A hot tub air lock is a blockage that stands to hinder the flow of water from the pump to the jets. When you turn on your spa, with the expectation of seeing water gushing, and you only hear some unpleasant sounds without any water pumping into the spa, then, hot tub air lock has come to define itself to you. It is seen as a cause for the pump’s malfunctioning, heater’s dysfunction, and stoppage of jets from working smoothly.
An air lock in a hot tub cab be removed by increasing and decreasing the tempo of jets to vanish the air, losing the tight nut that holds the pump to release the air, or by using bleeder verve to extract the air out from the pump. Read further to understand how to use any of the methods to effectively get rid of air lock in your spa.
Hot tub air lock occurs when the pipelines are exposed to air that enters to hinder/disallow the pump to circulate water around the whole process before it finally gets to the hot tub. The presence of an air lock in a hot tub prevents all other functions from working efficiently. A hot tub air lock can be likened to a car that breaks down due to a faulty battery, without which any part of the car can work or operate.
Although this air that blocks the plumbing is always caused to happen during draining, cleaning, and refilling the hot tub. However, the fact remains that the spa cannot be avoidably cared for. It must be maintained with frequent cleaning although, it is during this cleaning process that air finds its way into the lines. Therefore, an air lock in the hot tub is not due to faulty maintenance but just an inevitable experience for every hot tub owner.
However, it is imperative to know that it is not all faults in the hot tub that require a professional to attend to them. Some hot tub issues require no technicality, but only by following instructions can they be resolved. One of them is a hot tub air lock. Also, one has to know how to see air lock as a straightforward issue that can be trashed out within minutes.
The air lock issue in the hot tub is easily identified when the water level is low, the pump is only giving sound without releasing water through the jets, and the heater is disabled when it detects no water flowing.
The hot tub air lock is an unpleasant experience for both the owner and the other parts of the hot tub. From the period the owner noticed the fault to the period it will get repaired, there will never be a comfortable moment. And for the other parts of the hot tub, they have got to experience a total breakdown too. However, it is only an experience that will fade with time if the guidelines below can be well attended to to get it fixed.
How to Get Rid of Hot Tub Air Lock
An air lock can be very frustrating no matter how, but sometimes, worries are not meant to be shown, especially on minor issues like an air lock in the hot tub. As a hot tub owner, if you are have been using it for years, you might have been faced with the issue of an air lock. And for the new owners, you will undoubtedly be faced with it at a certain point, but no room for panicking because how you can get rid of it is available in these three methods:
- Increasing and decreasing the tempo of jets to vanish the air
- Losing the tight nut that holds the pump to release the air
- Using bleeder verve to extract the air out from the pump.
Increasing and decreasing the tempo of jets to vanish the air: When at the crossroad of fixing the air lock problem yourself or calling a professional to handle it, why not try your hand on the jets to see if the hot tub will be restored to its function? One very simple method of removing the air lock from the hot tub is by increasing and decreasing the tempo of the jet or switching the jets on/off.
Before the jets can be switched on/off, the heater must be turned off; without it turned off, the heater will be overheated and damaged instantaneously. Therefore, precaution must be taken before the jets can be touched at all.
And to altogether remove the air from the plumbing through the jets, open all the faceplates by turning them in the other way round, not in the anticlockwise direction. Then, increase the tempo of the jets for ten to fifteen minutes before decreasing the tempo.
After three to four trials, the air will come out in the form of bubbles, and not until all the bubbles are completely gone out, then the jets will be back to their perfect working condition.
Loosing the tight nut that holds the pump to release the air: This entails a simple process that will quickly eliminate the pump’s flowing alteration within a few minutes. To screw out the air, there is the need to make a screwdriver and plier available. These two objects will open the way to the pump and loosen the tight nut to release the airlock simultaneously.
Once these two objects are made available, the cabinet has got to be located, most especially the cabinet that houses the pump. The screwdriver will be used to loosen the wooden door that is closed against the pump. After the wooden door has been dropped down, the pump connected to the airlock pipes must be located in other to release the air through it.
A tight nut fitted on the pump; attach a plier to the nut to loosen it a little, not entirely. When it gets loosed a little, the air will be released, and immediately the air is released out, water will start gushing out to show that the flow of water is no more inactive.
Using bleeder verve to extract the air out the pump: The newer generational hot tubs have gone through some technological improvements, thereby leaving room for some additional parts of the hot tub. One significant part is bleeder verve which is automatically created to douse the air lock’s negative impact on the tub.
