Help, Spa blower Mystery

[Sharkygirl]

Thought my spa had a leak because I was loosing chemistry such as CH, Salt, and CYA. Had the leak detectors come out. They confirmed I had a leak. OK
Well they couldn't find the leak, they had all the jets out and then put them all back. I found a small leak at the plumbing and fixed it, sort of. When all was put back together, the blower doesn't blow air into the lines. The blower would then overheat. Had the leak guys come back, they drained half the spa, checked all the valves again. Ran the blower, it worked fine- when there wasn't water over the jets. Filled the spa, turned on the pump, turned on the blower- now I don't have bubbles again. This must be an air lock of some sort. Any ideas? As far as I know, there isn't a leak any more.

 

[chiefwej]

There are venturi in each of the jets. Sometimes scale or debris can cause blockage. So my question is has anyone removed and cleared the venturi. They would remove all the eyeballs, use a socket and extension to unscrew the venturi, run the pump and blower to clear everything out, then reassemble everything. It is not common though for all to be blocked, but certainly not impossible.

 

[Sharkygirl]

All of the jet valves were removed from the spa when they were checking for a leak. The jet valves were all clean. Nothing on them at all. The blower ran fine when I was filling the spa. When the water level was above the jets, I turned off the blower as it will only run for 20 minutes at a time anyway. The next day once the spa was filled, I turned on the pump. I get water flow from the jets, but when I turn on the blower, I do not get any air bubbles (jet action) like I used to. The blower overheats within 3 minutes and shuts down.

 

[homegameroom]

Your blower probably has a check valve to prevent water from getting into the blower motor and squirrel-cage fan. My bet is that your check valve has somehow frozen shut by getting water/moisture in it. Check it out and let us know.

 

[MBRS3]

Hi,

Not sure if you resolved this issue or not, but it sounds like the jets were reassembled incorrectly or may be missing pieces. If the jest are assembled incorrectly and/or missing pieces, it allows water to back up into the air line and blocks off any air from making it to the spa. This is why the blower will run when the spa is drained but when you fill the spa and the water pump is on, it won't run. Try running the blower with the spa filled all the way up but with the water pump completely off. If you get air to the spa after doing that, then it's definitely the jets.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sharkygirl]

I haven't tried to run the blower without the pump on, so I will give it a go and see what happens. Thanks. So am I understanding correctly, if I get bubble action in the spa with the blower running and the pump turned off, there is a problem with the jets? Are all spa mechanics the same? I have an in ground gunite spa.

 

[MBRS3]

I haven't tried to run the blower without the pump on, so I will give it a go and see what happens. Thanks. So am I understanding correctly, if I get bubble action in the spa with the blower running and the pump turned off, there is a problem with the jets? Are all spa mechanics the same? I have an in ground gunite spa.

Yes exactly, if you get bubbles in the spa when the blower is the ONLY thing running, then this means the blower works and you have no blockages in your line. The blockage occurs when you turn the water pump on, either because the pump is too powerful or the jets are assembled incorrectly. Either of those things will cause water to flood the air line and block any air from making it into the spa.

The fact that this issue started occurring after they came out and removed your jets makes me strongly believe it's the jets being assembled incorrectly or missing pieces.

Let me know your findings!

 

[Sharkygirl]

MBRS3- I turned on the blower with everything else off. It let out a puff of air at first and nothing more, than shut itself down as it did before. I am suspecting an air lock. One of the jets that should be there is missing. I will have to ask my pool guy what he did with it. I noticed on the camera he took it out. I will keep you updated. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my original text for help with figuring this out. Someone earlier said to check the check valve on the blower. Where would that be located?

 

[homegameroom]

I think I was the one who suggested the check valve on the blower. It should be located downstream of the blower somewhere - look for a fitting between the blower and the spa that bulges out a bit. It is probably located just below the blower. Depending upon how everything is installed, you can probably unscrew the blower and inspect it fairly easily.......

 

[MBRS3]

MBRS3- I turned on the blower with everything else off. It let out a puff of air at first and nothing more, than shut itself down as it did before. I am suspecting an air lock. One of the jets that should be there is missing. I will have to ask my pool guy what he did with it. I noticed on the camera he took it out. I will keep you updated. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my original text for help with figuring this out. Someone earlier said to check the check valve on the blower. Where would that be located?

That's pretty surprising that the blower shut off entirely by itself. I would follow the above advice and make sure the check valve is working properly and isn't stuck shut or something. Depending on which blower you have, it could be installed right below the blower or it could be built in. It's also possible that the check valve is further in line if your pool builder plumbed a Hartford loop. The check valve will normally look like either of these attached images. If you can locate the check valve, push your finger down on the poppet in the middle and make sure it will move back and forth freely.

One last thing you can try is to take the blower off of the PVC and turn it on to see if it's blowing out sufficient air and making good pressure. If the volume of air seems very low, it's possible that some internal parts are broken.

 

[Sharkygirl]

Blower is still a mystery. They are going to try and blow air in the plumbing with some sort of a machine to see if something is stuck. The check valve is fine and the blower seems to blow air just fine when off of the pipe. Doesn't make sense to me, but we'll see.