Spa Jets and Air Controller

[allwet]

On my spa, which overflows in to my pool, there are about 8 jets. On the spa ledge there is a "cap" you can screw in or out to create bubbles in the jets. Unfortunately, it's not working. I can open it up, but no bubbles. If I blow down the tube, the nearest jet will bubble. Is it the jets? Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[waste]

The 2 things i can think of right off the bat are :

1 The jets aren't open, however I doubt this because you could blow air through the closest one

2 Not enough pressure to entrain the air! I don't know if you can adjust the valves to have more water going to the spa jets, but if you can - that would probably solve the problem

Unless--

3 - the pump is not on :lol:

 

[Guest]

As waste suggested, does this happen in spillover mode or in spa mode? Do you also have a blower or aux. pump that turns on when the spa is on and is it working? It's rare for the venturi jets to malfunction but it can happen.

 

[allwet]

Ha. Pump is on for now... but that's another story/post. My pool and spa share the same pump... in spa mode the water is taken from the spa, filtered, heated and returned to the spa. Spill-over is just a function of a small amount of water being diverted to the spa when the pump is in "pool" mode. Air blower works fine and feeds bubbler's in the seats.
If it's flow... I am wondering if my pump is delivering the same flow rate as when it was new. The filter's pressure gauge reading seems to be consistent. Is there a way to check the pump's flow rate?

 

[MEvan]

Try completely unscrewing the air controller and closing off a few of the other jets. Is water coming out of the air controller when the pump is running? Sometimes those check valves can go bad in the air line, but it is usually a flow issue that doesnt allow the venturi effect to take place. Check all of the valves to spa to make sure they are all open completely.

 

[allwet]

Finally had a chance to look at the jets. All are open. I removed one and the water still came out the air controller. Anyone familiar with the Hayward SP1434 Jet? I took one out and am trying to determine if the o-ring in the jet could be causing the problem... allowing water to enter the air line... ??? I noticed that the o-ring was worn/broken. Thanks.