To quickly know if the verve is part of the tub, check the hot tub‘s manual, and if there is any, follow the instructions on how to use it to remove the blockage in the pipelines. However, after trying all these three methods and the hot tub remains unmoved, a professional must immediately attend to it.
However, the best way to maintain the tub from generating fault immediately after being bought is by preventing water from entering the pipelines. The water in the channels will expose them to air blockage. Therefore, when refilling the tub, the hose must not be placed inside the tub. It must be placed directly inside a filter tube. After this, the filter will only direct water into the pump, the internal pipelines, and the tub.
Also, running a check on the pump after the tub is filled with water will significantly prevent the untimely issue. Before the jets can be checked appropriately for working, there must be a tight little down on the stamina with a screwdriver until some water starts dewing down.
How to Fix Five Other Common Issues of Hot Tub
Airlock takes one out of the numerous hot tub issues that can be remedied immediately without a professional’s presence. There are some other reasons a tub can decide not to work correctly as it used to, and they include:
- Low or no heat in the water.
- Faulty working condition of the jets.
- Unpleasant sound from the pump.
- Error in the control panel
- Dirty water.
Low or No Heat in the Water: At a very close second, when you are about to heat your body with the utmost comfort, you realize that the water is cold instead of hot. It happens that way sometimes. No cause for alarm or panic because it is just a result of a problem with the heater, which can also be caused by a low pH level in the water circulation.
And this can switch the heater off automatically unless the water is checked and corrected to flow freely without any blockage. However, apart from the airlock in the pipes, low heat in the water texture can also be caused by a dirty filter and hose. These parts of the tub just as well are kept clean and adequately to make the tub to be running smoothly.
Therefore, whenever the heater’s issue comes up, it does not require too much effort more than checking the flow of the water and cleaning the filter and hose inside a filter cleaner. After the proper cleaning and smooth flow of water, turn on and off the heater, and boom! It must start working unless if it only requires professional attention.
Faulty Working Condition of the Jets: Little or no water flow in the pipes or the pump can fail the jets to work correctly. No doubt, what makes jets functional is seen in the smooth flow of water transferred into them. Therefore, if there is a blockage in the water, it renders the jets useless.
Therefore, if the pump cannot circulate water appropriately, the jets will be affected from working as expected. Also, if there is a speck of dirt in the filter and hose, it can as well affect the working condition of the jets. These are the fundamental hindrances that should come to mind when jets cannot level up water inside the tub.
However, the problems as well are the solutions. To make the jets active, there must be a check on the pump if it is dispensing water into the pipelines and if the channels are delivering into the jets. If that is not where the issue is located, then the filter and hose need to be washed and rinsed before the jet can start working powerfully.
Unpleasant Sound from the Pump: Sometimes, it is the unexpected sound of the pump that will alert you that there is a slight issue wrong with the hot tub. The unpleasant sound will come unaware and give a loud sound to indicate that some strategic places in the tub have been worn out. Therefore, it requires a thorough check to know these strategic places and provide immediate solutions to them.
Therefore, to douse the pump’s noise, you must ensure there is no blockage in the pump, the water level is minimal, and the valves are open for easy penetration. If after those methods, it still does not stop the noise, then there will be a need to lubricate those strategic places that are worn out, or you eventually replace the pump with a new one to avoid another same incident.
Error in the Control Panel: There is also a control panel in all hot tubs that detects errors. These errors are displayed on the screen in English. For instance, when the control panel displays DRY, it means the hot tub needs water, therefore top the water immediately. Also, it can as well display FLOW, which also means the water is not in a good flowing condition, therefore, check the blockage and remove it for smooth water flow.
Dirty Water: The water’s cleanness or dirtiness can also determine whether the tub will work or will stop walking. You must ensure that the water is free from any contaminating substances. Moreover, it is advisable to shower before entering the tub to avoid dirt in the water. Proper maintenance of the water prevents the hot tub from poor performance. Therefore, endeavor to free the water from any dirt the with be unnecessarily created to block the hoses and filters from working efficiently.
Conclusion
The hot tub is unarguably made to provide the sweetest comfort that your body must indeed not be deprived of getting. It should therefore be understood that there are certainly going to be some forces to distort or hijack this golden comfort from you. However, there is no cause for alarm as the simple ways to terminate these forces without stress have already been discussed.
