Awesome tip! Had a Flo error problem. Worked like a champ! Thanx! To give some more background, the tubby took a lightening hit and had to replaced the control board. Thought there were more problems , but you got me saved! Thanx again!
Awesome trick! Fixed my airlock problem! We had to try a few times, then I opened up the compartment that holds the chlorine called the "frog" and it allowed the air to escape and instantly started working while plunging.
@@spaman5440i tried loosening the union at the motor but it didn't...can it be I need to do it with the other union or it doesn't make a difference? The other union is very tricky to unscrew..
@@kingbee4474 I've done it with both and it worked fine.If I have a Hot Tub that just will not prime I take my Little giant pump and stick it in the tub and take the hose and put it in the filter hole and force the water through the system. there are a couple of tub that because of the way they are plumbed. alway seem to get air locks.. side note make sure all the jets are open and the diverter valve is in the middle. Hope this helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440 Thanks for the reply! Do I use the submersible pump while the spa is off or I make it run into to filter area while I press jets on and off trying to prime it at samr time? How long should I let sum pump run?
@@kingbee4474 I do them at the same time with the spa on low speed. Then I take the hose from my little giant pump and stick it in the filter area and it primes in seconds.. if it doesn't you have other problems and should stop and call a tech...do not keep trying to make it prime if it doesn't prime in a couple seconds you most likely have a blockage in the system that you are unaware of it needs to be checked out .. If you have a blockage and you keep trying to prime it you will damage something and it might cost you big..Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
That’s the one I use. Except they have a white plastic handle now. My orange one got left in one of my old vans. I tried a little plastic one and it worked great but I think it is only going to be good for the pressure side of stuff because it got sucked down when I used it on the filter side and I had to rip it off.
My Artesian spa has 4 individual pumps. I just finished using a spa system cleaner and was using my shop vac to clean. Now i have just 1 pump i guess has an air lock. I suppose i would have to got to the pump and release the air somehow?
I use an air hole and turn the pressure up to 100 psi and I blow the heck out of the jet and most often it does the trick Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
I have a caldera vanto spa and it is air locked and nothing i do will fix it. The plunger trick wont work on mine of course because the caldera has a tube that comes up in the filter. So im still searching for a remedy.
Hi! We just installed a new gecko spa pack (in.ye-5 bundled system). After installation, we filled up the hot tub and turned it on. We immediately got a FLO error message. We did ALL the troubleshooting (checked all connections, opening all jets, removed filter, bled the pump, etc.). We even did the plunger trick you describe in this video. It did not work. The water flow is intermittent and we can hear the pump click on and off. When we try to put on the higher speed, it'll run for 5 seconds and automatically turn off (and the water flow is not any faster). We have a Bahama spa, 250 gallon capacity with one filter port and only two speeds (low and high) on the jets. We've had it for approximately 12 years, we've only replaced the pump once about 5 years ago (it is now a gecko XP2 pump). Can you give us any advice as we have certainly stumped the gecko technicians. By the way, we really like your channel.
I live in Puerto Rico and I can't find one person who repairs yacuzzis. Can you walk me thru a diagnosis so I can do it myself? You can charge me for it. Thank you
All my jets work when I turn on the Jets the five Jets underneath the air filter that turns on every once in awhile to keep the hot tub hot is not working and I think the filter is not pulling water correctly how can I correct this
Yes... If you had a little bit of water in the pipes down by the pump and the pump turned on...it would push the water out of the pump and without any water coming into the pump that would starve the pump of water and could cause an air lock ...Easy fix You know what to do. Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
When i turn my jets off, air bubbles come out of the jets, i also noticed some of my jets have like full power, and the one next to it is barely flowing anything at all. Do you suspect i have an airlock, or some other issue? It's a brand new tub with a warranty, just doing my own research before calling for service.
My intake isn't accessible like that one. So I just loosen the highest fitting off of a pump. I can hear the air escape. I call it burping the tub. The airlock only happens after I drain and refill the tub.
