Spa Trouble...please help

[rkgdmd]

Hello All,

We are nearing the end of our pool building project....and this forum has been unbelieveably helpful. We are having some trouble and I need some help. We have an in ground vinyl pool with an attatched spa. All controls are Goldline. First issue is that when we turn the blower on for more than 20 minutes it overheats and shuts off. I assume it is overheating because after an hour or 2 it will work again for another 20 minutes. The second issue is that the remote shows the error "High Salt/Amps" and shuts the Chlorinator as soon as the spa begins to run (within a minute or so). As soon as you activate the pool again, the error goes away and the chlorinator begins working normally. The remote reads salt between 3300 and 3400 ppm. The pool builder tells me both of these conditions are normal, but I think he's telling me a story. He says the high heat of the spa causes the cell to malfunction...but it happens even when spa water is cool. Any assitance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Rob

 

[Guest]

Is your spa a spillover or a separate body of water? If it's separate test the salt level in it. It might be too high.

Also, I assume you have an Aqualogic automation system. Is the blower programed to be on a 'countdown timer' or is it just an on and off control. It can be programmed either way.

My aqualogic works fine in both spa and pool modes even when the spa is at 100 deg. I have programmed my blower for a 10 minute cycle but I can turn it on as soon as it shuts off. Sounds like you have a few problems to work out yet. Try calling Goldline tech support. They are very helpful.

 

[rkgdmd]

Hello Waterbear,

Yes, the spa is same water as pool...that's what makes this so strange. I will have to check out how the blower is set up. Thanks.

Rob

 

[rkgdmd]

OK...maybe solved one problem...but found another. My remote was reading a salt level of 3400 ppm, but just to be sure I double checked by using a test strip and found the level to be over 4000 ppm!!! I imagine that much salt would cause the cell to draw too much current and shut down. A little weird that it only happened when I turned the spa on, but now that I added some water to the pool, I haven't this problem. Has anyone else found the remote reading of salt concentration to be that inaccurate ? Do I have a problem with the controls or is normal for the system to be that far off ?

 

[Guest]

The reading on the main control unit and on the remote should be the same! If your unit is reading lower than the chemical tests check your cell for scale deposits.

 

[rkgdmd]

OK....finally got this figured out. We have a 2 hp blower and an eight jet spa. Blower manufacturer tells me this is too big and the motor can not push enough air to keep the windings cool. They suggest drilling a 3/8 inch hole in blower pipe to allow motor to push more air with less resistance..thus keeping it cool.

Turns out my chlorinator cell is too close to heater which is creating the High Salt/Amps error. Hayward suggests at least 3 to 5 feet distance between heater outlet and the cell. Mine is only about 1 1/2 feet away. Since it is not possible to move the cell due to its proximity to other valves and hardware, they suggest I have the pool builder add a big loop to the lines to create the necessary distance...any body see a problem with this extra plumbing?

Waterbear...thanks for the advice about calling Hayward...very good technical support!

Thanks again,

Rob