mbrownee77
New member
My hot tub seems to drain all of a sudden. The jets do not work in the hot tub. The hotel is older. Just could use some helpful advice.
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Why is my hot tub draining?
- Thread starter mbrownee77
- Start date
First thing I'd check is the air control valves - those little knobs or discs you twist to adjust airflow to the jets. On older tubs they can crack or the o-rings fail, and when that happens you basically have an open hole letting water siphon out. It's a pretty common culprit on older units and easy to overlook because they don't look broken from the outside.
The jets not working is actually a helpful clue here. If the pump were running normally you'd at least hear it, so either the pump itself has a problem, or the topside control panel has lost communication with the pack. On older tubs the circuit board connections corrode over time, and a bad connection there can cause the whole system to shut down and just let water gravity-drain through whatever path it finds. I'd pull the access panel and look for obvious signs - water stains around fittings, corrosion on the board connectors, or a cracked union on the pump. If you can post the brand and model number someone here might know the common failure points on that specific tub.
The jets not working is actually a helpful clue here. If the pump were running normally you'd at least hear it, so either the pump itself has a problem, or the topside control panel has lost communication with the pack. On older tubs the circuit board connections corrode over time, and a bad connection there can cause the whole system to shut down and just let water gravity-drain through whatever path it finds. I'd pull the access panel and look for obvious signs - water stains around fittings, corrosion on the board connectors, or a cracked union on the pump. If you can post the brand and model number someone here might know the common failure points on that specific tub.
poolmom_sarah
New member
the jets not working and the draining happening at the same time is a big clue. on my old tub that combo usually pointed to the circulation pump - if it's not priming right or the impeller is shot, the whole system kind of goes haywire. water can actually back-siphon through the plumbing when there's no pressure holding it in place.
also worth pulling the equipment panel and checking if any of the unions on the pump fittings are loose. they're hand-tightened and over time they back off, especially if the tub goes through temperature swings a lot. if you see any moisture or calcium buildup around those connections, that's probably your leak point right there.
also worth pulling the equipment panel and checking if any of the unions on the pump fittings are loose. they're hand-tightened and over time they back off, especially if the tub goes through temperature swings a lot. if you see any moisture or calcium buildup around those connections, that's probably your leak point right there.
The hotel comment made me think this might be a guest suite or something similar, but either way the advice is the same.
Given that you've got both the draining and jets failing at the same time, I'd lean toward what poolmom_sarah said about the circulation pump, but I'd also add one more thing to check before you pull anything apart. Look at your check valves. On older tubs especially, those little one-way valves in the plumbing are notorious for sticking open or cracking, and when they fail, water absolutely will siphon back out of the tub through the plumbing lines. You wouldn't necessarily see any obvious damage, it just slowly empties while sitting there.
The easiest way to narrow it down is to fill the tub back up, kill power to it completely, and watch whether it drains with the pump off. If it does, you're almost certainly looking at a plumbing issue like a failed check valve or that air control valve nroberts mentioned, not an electrical or pump problem. If it holds water fine with the power off but drains when the system tries to run, then the pump itself or the way it's priming is probably the culprit. Either way I'd get someone local to look at the pump impeller before spending money on parts, because a lot of these symptoms on older units end up tracing back to the same worn-out pump that's been struggling for a while.
Given that you've got both the draining and jets failing at the same time, I'd lean toward what poolmom_sarah said about the circulation pump, but I'd also add one more thing to check before you pull anything apart. Look at your check valves. On older tubs especially, those little one-way valves in the plumbing are notorious for sticking open or cracking, and when they fail, water absolutely will siphon back out of the tub through the plumbing lines. You wouldn't necessarily see any obvious damage, it just slowly empties while sitting there.
The easiest way to narrow it down is to fill the tub back up, kill power to it completely, and watch whether it drains with the pump off. If it does, you're almost certainly looking at a plumbing issue like a failed check valve or that air control valve nroberts mentioned, not an electrical or pump problem. If it holds water fine with the power off but drains when the system tries to run, then the pump itself or the way it's priming is probably the culprit. Either way I'd get someone local to look at the pump impeller before spending money on parts, because a lot of these symptoms on older units end up tracing back to the same worn-out pump that's been struggling for a while.