Hey man I have a pr code I try everything possible except the plunger because it's a Balboa spa so I can't put the use the plunger method. I even drain the hot tub two times and I still can't get it to run help please
I would need to know the manufacture of the spa.. (Balboa does not make spas they make the equipment inside the spa)Once I know who made the spa I can help you fix your problem...Every spa has quarks about them that make that spa sometime a pain to get up and running.. But we can Help You Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
As long as you can cover the filter inlet and get a good seal and all of the connection are tight...I will work every time. If it doesn't work you could have something else going... Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Good stuff! I have a Sundance Certa 780 and pretty much after every refill for years the jets work and the heater doesn't and I get the dreaded FL1 error message. Usually within a couple days it works itself out (figuring air lock). This time it is not - tried this method with no luck. I refuse to believe a part happened to go bad between draining/refill. Any other tips where I don't have to open the panel?
No ...in your case I would take the side panel off and go the pump #1 and loosen inlet or outlet side of the pump to let the sir out Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
I have an air lock that continues to come back. I can bleed the pumps and get them working but the air lock just keeps coming back at every use. Any ideas?
Hi does anyone know if the plunger method can be used on a hot tub with a pressurized filter? I have to turn the hot tub off before removing the filter and the hot tub can't be switched back on until the filter and pressurised filter lid lock ring are back in place.
On a system like that you have ti turn the hot tub off and the use the plunger until you see air bubbles coming out the jets once that happens put the lid back on with the locking ring in place (note don't install the filter until the spa has started working)Some experts say that with a pressurized you can't do this because you will lose the prim when you reinstall the filter...I have never had that problem but that dissent mean it couldn't happen ...Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Why does it say air lock but I have clean filters and all the jets are working ? First it said closed flow switch then I cleaned filter and put new water now says open / air lock
So first off take the filters and just let hem float in the water until the airlock goes away ( if the code does not go away most often it is a pump problem)If the problem goes away then put filters in place ( if the problem comes back you have a filter problem and I would replace them.. ( I replace filters every year !!! ) Thanks for Watching & SCBSCRIBING
I have a Caldera Hot tub I tried the toilet plunger I couldn’t get the plunger method to work. I took out the filter & placed the plunger on the stem assembly that the filter slides down onto. My Hot Tub was working prior to refilling it back up. So it’s clear it has an air lock or something. I was just looking for help for Caldera Hot tub trouble shooting.
Make sure all the jets are open and the diverter valve is in the middle and the plunger should work… if not you can take the side off and find primary pump one and crack open the the pump and this will work also… now for the bad part of you open it up to much and the O-RINGS gets pushed out you may half to empty and fix o ring and start over… Hope this Helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Thanks for the reply back I do appreciate it. I tried again the toilet plunger still nothing. My Caldera Spa has a stem where the filter goes on so the toilet plunger can’t suction out because of the stem design of it. My hot tub doesn’t have a diverter valve on the top area of my spa the only controls in a valve situation is turning on & off the jets to the seated portions. So unfortunately, it’s something that’s gonna have to be troubleshoot through taking off the control panel. I tried sticking the garden hose down the stem where I removed my filter, turned it on full blast, even tried that nothing worked.
@SevenThunderful Yes I remove the filter and put the pump's outlet hose at the filter hole. Its worked for me very quickly. I've wondered if a shop vac might be able to do the same thing in reverse by vacuuming the water through to remove the air but I've never tried it. The submersible is easier for me rather than getting dirty dealing with the shop vac filter.
