velazed said:
Based on everybody helps, I can concluded that the possibles causes are;
1) Low flow pressure going to the spa jet due to:
a. two check valves (one right after the filter and one below ground) - they lowered the flow too much??
b. a clogged filter cartridge- I will double check by removing the filter again.
c. air lines are clogged (no bubbles)
d. a defective jandy valve restristing the flow to the spa jets. (the return valve - the one circled in green)
Good summary. I think you can easily get caught up chasing too many things and end up making mistakes - like cutting lines and replumbing. Have you removed the jets? Since you only installed them AFTER you noticed the reduced flow, just get them out of the equation for now.
a. This is the only thing that has changed from when you had good flow to low flow. But I'd check out any other possibilities that are easy to check first. Can you get the specs on that check valve from the solar installers and see what the flow rating is for it? If after everything else, you still have a problem, then you could bypass the check valve. The only question I had was that if this check valve is slowing down the flow, then it would in regular mode too and you would have noticed decreased waterfall or deck jets.
b. You already tried that.
c. Very easy to try. Loss of air = loss of bubbles = perception of low flow.
d. Doubtful, but again, easy to check.
e. Broken Pipes - you'd already know.
f. Other valves on pressure side leaking flow - Easy to tell - if you are in Spa mode and water is coming from any other ports, then you are loosing flow through a valve.
One other test you can do is to drain the spa down to the seat and then time how long it takes to fill it back up and calculate the flow rate. If it is 60-70 then there are no problems. If it is 20, then you know it is a restriction.