Two spa jets flowing but not aerating

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dailygenesis

dailygenesis

Gold Supporter
Nov 19, 2022
235
Oklahoma City
Pool Size
21000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
Hello all - my inground pool and spa is new as of July 2022. This issue has been present since the beginning, but I haven't really looked into until now.

The spa has six jets. Four of them work as you would expect. The other two push out a lot of water but they don't aerate and bubble like they are supposed to.

I have observed a few things that may or may not have anything to do with the problem:
  1. As mentioned, water flows fine through these. In fact, I would say they have even stronger flow than the other jets that are aerating.
  2. The tip of jets on these two seem to be closer to the ends of their outlets into the spa. In general, it seems the farther back the jet is from the end of the pipe, the more it aerates.
  3. Perhaps most interestingly, I can actually get them to aerate and bubble by inserting my finger part way into the pipe and blocking part of the flow. It's like a switch. I put my finger in and it immediately starts. I remove my finger and it abruptly stops. I made a little video of this tonight in case that helps.
Any thoughts?

I have finally gotten around to mentioning to the pool builder and they are coming out to look tomorrow, but I don't have a high degree of confidence they will find a solution, so wondering if there's anything I might suggest.
 
Does your system use a blower? If not, I would also say that they don’t have the tiny Venturi nozzles installed deep in the pipe. This is what creates a slight vacuum in the pipe causing air to be pulled in. If you do have a blower, it shouldn’t matter as much since air will be forced into the pipe either way.
 

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dailygenesis said:
Hello all - my inground pool and spa is new as of July 2022. This issue has been present since the beginning, but I haven't really looked into until now.

The spa has six jets. Four of them work as you would expect. The other two push out a lot of water but they don't aerate and bubble like they are supposed to.

I have observed a few things that may or may not have anything to do with the problem:
  1. As mentioned, water flows fine through these. In fact, I would say they have even stronger flow than the other jets that are aerating.
  2. The tip of jets on these two seem to be closer to the ends of their outlets into the spa. In general, it seems the farther back the jet is from the end of the pipe, the more it aerates.
  3. Perhaps most interestingly, I can actually get them to aerate and bubble by inserting my finger part way into the pipe and blocking part of the flow. It's like a switch. I put my finger in and it immediately starts. I remove my finger and it abruptly stops. I made a little video of this tonight in case that helps.
Any thoughts?

I have finally gotten around to mentioning to the pool builder and they are coming out to look tomorrow, but I don't have a high degree of confidence they will find a solution, so wondering if there's anything I might suggest.
Click to expand...
Blocking the flow with your finger is like doing the same thing with a garden hose. You increase the speed of the water exiting the opening. That is what the orifice that DavidArmenB does in a spa jet, increases the water speed creating an area of low pressure and pulling air from the air tube at the top of the fitting, the "venturi" effect. You may be missing some, or they may be too large
 
DavidArmenB said:
Does your system use a blower?
Click to expand...
No blower, but the nozzles like the one in your image are there.

The tech from the builder's service department came out and he ended up removing the nozzle from one of the jets that wasn't working. The nozzle looks just like the one in your picture. He said we should try just leaving that nozzle out. He said sometimes they do this to balance the flow around the ring. With the nozzle out that spot does now create bubbles, and the other spot that wasn't working (which still has the nozzle) seems to make more bubbles than it used to. My only concern is now the flow out of that jet without the nozzle seems a lot stronger than the rest. I'm guessing since there's less resistance there it's letting more water flow out which reduced flow in the other jets a bit. I guess that's not too much of a problem if they are all bubbling. Any issues with this I should be aware of?

1poolman1 said:
Blocking the flow with your finger is like doing the same thing with a garden hose. You increase the speed of the water exiting the opening. That is what the orifice that DavidArmenB does in a spa jet, increases the water speed creating an area of low pressure and pulling air from the air tube at the top of the fitting, the "venturi" effect. You may be missing some, or they may be too large
Click to expand...

Do they make a nozzle that is smaller that would fit the same opening? If so, I suppose I could try that.
 
dailygenesis said:
No blower, but the nozzles like the one in your image are there.

The tech from the builder's service department came out and he ended up removing the nozzle from one of the jets that wasn't working. The nozzle looks just like the one in your picture. He said we should try just leaving that nozzle out. He said sometimes they do this to balance the flow around the ring. With the nozzle out that spot does now create bubbles, and the other spot that wasn't working (which still has the nozzle) seems to make more bubbles than it used to. My only concern is now the flow out of that jet without the nozzle seems a lot stronger than the rest. I'm guessing since there's less resistance there it's letting more water flow out which reduced flow in the other jets a bit. I guess that's not too much of a problem if they are all bubbling. Any issues with this I should be aware of?



Do they make a nozzle that is smaller that would fit the same opening? If so, I suppose I could try that.
Click to expand...
If they are Hydro Air orifices (they look like them) this site is an example of what is available (not a recommendation of the site, just found with a Google search):

www.hottuboutpost.com

HydroAir Jet Orifice Gunite Extension Nozzle Threaded 30-4401

HydroAir Jet Nozzle Gunite Extension Nozzle Threaded 30-4401. Get all your spa jet parts online at Hot Tub Outpost.
www.hottuboutpost.com www.hottuboutpost.com
 
Just a follow up -- I ended up putting the nozzle back that the pool builder removed. With that nozzle removed that jet was getting a ton of flow and throwing the rest of the jets out of balance. I liked it better the old way so just put it back for now. Still not getting bubbles on those two jets but it's not the end of the world. My best guess is still that the pipe that leads to the spa after the nozzle is too short. I read somewhere else on this site, I think, that the venturi jets need some room in there to do their thing. If that is the issue, I'm not sure if there is a workaround.
 
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