We drained, cleaned and refilled our swim spa yesterday. It holds 1200 gallons of water. After it was almost full I turned on circuit breaker and left it alone for 11 min so it could do its diagnostics. This was at about 3:30 yesterday -Saturday . Then I increased the temperature and left it to warm up. For an hour. It will not go above 80 degrees. I got a LF message which means low flow but water level is fine. Manual says heating capacity of spa will not reset automatically you may press any button to reset. So I pressed several buttons waited another hour and it still was not heating. The manual says make sure the pumps have been primed. How do I do that? At 7 pm last night it was still not heating and I still got the low flow message. The filter was new a month ago. Water level is fine. I just checked this am and it’s still giving a LF message at 7:25 am Sunday. 😑
Ok you probably have an air lock or you are not in the right mode or your pumps are not functioning properly. when you turn on the jet does everything function properly on low and high speed ? if not you have a flow problem and need to figure out what kind of a system you have so as to fix the problem. 1 Is there a cir pump and if so is it working 2 Depending on how many pumps you have when you turn on Pump 1 or Pump 2 do they work the way they are supposed to work? # are all of the jets open so as not to cause any restrictions? I think when you turned on the breaker before it was full you got an airlock in the system and that is what is causing the problem with low flow or you have blockage somewhere or you might have a bad worn out pump. (Pro TIP) You NEVER put the filter in the tub until it is full of water and running properly.. Throw them in the tub and let them float around until everything is up and running.And do not turn on the breaker until you have the tub full of water. I know I have turned on breakers in my videos before tub was filled but I also tell the viewers that if I have any FLOW problems that I have a special pump to fix the problem in less then a minute. Hope this Helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Oh thank you - so I should NOT turn on breaker until swim spa is totally full? I have 2 swim jets and about 6 months ago the more forceful one stopped working as it usually did. When I turn on that swim jet it doesn't work like before but it still works. I didn’t mind because I use mostly only the weaker swim jet. Maybe this is the problem? I thought I was supposed to refill spa by putting water hose into the filter? That’s how I have always refilled The swim spa and never had this issue before.@@spaman5440
Open up the side panel so you can get to the pump/motor and open up one of the connections on the pump just a turn or two when it starts to pump water tighten it back up...I hate doing it this way I will try everything before doing it this way. If this way doesn't work there is something you have missed along the way . Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440 I found the ring, but it won't budge. I looks to be glued in place. Plunger doesn't seem to be working either. Company says to loosen the ring. Hopefully, they will reply to emails with ideas.
My water is moving in tub, but when I open it up I can see mostly air in tubes and i think some of jets are vlogged but not all... it trips gfci after a minute of use. If I try to turn it to second stronger jets setting it immediately trips gfci. Spa company can't come out for 2 weeks, I'm in freezing temperatures. If I have another company work on it it voids warranty. Freeze damage is not covered. My tub is almost exactly like yours. Only a year old. Please help me trouble shoot?
Spa Man you're the best! Straight ahead. Here's what you have to do, just do it and no BS. Thanks a mill. The world needs more people like you!
I've been doing pools and hot tubs for 20 years... didn't know about the plunger trick. That was fantastic!
Plunger worked like a dream. Thank You for the fix!
Awesome tip! Had a Flo error problem. Worked like a champ! Thanx! To give some more background, the tubby took a lightening hit and had to replaced the control board. Thought there were more problems , but you got me saved! Thanx again!
Used this technique on a Costal Spa, Curve - and it worked great. Thank you so much!
You are welcome
Awesome trick! Fixed my airlock problem! We had to try a few times, then I opened up the compartment that holds the chlorine called the "frog" and it allowed the air to escape and instantly started working while plunging.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU. The plunger trick fixed my issue immediately. Appreciate you!
You saved me today Brother! Plunger worked first time and 💥! Jets working again! First time I ever had this air lock problem and you saved me!
That is fantastic...Glad to help Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440i tried loosening the union at the motor but it didn't...can it be I need to do it with the other union or it doesn't make a difference? The other union is very tricky to unscrew..
@@kingbee4474 I've done it with both and it worked fine.If I have a Hot Tub that just will not prime I take my Little giant pump and stick it in the tub and take the hose and put it in the filter hole and force the water through the system. there are a couple of tub that because of the way they are plumbed. alway seem to get air locks.. side note make sure all the jets are open and the diverter valve is in the middle. Hope this helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440 Thanks for the reply! Do I use the submersible pump while the spa is off or I make it run into to filter area while I press jets on and off trying to prime it at samr time? How long should I let sum pump run?
