Woke up to an empty spa

[Nikilyn]

When I woke up this morning I heard something from the backyard. I went out and found my spa empty. Why would it randomly empty? We did have a power outage on Sunday so I needed to reconnect it to wifi, which I did while the spa was refilling. I wouldn't think that would make the spa empty though. It did prudish some kind of power surge though. Quite a few people in our neighborhood had to reset thru a/c units because of it. Maybe it did something to the pool equipment that we need to rest? We also got our first monsoon rain of the season last night which filled our pool about an inch, not that I think that was the reason either.

ETA : I turned off the spa after it was filled and it emptied again. Do we just need to keep the spa on?

 

[kul]

I think in past posts I have read this is usually something to do with the diverter valve needing replacement or correcting. Or a leak from spa drain also due to valve positioning. Following to see what others advise.

 

[1poolman1]

When I woke up this morning I heard something from the backyard. I went out and found my spa empty. Why would it randomly empty? We did have a power outage on Sunday so I needed to reconnect it to wifi, which I did while the spa was refilling. I wouldn't think that would make the spa empty though. We also got our first monsoon rain of the season last night which filled our pool about an inch, not that I think that was the reason either.

ETA : I turned off the spa after it was filled and it emptied again. Do we just need to keep the spa on?

Is the suction valve open to the spa with the return open to the pool?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Niki,

In the Spa mode, the Intake valve should suck all the water from the Spa, and the Return valve should send all the water back to the spa.

Cycle between the pool mode and spa mode and make sure your automated Intake and Return valves are moving like they should.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Nikilyn]

We just went out and checked the Intellicalves and the suction one's service light is on. Does that mean it's bad?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Niki,

Press the mode button and see if it goes back to AUTO..

See page 10 of this manual...

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/product-related/product-manuals/pool-and-spa-equipment/intellivalve/IntelliValve_2-Way_3-Way_Valve_Actuator_Installation_and_Users_Guide_English.pdf

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Nikilyn]

It doesn't respond when we push any of the buttons.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Niki,

Sorry, I don't know anything about the new IntelliValves..

Just seems to me to be a complex electronic replacement for a simple electro-mechanical device that could actually be repaired... Sigh!!

Let's see if we can get some IntelliValve users to chime in...

Calling @Ahultin

Thanks,

Jim R,

 

[Ahultin]

I have had this happen after a power failure
If it was working fine prior to the power outage you may just need to power cycle the valve. Push and hold the save button ( i believe 10 seconds) then release it should turn off (red led at auto). Push and hold save again to turn it back on (auto should go green)

 

[Ahultin]

In the meantime if a power cycle doesnt work, especially with your current heat, you can pull the 4 screws from the intellivalve and manually change back to pool suction.

 

[Nikilyn]

I have had this happen after a power failure
If it was working fine prior to the power outage you may just need to power cycle the valve. Push and hold the save button ( i believe 10 seconds) then release it should turn off (red led at auto). Push and hold save again to turn it back on (auto should go green)

My husband did this and the first part worked but then doing it again turned it back to service.

 

[Ahultin]

My husband did this and the first part worked but then doing it again turned it back to service.

will it let him push the mode button now?
If not, have him try one more time but with the intellivalve removed from the valve (4 #3 phillips screws). When these are dying from water intrusion the motor looses torque first and an overcurrent pushes it to service mode. Does this valve happen to be in face up orientation?

 

[Nikilyn]

will it let him push the mode button now?
If not, have him try one more time but with the intellivalve removed from the valve (4 #3 phillips screws). When these are dying from water intrusion the motor looses torque first and an overcurrent pushes it to service mode. Does this valve happen to be in face up orientation?

It didn't work. To manually move it to suction was he supposed to use pliers to turn the knob because there isn't the regular valve with a handle? He turned it but it's still losing water. I'm not sure if he turned it enough though. Water started flowing thru but that doesn't mean he did it all the way.

 

[Ahultin]

It didn't work.

I would assume the motor inside is dead then. It looks like you built the pool about the same time as we did in 2021 so it would be covered under warranty. Call Pentair in the morning and make the claim, when they ask the builder use the plumbing contractors name (not O/B as then there is only a 60 day warranty vs 3yr). Either the pentair rep or the service provider will likely give you a choice between a new intellivalve or the cva-24, that will be your call. I like the intellivalves, while they are covered by pentair lol. Post warranty, ive determined i can repair them for cheap so ill stay with them but many prefer the old faithful cva-24

to manually move it to suction was he supposed to use pliers to turn the knob because there isn't the regular valve with a handle

Ideally you have one of the oriignal handles that came with the Jandy's lying around. If not, yes pliers will work, or pull all 8 #3 phillips screws out, move the diverter to fully block spa suction, place the cap back on and screws. NOTE: do not use the longer screws from the intellivalve on the valve body without the intellivalve, you will damage the valve!

 

[Nikilyn]

Does this valve happen to be in face up orientation?

Yes it is.

 

[Ahultin]

Yes it is.

seems to be the most common for failure by water intrusion.

 

[Nikilyn]

Update: So yesterday morning my husband was out by the pool equipment and none of it was running even though it was scheduled to. We tried turning different things off and on at the panel and rebooting it but it wouldn't do anything so we called a pool guy in our neighborhood to look at it since it was beyond our abilities. He was able to figure out where the valve was before my husband tried closing it and get it reset. Then he took the handle off a manual valve we have and closed the suction which restarted the panel. He told us the valve that went bad is still under warranty and told us to do exactly what Ahultin told us to do. I guess that valve is for the spa heater so we won't be needing it for awhile. Not sure why it got moved in the first place. We think it's been going out for awhile though because we had a hard time getting the spa modes to work this spring after using it.
Thanks for all of your help.