2 of 4 spa jets with very low pressure

[Yorker]

I recently had a warranty replacement on one of our pool lights and the filter’s pressure gauge. This was the one and only time I did not watch them doing the repair, so now with my current issues I wonder if the maybe did something (hopefully I’m just being paranoid).

A few days later I noticed two of the 4 spa jets that are connected to the main pump barely had any pressure (one less than the other). Over the last week I’ve read a number of posts on TFP. I’ve checked the skimmer basket, and the pump and both had very little debris. The pressure gauge when in pool mode was its usual 12psi. I also cleaned the filter about a month ago, but opened it up anyway and did not see anything problematic, I did rinse the filters of the little debris that was there. When I went to put the lid back on I noticed the o-right was quite stretched out, and it’s only 3 years old. I was able to get the lid back on and the o-right squeezed in.

Anyway, I can’t think of anything else to check regarding the two jet’s pressure.

OH … one more odd thing! I have a setting for the pool’s pump to run at 2700 and 3000 rmps. In these settings the two jets do get incrementally more pressure, however when I switch to Spa mode the lower of the two jets seem to have as much pressure as the ones to the left, but the upper right jet is still notably less.

Could it be a leak in the pipe that goes to those jets? (prone to paranoia ?

here are photos from the build

 

[mas985]

It is possible there could be an obstruction in the lines. You might try removing all the jet fittings and internal nozzles to flush the lines.

Looking at the way they plumbed the jets, they used a lot of very small pipe which is probably part of the problem.

 

[Yorker]

Thanks mas895. I forgot to mention that I did remove the only removable parts of the 4 jets that connected to that pump, all that remains is the threaded pipe. There are 8 other jets in the spa, but those are connected to a separate pump.

When I removed the 4, I tried my best to use my hands to cover the two jets with the most pressure, but it seemed to have little effect on the other two. How would I flush the the lines?

 

[mas985]

Those are the exterior fittings. There are jet nozzles deep in the wall that require a long socket wrench, 9/16", to remove.

 

[Yorker]

Ahhh! Once again, THANKS Mark!

So I partially drained the spa to get a closer look. Can't get an in-focus shot, but I do see a metal hex nut way back there (about 8.5"). I'll check if I have an extension to get that far back, or just run to Home Depot. It seems that it would be easy enough to unscrew that and take it out, then I guess I would just turn the pump on and hope that something flushed out... right?

Is there much of a chance I could damage anything?

OR ... I'm assuming the dark area in the center is the hole that the water flows through. Could I try to thread a wire in there to try to dislodge any blockage?

 

[jimmythegreek]

What happened that they had to chip the concrete out and play with the piping in the one photo?

 

[Yorker]

What happened that they had to chip the concrete out and play with the piping in the one photo?

There were SO many issues during the builld, I'm not positive, but I believe I was because during a pressure test they found a leak.

 

[mas985]

So I partially drained the spa to get a closer look. Can't get an in-focus shot, but I do see a metal hex nut way back there (about 8.5"). I'll check if I have an extension to get that far back, or just run to Home Depot. It seems that it would be easy enough to unscrew that and take it out, then I guess I would just turn the pump on and hope that something flushed out... right?

Correct

Is there much of a chance I could damage anything?

You just don't want to strip the head of the nozzle. Make sure the socket wrench is seated well on the head. This will also help remove it when it is unscrewed.

OR ... I'm assuming the dark area in the center is the hole that the water flows through. Could I try to thread a wire in there to try to dislodge any blockage?

That won't help. The hole needs to be bigger (i.e. nozzle removed) in order for the debris to pass.

 

[Yorker]

Thanks Mark, I see what I will be doing today. I'll report back!

 

[Yorker]

Well, it took far longer to remember the correct settings to drain the spa than the 2 minutes to fix the problem! Oddly the top (lowest pressure jet) had a large pebble stuck, and the lower jet had nothing. The spa is refilling now and the pressure feels equal in all four jets!

Now, how in the heck did that large pebble get in there? I'm thinking the last time I cleaned the filters the pebble got transferred into tank. I clean them in a pebbled area of our backyard.

Mark, thanks one more time for steering me in the right direction and typing me through this.

York

 

[mas985]

Glad you found the problem. The pebble may have entered the plumbing during construction. The PB should have flushed the lines before installing the nozzles.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Nice guidance Mark you get an A+ on this one