Air bubbles coming out of spa jets when pump on but air control valve closed

[ixarka]

I recently replaced the pulsator jets in my spa since the one of them blew out and scattered ball bearings all over and the other ones no longer spin. This is the exact part: Waterway 3-1/2" Deluxe Poly Pulsator Screw-in Jet Insert.

However, now it seems that any time my pool pump is on, the pulsator jets have bubbles coming out of them. The non-pulsator jets are fine. I tried closing all of the air control vales completely and still the bubbles come out. I've noticed the pH of my pool keeps rising and I've been having to add a lot of acid to keep things in check. What boggles my mind is, if I remove the jets completely and just leave the wall fittings, no bubbles come out. My previous jets did not behave this way -- they only had bubbles when the pool was in "spa mode" and never bubbled in "pool mode."

Any idea what might be going on here? Are my spa jets defective? Do I have some air getting into the system somehow? I don't get where those bubbles could be coming from if the air valves are closed but I also don't get why they stop when I take the jets out. Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Is the new jet identical to the old one?

 

[ixarka]

Thanks!

It certainly looks identical to me but who knows how old the original jet was. It didn't have a part number on it so I can't be certain. And sometimes manufacturers make tweaks over time. I guess one important detail is me replacing the jets corresponded with getting the entire pool resurfaced but they didn't touch any of the plumbing/equipment.

I played around with them again this morning and one other thing I noticed is, if I open the air control valves and just use my finger to stop the flow of bubbles through the jets, water starts bubbling up out of the valve on the side with the jets I closed. I found that a bit odd too since I figured the water would just find it's way to the other jets but maybe it doesn't work that way if they're blocked.

 

[ajw22]

The air and water lines combine at the jet. When you block the water flow you force the water up through the air line. That is normal.