@@kingbee4474 I do them at the same time with the spa on low speed.
Then I take the hose from my little giant pump and stick it in the filter area and it primes in seconds.. if it doesn't you have other problems and should stop and call a tech...do not keep trying to make it prime if it doesn't prime in a couple seconds you most likely have a blockage in the system that you are unaware of it needs to be checked out .. If you have a blockage and you keep trying to prime it you will damage something and it might cost you big..Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Legendary advice! Worked first time for me today. Life saver… thank you.
Man delivered results!
It works almost every time.. Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Amazing ... Saved so much time and really the best advice.
Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You helped us fix our issue! 🎉
Thanks man I was thinking in buying a new pump but definitely is an airlock issue, you made me laugh withe plunger explanation 😂
That’s the one I use. Except they have a white plastic handle now. My orange one got left in one of my old vans. I tried a little plastic one and it worked great but I think it is only going to be good for the pressure side of stuff because it got sucked down when I used it on the filter side and I had to rip it off.
Dude!!!!! The plunger worked!!!!!!!
Thanks Man!!!!
You made that look super easy! Great video
My Artesian spa has 4 individual pumps. I just finished using a spa system cleaner and was using my shop vac to clean. Now i have just 1 pump i guess has an air lock. I suppose i would have to got to the pump and release the air somehow?
Brilliant thank you so much for these simple tricks ,I will buy me another plunger !
How do you do it if there are 2 filters?
This worked perfect for us, so easy
Spa Man, would the plunger trick work to unblock a couple of jets...these two jets are low in the hot tube and ? blocked due to a calcium buildup
I use an air hole and turn the pressure up to 100 psi and I blow the heck out of the jet and most often it does the trick
Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
I have a caldera vanto spa and it is air locked and nothing i do will fix it. The plunger trick wont work on mine of course because the caldera has a tube that comes up in the filter. So im still searching for a remedy.
Hi! We just installed a new gecko spa pack (in.ye-5 bundled system). After installation, we filled up the hot tub and turned it on. We immediately got a FLO error message. We did ALL the troubleshooting (checked all connections, opening all jets, removed filter, bled the pump, etc.). We even did the plunger trick you describe in this video. It did not work. The water flow is intermittent and we can hear the pump click on and off. When we try to put on the higher speed, it'll run for 5 seconds and automatically turn off (and the water flow is not any faster). We have a Bahama spa, 250 gallon capacity with one filter port and only two speeds (low and high) on the jets. We've had it for approximately 12 years, we've only replaced the pump once about 5 years ago (it is now a gecko XP2 pump). Can you give us any advice as we have certainly stumped the gecko technicians. By the way, we really like your channel.
I live in Puerto Rico and I can't find one person who repairs yacuzzis. Can you walk me thru a diagnosis so I can do it myself? You can charge me for it. Thank you
All my jets work when I turn on the Jets the five Jets underneath the air filter that turns on every once in awhile to keep the hot tub hot is not working and I think the filter is not pulling water correctly how can I correct this
Hi there .
Would running my hot tub without any water in cause an air lock .
Yes... If you had a little bit of water in the pipes down by the pump and the pump turned on...it would push the water out of the pump and without any water coming into the pump that would starve the pump of water and could cause an air lock ...Easy fix You know what to do. Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
I'm local to you in Phoenix just wondering if you sell used parts I need a circuit board do a 2004 jacuzzi 325 and it's 220 volt
When i turn my jets off, air bubbles come out of the jets, i also noticed some of my jets have like full power, and the one next to it is barely flowing anything at all. Do you suspect i have an airlock, or some other issue? It's a brand new tub with a warranty, just doing my own research before calling for service.
Might have a kink in the line or something stuck in the line (PVC glue ?) Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
My intake isn't accessible like that one. So I just loosen the highest fitting off of a pump. I can hear the air escape. I call it burping the tub. The airlock only happens after I drain and refill the tub.
Thanks buddy.That nearly broke my balls trying to figure it out.
LOL me too until I figured out everyway to make one go away.
Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Worked like a champ. Thank You!
