Spillover Spa Intake Fitting Options

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S

shmuby

Member
Aug 5, 2021
12
Melbourne, FL
I've got a small spillover spa with a 1.5" intake pipe in the side of the lower part. The intake was previously capped with one of these:

Amazon.com : Hayward SP1026 Vinyl/Fiberglass Inlet Fittings for Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs : Swimming Pool Maintenance Kits : Garden & Outdoor

The issue was that when everything was in "spa mode" you could easily get your leg suctioned to this cap and it was a bit painful. I've removed the fitting, and I would like to replace it with something that will still maintain a 50GPM flow, but not have this suction issue. I'm surprised that I'm not finding many options, but maybe I'm not looking for the right thing. This is the closest I've been able to find, though I'd really prefer something that is white:

Spa Suction - 1.5"MPT, 50GPM

Any thoughts or tips to find what I'm looking for?

On a side note, the spa does have a normal "main drain" looking drain in the bottom. I would imagine that it would be plumbed together with the intake on the side, but I've never been able to feel any suction at all from the drain on the bottom. Is there a safe way that I could test this? I thought about capping the drain on the side and seeing what happens. But I don't want to ruin my plumbing. I'm thinking my Intelliflow VSF would cut the power before anything too terrible would happen though.
 
cowboycasey said:
Found these :)

azpoolshop.com

CMP Pool Spa Equalizer Suction 50 GPM 25207-800-000

Buy CMP Pool Spa Equalizer Suction 50 GPM 25207-800-000 for the best price.
azpoolshop.com azpoolshop.com

Custom Molded WHITE EQUALIZER SUCTION 1.5in MIP | Leslie's Pool Supplies

See best offers on WHITE EQUALIZER SUCTION 1.5" MIP from Leslie's Pool Supplies.
lesliespool.com lesliespool.com
Click to expand...
Those look great! What exactly is an "equalizer" though? Does it imply that these shouldn't be used as the only source of suction? I would suspect that the floor drain is plumbed in conjunction with this intake, but I fear that perhaps the previous owner might have done something to disable the floor drains. I've seen no indication of any type of suction through them (the spa or the pool floor drain).
 
A properly installed main or spa drain you cannot feel the water going into it. You could use a dye to test it.
 
I think the equalizer is the holes on the front and the sides but who knows how they come up with these names :)
 
S,

Something is just not right... In the Spa mode water should be going out the bottom drains and coming in through the jet lines...

I am not sure what the line on the side of the spa is, but if it were connected to the bottom drains, then it would be impossible to get stuck by the suction.

Show us some pics.. If this is a relatively new pool/spa, it should be impossible for it to do what you say it is doing...

I'd like to see a couple of pics of the spa and a couple of your equipment pad.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
S,

Something is just not right... In the Spa mode water should be going out the bottom drains and coming in through the jet lines...

I am not sure what the line on the side of the spa is, but if it were connected to the bottom drains, then it would be impossible to get stuck by the suction.

Show us some pics.. If this is a relatively new pool/spa, it should be impossible for it to do what you say it is doing...

I'd like to see a couple of pics of the spa and a couple of your equipment pad.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
This is sort of what I was thinking too - and another reason I’m not sure the bottom drain is working. I’ve attached a picture of the spa, and a couple of the pad.

The pad is pretty straightforward. There are returns to the pool and spa (with one way valve). There are intakes from the spa, skimmer, and vac line.

EDIT:
The intake in question can be seen "above" the bottom drain in the spa. It is the circular intake just below the line of tile. Also, please pardon all the weeds around my pool equipment - it's been raining like crazy here lately.
 

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S,

One of the good things about the old style actuators is that in a picture you can tell what they are doing.. Not so much with the new IntelliValve actuators... :(

I don't see anything obviously wrong with the equipment at the pad..

