Low pressure assistance

[innova]

Hello all,

Been lurking for some time but finally I must post! I've got a small fiberglass pool with an attached spa. I'm not 100% how the spa is plumbed, but there are 6 jets, with "air port" on the deck which you can open to induce air. I'm getting very low pressure from these jets, to the point where they aren't pushing hard enough to aspirate via the port. I can see the first 2 sputtering air, and hear them "chugging" in the deck port. I can't say for certain I'm getting equally low pressure on the pool side, but I believe I am experiencing loss here as well, it's just not as obvious. Filter pump shows 22psi when diverted to pool return, 26psi to spa for what it's worth.

There are only 2 suction lines, 1 from the skimmer (pool), and one from the spa (shared to 2 ports in spa). Changing between the 2 does not give me any noticeable pressure change in the spa. I've tried for weeks to troubleshoot this and have run out of ideas. The only access i've gotten to the plumbing is removing the Turbo Cell thus far. Attaching a photo with reference points in case anyone would like to assist. (please excuse the weeds )

Thanks!

innova

 

[JasonLion]

One possibility is that the filter needs to be cleaned. Do you know what the starting/clean pressure for the filter should be?

I am also curious about the valve position on V-2. In the photo, it looks like it is set to partially block the flow to both I and J.

 

[innova]

Thanks Jason for the reply. I'm unsure of starting pressure (sorry). I soaked the 4 cartridges in TSP+water solution for 5 hours today, which improved pressure, but not quite there yet. V-2 controls return to Pool/Spa/Off. I have it set for about 90% pool, 10% spa for spillover.

Jets #2 and #3 are now blowing some air, #4 is sputtering. The rest are moving water but no air. Acting like low voltage in a series wiring setup.

For what it's worth, in the original diagram, V-3 is the valve for the Deck Jets, I've noticed one of them constantly dribbles slowly.

 

[mas985]

What size is the pipe going to the spa and what size is the pump? Also, do you know the size of the jet orifice?

26 PSI should be more than enough pressure for 6 jets unless there is a lot of pressure loss in the plumbing instead of the jets. Ideally, you want all of the pressure to reach the jets.

 

[innova]

The pool is approximately 5 years old and if I recall correctly, this problem only recently surfaced since opening this year. My motor is making some squealing noises as well (I believe its the bearing squealing). The plumbing is all 2", I had all the jets out today but didn't measure, will do tomorrow. Not noticing any water loss really, although I know it trickles from the deckjet.

 

[innova]

I think I need to refocus my attention to the plumbing at the spa. I've blown the suction lines out from the pump side, and taken the pump apart, no obstructions. I'm still pushing 26psi to the spa in "spa mode" and only getting bubbles in the couple jets specified. The other jets dont feel like they're blowing nearly as hard as the others. Could have a plumbing/settling issue in my spa ?

One thing of note. My spa has 2 suction lines. Both are return water fine to the pump, however, when I was blowing them out (shop vac), I only noticed bubbles coming out of one of them. Is that expected? I'm unfamiliar w/ how these are plumbed.

Thanks again,

-Jason

 

[innova]

Ok, just discovered something significant (maybe?) that hopefully will mean something to you guys who know this stuff . With the pump off, i blew air into port V (spa photo) and air is bubbling out of all jets. I left the vac blowing and turned on the pump, and air stops coming out of the problematic ports.

 

[mas985]

There may be two suction ports in the spa but they are probably plumbed together for the trip to the pad. Probably the reason that you are not getting a lot of bubbles, is that the flow rate is too low to create the venturi effect. We just need to figure out why.

A few more questions:

What size/model is your pump?

What was your filter pressure last year when things were running properly?

Have to tried to remove the jet internals to flush out the lines?

 

[innova]

Hey all, thanks so much to all who replied. After a month of troubleshooting (and 4 days on the forum) I was finally able to remedy the situation. Turns out the company that opened my pool installed 2 of the spa jets incorrectly. There are 2 big plastic washers, one goes in the back of the jet housing (spa wall), and one goes in the eyeball socket. In the 2 jets they did incorrectly, the washers were doubled up in the eyeball socket, allowing for a leak against the sidewall. Once I set them correctly, all the jets came to life. I think what helped the most was the recommended step of removing all the jet housings, and blowing air down the venturi tube with a shop vac. This allowed me to see where air was escaping the jets.

Again, thanks to all!