Dialing back a Spa Blower

[rjledoux]

The blower on my spa is too powerful causing water to spill out over the top. It's the smallest one (1hp) that I could find. Could I plumb in a T with a valve an regulate the airflow this way? Essentially spilling out a portion of the unwanted air?

 

[mas985]

Are you sure you actually need a blower? A properly designed spa normally doesn't require one but some PBs put them in anyway. You can try the jets without it but remove it from the air pipe first to allow full air flow.

 

[jblizzle]

As Mark said, you may not need it. My previous pool did not have a blower.

If removing it does not work, I think it would be easier to just put a ball valve below the blower and not allow as much air to pass.

 

[rjledoux]

I don't get much out of the jets at all without the blower. The spa doesn't have a separate pump. It uses the main pump. The spa is only ~6 feet from the blower. How would a ball valve work in this situation? If the blower is a fixed cfm wouldn't we need to dispose of the unwanted air somewhere?

 

[jblizzle]

The fan would still run even if you fully closed off the pipe. Granted, I am not 100% sure if it would be "bad" for the blower to do this.

 

[mas985]

A blower is much like a pump in that they are not fixed flow devices and flow rate depends on the restriction in flow path. Also, like a pump, if you stop flow, heat can build up and damage the motor. But as long as there at least some flow through the blower, there should not be an issue.

However, an air pipe only 6' from the spa should not need a blower. Is the air pipe small? Did you ever try the spa with the blower actually removed and not just turned off? There is a difference.