Bought a home with my first pool (and did not grow up with one so have zero pool ownership experience) about 3 months ago. As long as I have owned the house, the spa has been draining down to pool level, which in the photo is about the bottom of the tiled perimeter (which is above the spa jet level) in the evening when the pump shuts off. Then, in the morning when the pump turns on, the autofill is back up and running basically the entire day until evening. I am constantly running the autofill and want to get to the bottom of it! One thing I have learned is that the previous owner did not maintain anything at all with the pool equipment. The heater does not work for whatever that is worth.
What I feel are unrelated fixes I have done to the equipment (listing for elimination of possible issues?):
1. There was a leaky actuator (the one with moss underneath it in the photo) which I had the o-ring replaced on (this is because it had a slight leak). It also needed to be adjusted as is was not turning perpendicular to the flow when triggered.
2. new o-ring in the chlorinator
3. New cartridge filters
4. New boost pump (old one died)
I had the spa check valve replaced by a pool service company when I got the house since it was totally shot, and was not surprised that it was draining. Unfortunately the replacement check valve didn't fix the issue. However, after the check valve was replaced this first time, the spa was only draining about 2.5 inches each night, which is better than the full ~6 inches to pool level/bottom of the tiles. I was told by the pool service company I hired that the 2.5 inches of drainage was normal as water 'settled into the pipes' after the pump shut off. I have since read that that is nonesense. Of note, when the pump was off, the check valve 'door' was opening just slightly and closing again, over and over. When this happened, the ball bearing in the chlorinator would jump and make a small 'clicking noise'. I thought that that meant the valve is still bad, so I had them replace it again. This time, the valve may as well not be there as the spa now drains all the way down to pool/bottom of tile/~6 inches as it did when the original shot out valve was in. When I called the service company again, the owner came out to speak with me as his thought was now that the check valve was not the issue. He observed the check valve flapping open when the pump is shut off and said that there is 'pull' coming from the pool side of the check valve. He said he had never seen this issue before, and long story short I am on my own as he didn't know what to do. He recommended replacing the chlorinator o-ring again, but as it is brand new and the issue existing well before the current replacement, I don't think that would be any issue. The chlorinator has water in it when I open it to put tabs in. I told him what I was paying in water every month and he said if I had a pool leak, the cost would be much much more. He said I could also manually kill the autofill each night, or electrical tape over the pool overflow. That's when I realized I needed to get advice somewhere else. The pool level does not go up over into the overflow grate (shown in photo 4).
I have googled 'typical pool & spa plumbing diagrams' to try and sketch out what exactly is happening so I can speak intelligently on this but can't yet wrap my mind around how all of this works. Again I am quite new to all this, but really want to stop filling my pool all day every day.
Advice would be very much appreciated!! Also, if anyone knows any pool companies serving the north Houston/Spring area that would be great as well! I would like to diagnose the issue myself if possible, but have someone in my back pocket to do the repair if it is beyond my skills to do so.
What I feel are unrelated fixes I have done to the equipment (listing for elimination of possible issues?):
1. There was a leaky actuator (the one with moss underneath it in the photo) which I had the o-ring replaced on (this is because it had a slight leak). It also needed to be adjusted as is was not turning perpendicular to the flow when triggered.
2. new o-ring in the chlorinator
3. New cartridge filters
4. New boost pump (old one died)
I had the spa check valve replaced by a pool service company when I got the house since it was totally shot, and was not surprised that it was draining. Unfortunately the replacement check valve didn't fix the issue. However, after the check valve was replaced this first time, the spa was only draining about 2.5 inches each night, which is better than the full ~6 inches to pool level/bottom of the tiles. I was told by the pool service company I hired that the 2.5 inches of drainage was normal as water 'settled into the pipes' after the pump shut off. I have since read that that is nonesense. Of note, when the pump was off, the check valve 'door' was opening just slightly and closing again, over and over. When this happened, the ball bearing in the chlorinator would jump and make a small 'clicking noise'. I thought that that meant the valve is still bad, so I had them replace it again. This time, the valve may as well not be there as the spa now drains all the way down to pool/bottom of tile/~6 inches as it did when the original shot out valve was in. When I called the service company again, the owner came out to speak with me as his thought was now that the check valve was not the issue. He observed the check valve flapping open when the pump is shut off and said that there is 'pull' coming from the pool side of the check valve. He said he had never seen this issue before, and long story short I am on my own as he didn't know what to do. He recommended replacing the chlorinator o-ring again, but as it is brand new and the issue existing well before the current replacement, I don't think that would be any issue. The chlorinator has water in it when I open it to put tabs in. I told him what I was paying in water every month and he said if I had a pool leak, the cost would be much much more. He said I could also manually kill the autofill each night, or electrical tape over the pool overflow. That's when I realized I needed to get advice somewhere else. The pool level does not go up over into the overflow grate (shown in photo 4).
I have googled 'typical pool & spa plumbing diagrams' to try and sketch out what exactly is happening so I can speak intelligently on this but can't yet wrap my mind around how all of this works. Again I am quite new to all this, but really want to stop filling my pool all day every day.
Advice would be very much appreciated!! Also, if anyone knows any pool companies serving the north Houston/Spring area that would be great as well! I would like to diagnose the issue myself if possible, but have someone in my back pocket to do the repair if it is beyond my skills to do so.
If the spa does not drain down with the manual Jandy valve turned to shut off the pipe going to the Spa jets, then the check valve is bad.. The check valve allows water to flow into the spa, and prevents water from flowing backward out of the spa. Turning the manual Jandy valve, shuts off the flow, which is identical to what the check valve should be doing....