Hey man I have a pr code I try everything possible except the plunger because it's a Balboa spa so I can't put the use the plunger method. I even drain the hot tub two times and I still can't get it to run help please
I would need to know the manufacture of the spa.. (Balboa does not make spas they make the equipment inside the spa)Once I know who made the spa I can help you fix your problem...Every spa has quarks about them that make that spa sometime a pain to get up and running.. But we can Help You
Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Does this work if only one section isn't working?! Can't seem to figure it out
As long as you can cover the filter inlet and get a good seal and all of the connection are tight...I will work every time. If it doesn't work you could have something else going... Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Good stuff! I have a Sundance Certa 780 and pretty much after every refill for years the jets work and the heater doesn't and I get the dreaded FL1 error message. Usually within a couple days it works itself out (figuring air lock). This time it is not - tried this method with no luck. I refuse to believe a part happened to go bad between draining/refill. Any other tips where I don't have to open the panel?
Nope... If this does not work you have to open the front panel..Thank for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Will that work the same if it’s a pressurized filter housing?
No ...in your case I would take the side panel off and go the pump #1 and loosen inlet or outlet side of the pump to let the sir out Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Thank you thank you!!
I have an air lock that continues to come back. I can bleed the pumps and get them working but the air lock just keeps coming back at every use. Any ideas?
You might have something loose that is causing the problem... You can call Scott and he might be able to Help...Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Hi does anyone know if the plunger method can be used on a hot tub with a pressurized filter? I have to turn the hot tub off before removing the filter and the hot tub can't be switched back on until the filter and pressurised filter lid lock ring are back in place.
On a system like that you have ti turn the hot tub off and the use the plunger until you see air bubbles coming out the jets once that happens put the lid back on with the locking ring in place (note don't install the filter until the spa has started working)Some experts say that with a pressurized you can't do this because you will lose the prim when you reinstall the filter...I have never had that problem but that dissent mean it couldn't happen ...Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Why does it say air lock but I have clean filters and all the jets are working ?
First it said closed flow switch then I cleaned filter and put new water now says open / air lock
So first off take the filters and just let hem float in the water until the airlock goes away ( if the code does not go away most often it is a pump problem)If the problem goes away then put filters in place ( if the problem comes back you have a filter problem and I would replace them.. ( I replace filters every year !!! ) Thanks for Watching & SCBSCRIBING
Thank you!! Worked like a charm!
I have a Caldera Hot tub I tried the toilet plunger I couldn’t get the plunger method to work. I took out the filter & placed the plunger on the stem assembly that the filter slides down onto.
My Hot Tub was working prior to refilling it back up. So it’s clear it has an air lock or something. I was just looking for help for Caldera Hot tub trouble shooting.
Make sure all the jets are open and the diverter valve is in the middle and the plunger should work… if not you can take the side off and find primary pump one and crack open the the pump and this will work also… now for the bad part of you open it up to much and the O-RINGS gets pushed out you may half to empty and fix o ring and start over… Hope this Helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Thanks for the reply back I do appreciate it. I tried again the toilet plunger still nothing. My Caldera Spa has a stem where the filter goes on so the toilet plunger can’t suction out because of the stem design of it. My hot tub doesn’t have a diverter valve on the top area of my spa the only controls in a valve situation is turning on & off the jets to the seated portions.
So unfortunately, it’s something that’s gonna have to be troubleshoot through taking off the control panel.
I tried sticking the garden hose down the stem where I removed my filter, turned it on full blast, even tried that nothing worked.
Worked perfectly
Thats Awesome... Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
I didnt want to bother running to home depot to buy a plunger so used my submersible pump to force the air out.
Most often thats how I do it too...
How does that work? Do you feed the submersible pump output back into the hole that held the filter(s)?
@SevenThunderful Yes I remove the filter and put the pump's outlet hose at the filter hole. Its worked for me very quickly. I've wondered if a shop vac might be able to do the same thing in reverse by vacuuming the water through to remove the air but I've never tried it. The submersible is easier for me rather than getting dirty dealing with the shop vac filter.
