Spa pump died and was under warranty. Service company replaced it but with a cheaper version.

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Esand323

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Aug 6, 2018
120
Indianapolis
Hi all,

I have an Artesian Tropic Seas Oahu Elite Spa. The circulation pump on it died after only about 1.5 years. The dealer I bought the hot tub through had a 3 year warranty on the pump, so I had them come out to fix. They ended up replacing it but with a cheaper model.

The previous one (the one that broke) was a Balboa Water Group Model: 1030056. It was 230v, 60 Hz, 1.05 Amps, .25 Hp. It looks like this retails for roughly $300 online.

The one they replaced it with was a "WTC50M". It has 220-240v, 60Hz, 1.0 Amps, .25 Kw and Hp is not listed. Looking online, I see various Hp listed for it. One shows this model with 1/15 Hp and another with .35 Hp. It retails for roughly $150.

Is the replacement pump a cheaper pump? It is based on price, but I know that doesn't really show the entire picture as sometimes it might just be that the original "stock" pump is difficult to buy individually. If it is a cheaper pump, then I'll go back to the dealer. Thanks.
 
It was explained to me by a spa parts dealer that the Hp rating is kind of gimmicky. They told me that that you always go by the Amp draw to determine what pump you need. It looks like they replaced your pump with a very close match, so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Esand323 said:
Hi all,

I have an Artesian Tropic Seas Oahu Elite Spa. The circulation pump on it died after only about 1.5 years. The dealer I bought the hot tub through had a 3 year warranty on the pump, so I had them come out to fix. They ended up replacing it but with a cheaper model.

The previous one (the one that broke) was a Balboa Water Group Model: 1030056. It was 230v, 60 Hz, 1.05 Amps, .25 Hp. It looks like this retails for roughly $300 online.

The one they replaced it with was a "WTC50M". It has 220-240v, 60Hz, 1.0 Amps, .25 Kw and Hp is not listed. Looking online, I see various Hp listed for it. One shows this model with 1/15 Hp and another with .35 Hp. It retails for roughly $150.

Is the replacement pump a cheaper pump? It is based on price, but I know that doesn't really show the entire picture as sometimes it might just be that the original "stock" pump is difficult to buy individually. If it is a cheaper pump, then I'll go back to the dealer. Thanks.
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Honestly if I was in your shoes and the pump was under warranty I would fight with them to replace with exact same part or atleast a comparable Balboa brand pump (if your version is not available anymore). You can deal with aftermarket parts on your own outside of warranty if you wish but you bought the warranty (even if you didn't get extended, it is still calculated into price of the Spa) so I would fight to get an exact replacement.

Obviously you have more leverage if the exact Balboa replacement is still available (which it should given age of your Spa). Just tell them you want an exact replacement of the pump and not replaced with a cheaper aftermarket one. Tell them that you chose this Spa specifically because of Balboa parts and you expect no less when warranty is honored.
 
There are only a couple of manufacturers that make those, and balboa is not one of them. They buy them from someone else and put their name on it. Your dealer likely just skipped the expensive middle man. I do it all the time.
 
RDspaguy said:
There are only a couple of manufacturers that make those, and balboa is not one of them. They buy them from someone else and put their name on it. Your dealer likely just skipped the expensive middle man. I do it all the time.
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Sure, but as a consumer I would not want to run on that assumption for a warranty replacement part. I don't want to be doing research and calling Balboa and pump manufacturers to make sure that the pump they put in is the exact same one (albeit not branded Balboa). Having warranty should mean as little hassle as possible, and a peace of mind. I don't want to be thinking that they put in a cheaper after marker pump that might only last 2 years. Skipping the middle man on a warranty part only saves the dealer money and not money for you so I would still fight for an exact Balboa replacement. If I was paying out of pocket for a part outside of the warranty period, skipping the middle man is a good option to save me some money. However, then I would do a bit of research on my replacement part options and choose which one I would like to go with.
 
Krulligo said:
Sure, but as a consumer I would not want to run on that assumption for a warranty replacement part. I don't want to be doing research and calling Balboa and pump manufacturers to make sure that the pump they put in is the exact same one (albeit not branded Balboa). Having warranty should mean as little hassle as possible, and a peace of mind. I don't want to be thinking that they put in a cheaper after marker pump that might only last 2 years. Skipping the middle man on a warranty part only saves the dealer money and not money for you so I would still fight for an exact Balboa replacement. If I was paying out of pocket for a part outside of the warranty period, skipping the middle man is a good option to save me some money. However, then I would do a bit of research on my replacement part options and choose which one I would like to go with.
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Hey, if the cheap aftermarket pump makes it 2 years, it will have lasted longer than the Balboa. 🤷‍♂️
 
The "cheap aftermarket" comes from the same place as the balboa, is the point I'm making. Laing and grundfos are the two main manufacturers, and they don't look at all alike. Balboa uses laing pumps, as do most spas. Even hot springs "proprietary" circ pumps are made by laing, they can only sell them to watkins.
Also, your warranty, I'm sure, does not specify ANY brand of part, and spa manufacturers are always switching brand to whoever makes them the best deal on 10k of them. You can try to insist on a brand if you like, they might agree to it if they have one, but they are not obligated under the terms of the warranty.
The main thing that takes out circ pumps is water chemistry and debris. I've seen them last 10 years on well maintained indoor spas, and burn out in a few months when neglected. Hair, pine needles, cottonwood fluff, anything that can get past a filter, or scale from high ph, can unbalance the floating impeller and cause it to drag or lock up which overheats the motor. 2-3 years is the average, and I've seen no significant difference in brands. They all work the same way.
 
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RDspaguy said:
Also, your warranty, I'm sure, does not specify ANY brand of part, and spa manufacturers are always switching brand to whoever makes them the best deal on 10k of them. You can try to insist on a brand if you like, they might agree to it if they have one, but they are not obligated under the terms of the warranty.
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That's what I was thinking. Another example is your car. Small things like water pumps, thermostats, etc aren't often made by Ford, Toyota, Chevy, etc. Heck, engines and transmissions are not uncommonly purchased by one car company from another car company*! If they die under warranty, the replacement part will be equivalent in function, but not necessarily made by the same manufacturer as when you bought the car. Heck, the car company could (and often likely does) have multiple suppliers for the same part, switching between them interchangeably.

*One of the latest examples of this is in 2016 Ford and GM teamed up and jointly designed two transmissions. A 10 speed longitudinal transmission designed primarily by Ford, and a 9 speed transverse transmission primarily designed by GM. Both companies will use both transmissions, though they each have their own assembly lines for the transmissions used in their respective vehicles.

The Pontiac Vibe, Goe Prism, and Chevy Nova all had Toyota engines.
 

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