If this were my pool, I would put the system in the Spa mode and confirm that the valves are both set to Spa mode.. Then I would cap off, or cover, the offending pipe opening and see what happens.. If the bottom drain is working like it should, the pump should not run out of water... If it does, then the bottom drain must be plugged or clogged or ??? If the pump does not run out of water, that means the bottom drain is working fine, and capping off the offending pipe would solve the problem.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
S,

One of the good things about the old style actuators is that in a picture you can tell what they are doing.. Not so much with the new IntelliValve actuators... :(

I don't see anything obviously wrong with the equipment at the pad..

If this were my pool, I would put the system in the Spa mode and confirm that the valves are both set to Spa mode.. Then I would cap off, or cover, the offending pipe opening and see what happens.. If the bottom drain is working like it should, the pump should not run out of water... If it does, then the bottom drain must be plugged or clogged or ??? If the pump does not run out of water, that means the bottom drain is working fine, and capping off the offending pipe would solve the problem.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I can confirm that the values are doing what I have asked them to. In spa mode the intake is from spa only, and return is to spa only. During the day I have a split between vac/skimmer and return is split between spa/pool. There is no dedicated line back to the equipment pad for the pool or spa drains, so I would suspect they're plumbed into the skimmer and the spa intake.

I thought about doing what you are suggesting, but is there a chance of cracking the plumbing and causing a leak by doing that (if it creates a total vacuum with no source for water)? Or do you think my Intelliflow VSF would cut the power before anything serious would happen? I also thought about doing this with the pump set to very low RPM.

Thanks,
Shmuby
 

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shmuby said:
There is a single line (on the suction side) from the spa to the pump. What I’m saying is that there is only one. Not one for the floor drain and one for the side intake. So you would assume they are plumbed together.
Click to expand...
Correct.
 
S,

Nothing will happen to the plumbing.. But.. I would just try it for a few seconds and see what happens.. The pump will quickly run out of water or it won't.. If you can't see the pump, have someone stand there with a phone, so they can shut off the pump, or put the system in the Service mode.

If you don't want to do that, you can put the system in the Pool mode and then stick a garden hose in the offending pipe... You should be able to see or feel water coming out of the bottom drain.

If the offending pipe is tied to the bottom drain, then adding the $30 device you have on order should work great.. I would only be worried if the bottom drain and the pipe are not connected. This would mean the bottom drain is plugged or clogged...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Just wanted to follow up here. I had some time this weekend to sort this all out. I used a hose and I could feel the cold water coming up through the drain in the floor of the spa. This made me feel pretty confident, so I covered the intake on the side, and the pump ran just fine (taking all of the water from the drain in the floor).

The part linked above arrived. While it isn't a perfect fit (due to the spa being curved and it is rather flat), it does the job and looks ok.

Thank you all for your help!
 
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A long time ago that port on the side of your spa was a vaccum for your spa. Plug it with a 1.5 or 1 .25 inch threaded pvc male plug. You have no use for it, and it's dangerous, womans hair get sucked into that kind of old school stuff.

Your drain is the only suction you need in a spa unless it has a skimmer which you shouldn't because your residential, if that is not a residential spa, you really dont need that suction on the wall of a spa because its a liability and out of code.
 
ferretbone said:
A long time ago that port on the side of your spa was a vaccum for your spa. Plug it with a 1.5 or 1 .25 inch threaded pvc male plug. You have no use for it, and it's dangerous, womans hair get sucked into that kind of old school stuff.

Your drain is the only suction you need in a spa unless it has a skimmer which you shouldn't because your residential, if that is not a residential spa, you really dont need that suction on the wall of a spa because its a liability and out of code.
Click to expand...
It would seem to me that having 2 intakes plumbed together is actually safer than capping off the one on the side. With 2 intakes, if one is completely covered, there would not be total suction due to the flow from the other intake. If I cap the intake on the side, the floor drain becomes the safety hazard, doesn't it?
 
That would be if it were hydraulically harmonized, but it is not. Think duel drains at the bottom of the pool. Same distance of pipe under ground to each drain. That way one is not stronger than the other. There are non entrapment drain covers you can install.
 
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