Drain Fitting Sheared Off

[dhabe]

Hey everyone, I’m a newbie here and recently ran into an issue on my Hot Spring. We took a trip and when I came back I noticed almost all the water was gone. I tried to troubleshoot but it kicked into protection mode even after I refilled it. Left it off overnight, it held water, and it fired up the next day only to find that water was rushing out from behind the access panel. After googling a bit, it appears the drain fitting on the pump sheared off. Pictures below.

I have 2 questions... first, will I need to replace the entire wet side or is there a tip/trick to back the broken fitting out so that I can fix it? Or should I just call a service company?

Second, we have freezing temps here and I am worried about more damage while I get it fixed. Anything I should do besides drain it all the way via the drain plug? I am worried about potential residual water hanging around in other parts of the hot tub.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Can you get a clearer picture of the drain hole on the pump casing?

That drain fitting should thread into the pump casing, so you should be able to take a flat blade screwdriver (or ease-out if you have one) that will engage the inside of the broken fitting and force it into the plastic a little and screw the broken part out.

- - - Updated - - -

P.S. The part that's broken looks like a check valve.

 

[Oly]

My Hotsprings spa has the same fitting. It is simply a threaded hose bib with an o-ring that attaches to the wet side of the pump. I believe it is designed to assist in flooding the pump and removing air, but I am not certain and could find no info from my research. My issue was not being able to properly seal the threaded connection despite the o-ring and experiencing a steady leak at the connection when the pump was running. I tried everything with no luck and I'm guessing yours was tightened to the point the threads failed. My solution was to remove the bibbed device, plug the wet side port and plug the hose. This resulted in no more leakage, and no adverse results after a year of use. This is not a recommendation simply my experience.