How do I clear a clogged air line to Spa

[cravaus]

I am getting no air mixed in with the water at the spa. I feel the water pump out strong. I cleaned the filter. I turn on the blower and no air is going through. I have taken the blower off of the pipe and I can see water at the bottom of the pipe. I think this is normal. I have tried to blow with my mouth into the pipe and it feels blocked.

I have emptied the spa and removed the jets to see if there was blockage at the jets. Water is shooting out pretty strong so I think at least water from the filter and heater is ok. I replaced the jets. Still no air.

I figure I could blow air back into the jets (one at a time) with a shop vac but I am not sure how to block off the 7 other jets (some tips would be helpful here).

A concern: A few months ago, while vacuuming the pool after a very windy day, I accidentally knocked a plastic cap into the skimmer and it went down one of the lines. The cap was 1" diameter and was heavy plastic pvc. I am not sure which side it fell into but I imagine it must of been sucked in the suction line rather than the equalizer. I tried to blow it out the other way from the pump motor with a bladder and nothing came out. I tried to use the bladder to push it into the basket from the skimmer side and nothing happened. I figured it is caught at a 90 degree angle and will not move. At that time I tested the spa and everything else and it seemed to work fine. Perhaps this is blocking the air now? If this cap is the problem I am not sure how or where to look or how to get it out. Tips and ideas would be helpful. Thanks

Craig

 

[mas985]

I would try a shop vac on the air line. See if you can suck out what ever is stuck in there. If that doesn't work, swap the vac line and see if you can blow air through to get bubbles.

 

[cravaus]

What I understand is you are saying first attach the shop vac to the blower pipe and suck out the line there. For that I suppose emptying out the spa is the first step. If that does not work then blow at the blower side of the line. I suppose alternating back and forth will hopefully dislodge the thing. Am I understanding correctly?

 

[mas985]

Before emptying the spa, you might try blowing with the shop vac just to see if it is any more effective than the spa blower and to see if any air is getting by the obstruction. After that remove the water and then try back and forth as see if you can dislodge anything.

Also, there isn't a valve or a check valve on the air line anywhere is there? Sometimes those can fail.

 

[cravaus]

No check valve that I can see. Thank you so much for the tips.

Craig

 

[cravaus]

Well the blowing and the sucking has not dislodged the blockage.

Thinking out loud: If the blockage is the cap I dropped in the skimmer, it seems that it would be stuck between the skimmer and the basket at the pump and I am not sure how it would block the air in that case. Using the bladder should have popped it out if it was in between the skimmer and the basket however. At least I think it would. I think it is a straight run to the skimmer with a couple 90 degrees to the basket. If it is debris in the line, I am not sure how it would get there because everything is covered. If the cap fell down the equalizer, I should not have this problem at all.

If anyone has other ideas about clearing out the air line I would love to hear them.

 

[mas985]

When you blew air into the air line, did any air come out of the jets?

 

[cravaus]

Very little in the beginning. Today, I pulled off the blower and noticed the pipe is now full to the top with water. I am thinking that the pressure is too great for my shop vack to push out all the watter that is in the pipe. The first time I just drained it down below the jets. This time I will take it all the way down. So, I am going to drain the spa completely and then try to blow out the lines again.

 

[cravaus]

That worked. I just focused on sucking out the line and getting all the water out of the water out of the line. I let the shop vac run for about 30 min non stop and filled the bucket. Then I did about 20 min more of sucking it out with a smaller line that I put down to the first bend of the p trap. I sucked it away until I could hear air through the lines at the spa. Then I blew it out. All is well.

 

[mas985]

What was it that was clogging the line?