@@spaman5440 when using the submersible pump technique into the filter area, do we close spa or keep it running and try priming at same time?
We drained, cleaned and refilled our swim spa yesterday. It holds 1200 gallons of water. After it was almost full I turned on circuit breaker and left it alone for 11 min so it could do its diagnostics. This was at about 3:30 yesterday -Saturday . Then I increased the temperature and left it to warm up. For an hour. It will not go above 80 degrees. I got a LF message which means low flow but water level is fine. Manual says heating capacity of spa will not reset automatically you may press any button to reset. So I pressed several buttons waited another hour and it still was not heating. The manual says make sure the pumps have been primed. How do I do that?
At 7 pm last night it was still not heating and I still got the low flow message. The filter was new a month ago. Water level is fine.
I just checked this am and it’s still giving a LF message at 7:25 am Sunday. 😑
Ok you probably have an air lock or you are not in the right mode or your pumps are not functioning properly. when you turn on the jet does everything function properly on low and high speed ? if not you have a flow problem and need to figure out what kind of a system you have so as to fix the problem.
1 Is there a cir pump and if so is it working
2 Depending on how many pumps you have when you turn on Pump 1 or Pump 2 do they work the way they are supposed to work?
# are all of the jets open so as not to cause any restrictions?
I think when you turned on the breaker before it was full you got an airlock in the system and that is what is causing the problem with low flow or you have blockage somewhere or you might have a bad worn out pump.
(Pro TIP) You NEVER put the filter in the tub until it is full of water and running properly.. Throw them in the tub and let them float around until everything is up and running.And do not turn on the breaker until you have the tub full of water.
I know I have turned on breakers in my videos before tub was filled but I also tell the viewers that if I have any FLOW problems that I have a special pump to fix the problem in less then a minute.
Hope this Helps Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
Oh thank you - so I should NOT turn on breaker until swim spa is totally full?
I have 2 swim jets and about 6 months ago the more forceful one stopped working as it usually did. When I
turn on that swim jet it doesn't work like before but it still works.
I didn’t mind because I use mostly only the weaker swim jet. Maybe this is the problem?
I thought I was supposed to refill spa by putting water hose into the filter? That’s how I have always refilled
The swim spa and never had this issue before.@@spaman5440
hi spa man!
I can’t set The temperature above 37 degrees. I keep on pressing the button but it’s not going above 37 degrees.
Please help.
Mine only goes to 40. I woudn't worry about it.
Motor making the same sound but no jets. Bought that same plunger and still can't get the jets to run!
Open up the side panel so you can get to the pump/motor and open up one of the connections on the pump just a turn or two when it starts to pump water tighten it back up...I hate doing it this way I will try everything before doing it this way. If this way doesn't work there is something you have missed along the way . Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440 I found the ring, but it won't budge. I looks to be glued in place. Plunger doesn't seem to be working either. Company says to loosen the ring. Hopefully, they will reply to emails with ideas.
I’ve loosened mine. Done bleeds on the valves. Plunged til I’m worn out. Still locked ?
Hmm well jet 2 just won't work yet
My water is moving in tub, but when I open it up I can see mostly air in tubes and i think some of jets are vlogged but not all... it trips gfci after a minute of use. If I try to turn it to second stronger jets setting it immediately trips gfci. Spa company can't come out for 2 weeks, I'm in freezing temperatures. If I have another company work on it it voids warranty. Freeze damage is not covered. My tub is almost exactly like yours. Only a year old.
Please help me trouble shoot?
I would call Scott at the shop and see if he can help You... Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@spaman5440 thanks I will give him a call after the weekend 😀
Same issue. Did you ever get it diagnosed? What was the remedy? Thanks
Thankyou!!!!
My tub has two pumps
Anyone else see the floating dead mouse? 1:13
That was a leaf LOL Thanks for Watching & SUBSCRIBING
@@spaman5440 oh! Haha my bad
I like the content. Your videos have helped me out a few times. 🤙🏻
😂