Check valve for spa fountain vs spa return

[Jg13]

Good evening,

I’m having the common issue of my spa draining down to the pool level during the day. From everything I’ve gathered , it should be a check valve. I have one on the spa return side and then another (buried at ground level) for the spa fountain side (just what it’s labled). The spa return doesn’t seem to be leaking or making noises which leads me to believe it’s the one halfway underground. I’ve highlighted the check valve in question. Before I go buy and start digging , would that make sense as the culprit?

Please ignore the ghetto valves, I’m working on replacing two actuators there.

 

[mknauss]

Turn the valve off that is just above that check valve. See if it still drains down.

 

[Jg13]

Thanks. I’ll do that. And that valve needs to be parallel with the pipes, with the off position north or south, right?

If that works, then the check valve below it is bad and water is being sucked from the “spa fountain” into the pool. Is that what it would confirm?

Thanks again.

 

[mknauss]

Correct, for both.

 

[jdlangley1]

Yes - this is what was occurring on my pool. When pump is in pool mode, it always supplied water to that return in spa and water always overflowed over spa waterfall. If that valve goes bad, when in spa mode, it will drain back into pool.

Builders in Texas add that extra return in spa when it really isn’t necessarily given that many pool automations have a spillway mode instead.

If you want to prevent that return from always having water flow to spa, rather than replace guts of my check valve, I instead replaced with guts from a 2 way valve and then added an automated actuator. You can then turn actuator on for 5 mins a day to flush that return out.

You still have to make sure that valve is closed while in spa mode or spa will still drain to pool.