Self made hot tub almost done!

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walledition said:
Explain to me how a single drain can cause a death and how and second drain can prevent it
Click to expand...

It happens more often that you would think. A second drain or a special cover added to existing single drain can lower the suction enough to where a child can pull free if trapped.
Parents of Kids Killed in Pool Drain Accidents Outraged By Federal Rethink of Safety Law - ABC News

"Nancy Baker's daughter Virginia Graeme Baker died in a tragic spa accident in 2002. The 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker died in her mother's arms after she sat on the underwater floor drain of a hot tub."
 
Note that VGB only applies to public pools other than the requirement for any newly installed cover to be compliant.

Dual main drains are only required if state or local ordinances require them. Typically, ordinances are adopted by the jurisdiction by incorporating or adopting the International Residential Code and the Internation Swimming Pool and Spa Code, which includes ANSI-APSP-7.

As of March 01 2016. Only Montana, N.J, Va. and Washington DC have statewide adoption.

Texas goes by local jurisdiction. Amarillo, Wylie, Canyon, Saginaw, Spring Valley Village and Seagoville have adopted the ISPSC.

In any case, the skimmer gives you a second source of suction. I would recommend that the spa never be used with only the main drain on.

The cover should always be secure and intact.

The spa should not be used by children unsupervised.

Children should be taught not to touch the main drain or allow their hair to get near the grate.

It's important to follow all applicable building codes.

Be aware that the amount of force that a drain can generate is based on area and suction. If a 50 square inch area was blocked by a child's body and the suction was 10 psi, the force holding them down would be 500 lbs.
 
JamesW said:
If the heater is supposed to be after the pump and it relies on a pressure switch, it's not going to work on the suction side.
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Correct me if im wrong but looks like my heater doesnt work with a pressure switch, look at the picture

Im ordering the filter to install it while im changing to pump infront of the heater but im not sure that will solve my problem
 
Im posting a picture from the cover of my heater lets see if i have my dip switched correct and lets see if i have the pump connected to the right port
Lets remember i only have 1 pump and its a 1 speed
I have the pump connected to "Pump 1"
I have the DIP switched in this order:
1 Off
2 On
3 On
4 Off
5 Off
6 Off
7 Off
8 Off
9 Off
10 Off

 

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Forgive my ignorance, I don't mean to add to the confusion, but I AM confused about something in your set up: Aren't hot tubs supposed to have two-speed pumps in order to do circulation mode? ( or alternately, a second circ pump.)

Eg. How is the heater to function in Thermostatting if there is not circ every hour? If this all started with a hi limit error...clearly its not getting the flow it needs - but it may not just be a function your line size...if the water isn't moving then the heat build up may be too great.

The way my little sport tub works is off a 2 hp, 2 speed. When not in blower/jet mode, it automatically runs on low speed for a certain percentage of every hour on some kind of internal setting. It also shuts off jets automatically after 20 min. Run time in blower mode.

Per your diagram above, perhaps the equipment is configured to "switch speeds" but then there's no flow after the switch because there's no cir pump or second speed.

I might be all wet but my gut hunch is that you need to swap out the pump for a two speed, 2 hp, and add it to the return side after you've added your filter.
 
walledition said:
Well i went and got 2 pressure gauges and 1 vacuum gauge, you can see the reading in this video:
1 - YouTube
Then i decided i would skip the jets and connect a big hose on the pump see if my jets are a restriction, vacuum gauge went up bouncing but at exacly 15 minutes the pump stops and im getting HL code again, video:
2 - YouTube

That code pops since theres a to big of a difference between the 2 sensors, could it be that one sensor is bad, its weird that exacly at 15 minutes evertime it shuts off even if i change the flow with the hose

Ill follow the instruccions and put the pump before the heater im just trying to order a filter while im at it install it to, i found this one: Cartridge Filter, Pentair Rainbow RTL-25, Top Load, 2 Slip | eBay

Can someone verify thats what i really need?

thank you

- - - Updated - - -

Btw i was wrong about my pvc diameter, jet side is actually 1.5" and skimmer to heater is 2", reason i did the jet side smaller is they came at 1.5"
Click to expand...

Ok. So your original problem was that you're getting this "flow" error code, and we still haven't verified that you're getting the right flow at the heater. The vacuum gauge is jumping all over the place in the second video. In the first video, it's basically pulling no vacuum at all as far as I can tell. It could be a gauge issue, but I'd think you should be pulling a steady 3-5 in Hg.

Anyway, if you can get a verified number for your vacuum that you're pulling (in the units of in Hg) and then the pressure at the outlet (in units of psi), you can calculate the total dynamic head (TDH) with this formula:

TDH = (vacuum pressure (in Hg) x 1.13) + (outlet pressure (psi) x 2.31)

Once you know your TDH, you can go to the pump curves (supplied by the manufacturer) and see what flow you're getting. It looks fine when you're using that hose to dump it back into the hot tub in the second video, but that could be bypassing a problem that is downstream.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and I should have said this above (again), but above all else you should probably get everything in the right configuration per the recommendation from the heater manufacturer. I understand you're in that process.
 
Im gonna finally change the heater and the pump see if it makes a difference making pressure instead of vacumm, while im at it i´ll go ahead and install a small filter for now, can anyone tell me if this filter would work? i know its not exacly the right big fancy filter but i dont have much room in my box and would like to at least throw in a filter

This is the best i can find local: (I BOUGHT THE 10" , 1-1/2")
Big Blue Heavy Duty Series | Pentair Residential Water Filtration
 

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