TPE24VA, and it wasn't clear to me how to manually set the dial. As a work-around, I manually hit the switch to off once it got to that desired 90%, knowing that it would no longer be controlled by the automation system. This was a temporary work around as I had no immediate plans to run it in spa mode while I did more digging on how to manually set the limit on the rotation.
I assumed that my drain actuator would also stay on the pool setting unless I switched it to spa mode. Then I went to bed. This morning, when I went into my backyard, I first noticed that the pump sounded louder than usual, like when it’s straining when the basket is full. However, as I got closer, I realized the spa was completely drained. I immediately hit the breakers to turn the pump off.
I then filled the hot tub back up with my hose, set the actuators to just run the pool water, then turned the pump back on. It “runs,” but the pump won’t fill with water. It does not return any water to the pool, in fact, a few air bubbles slowly come out of the nearest return jet. When I open up the pump, the water inside sits at like 2/3 full.
Some troubleshooting that I’ve done so far:
-Pool/skimmer water levels are good.
-Skimmer and pump basket are not clogged.
-I used a coat hanger to clear out the pump impeller and nothing came out.
-I’ve tried filling the pump with my hose and literally had it filling for ~10 minutes and it just kept eating it - it never filled/overflowed.
-I tried bleeding the air out of the filter, and when it eventually filled up, pressure wouldn’t build, and it would fill with air again. The filter is at 0 psi.
I’m hoping with these details and the troubleshooting I’ve done so far, one of you may be wise enough to pinpoint the issue. I fear that it pulling air in from an empty spa for who knows how long could mean the pump needs to replaced.
So, anybody have a clue what the issue is? Or have any other troubleshooting tips?
Thank you all so so much for taking the time to read this! Apologies for the length!
