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Spa Leak Repairs Made Simple

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Diagnose and Repair Your  Leaking Hot Tub in 6 Easy Steps

There are several areas where leaking may occur in spas. The source of the leaking may seem hard to find, but it’s not too difficult if you know where to start.

Components associated with spa leaking:

  • Pump Wet End Seal
  • Heater Assembly Manifold
  • Slice/Knife and Gate Valves
  • PVC Plumbing Parts & Tubing
  • Jet Bodies
  • Acrylic Spa Shell

 Step-by-Step Repair Diagnostics

A) Disconnect all power to the spa. Inspect the equipment compartment. If leak is under the pump, this indicates a possible pump seal failure. If leak is detected, replace pump or install new seal, as appropriate.

B) Check all union fittings at hot tub pump and heater. Unions can even vibrate loose on a brand new spa during shipment, and should be hand tightened if necessary. If hand tightening is difficult, loosen pump mounting bolts, move components into alignment, then tighten unions and re-tighten pump mounting bolts. Never use a wrench to tighten spa unions.

C) Next, inspect heater, pressure switch and surrounding components. Replace any defective parts as indicated by leak. See Heater Testing

D) Inspect all of the valves. Repair or replace if leak is indicated. Knife style valves are sometimes bolted together and contain a gasket between the halves which can fail, particularly upon freezing or with prolonged poor water quality conditions.

Note: Valves on either side of the pump, when present, are installed at the factory as a convenience to service people (so that they do not have to drain the spa water to replace a pump). In reality, these valves more often do more harm than good, since they are a common source of leaks. Some hot tub owners choose to remove these valves if they have been a leak problem source.

E) Inspect all pipes, jets and connections for leakage. Repair or replace if indicated.

F) Examine spa shell for cracks. If cracks are present, patch with Plast-Aid Acrylic and PVC Repair Kit. This product forms a molecular bond with the plastic which is stronger than the PVC or Acrylic itself. Plast-aid out performs epoxy or resin compounds.

If you need help with any of the steps above, or are still having trouble fixing your leak, we are here to help. Speak with one of our technicians free of charge today: 1-800-823-3638 or email Parts@SpaDepot.com.

17 comments

  1. Hi I have a Belize II Oval Spa 500 gallons I think. It has a tiny leak so the rep said to use Seal A Leak. Made a mistake and pored the whole 16 oz bottle in the spa. Can”t get anyone at SpaDepot on the phone. What do I do now?

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  2. Hi Karen, Thank you for your question. I recommend draining and refilling your hot tub. While excess Seal-A-Leak is not harmful to your spa equipment, it may be irritating to skin in high concentration. I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble getting through to us on the phone. I tried to call you this morning and also sent you an email. Please feel free to call me if you have any additional questions: 800-823-3638 x 908. Thank you, Mark The Spa Depot

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  3. I had a freeze in my SPA DEPOT ELITE spa. I replaced all of the damage. Not sure why it froze. It had a small leak prior to the freeze as the water level kept going down over a four or five week period. At one time it did get below a couple of the jets. The spa is supposed to circulate to stop it from freezing. Is the reason for the freeze possibly the water level got to low so the circulation mode couldn”t or didn”t start?

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  4. Hi Ray, Yes. If your water level gets too low, air can be pulled in through the filter. Your spa system would recognized the poor water flow, and shut your equipment down. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks, Mark The Spa Depot

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  5. Hi Mark, The bottom portion (about 2-3 inches) of the yellow nature 2 stick was missing from my filter. I am pretty sure it got loose and was sucked into my system. Is this anything to worry about? I have no idea where it could be, and it is a fully foamed tub. Everything works fine. Thanks, Steve

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  6. Hi Steven, Usually the hose from the filter goes right into the pump. The plastic piece could be wedged somewhere in the plumbing, but as long as everything is working fine you should have nothing to worry about. The only thing that may happen is the piece could get pulled into the pump. If that happens it will rattle around and make lots of noise. If that happens, shut the spa down and open up the pump to remove it. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Mark The Spa Depot

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  9. Hi Barbara,
    The surface does have to be dry in order for Plastaid to bond correctly.
    Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
    Thanks,
    Kaisa
    The Spa Depot

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  10. Water is seeping into the control area where the lines go to the jets. How do I determine which jet is leaking and needs a new seal?

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  11. Hi Dave,
    If the jets in the area are at different levels, turn the power off to the spa and allow the tub to drain until it stops draining. The water will stop draining just below the jet that has the leak. If all the jets are at the same level, it is really just a matter of looking at the back of the jets to determine which jet is leaking. If there is foam on the back of the jets, you will need to remove the foam. You should find water deposits which will help identify the leaking jet.
    I hope this helps!
    Thank you,
    Mark
    SpaDepot.com

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  12. I have a sundance heater that is leaking..I’ve tightened the screws on the heater & it seems to be leaking more now…it’s working perfectly..do I need to replace the whole heater or would it be a seal ? 2002 altamar sundance.the heater casing is plastic..Thanks for your help

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  14. I have a leak at the heater union where the pvc connector is two piece screw together. I replaced the damaged flat o-ring gasket and hand-tightened completely but still have the leak. I even put some plumber tape around the threads and while that slowed down the leak it did not stop. I seems like I’m not getting a good connection to the flange on the heater. Any suggestions?

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  15. Hi Stephanie,
    Since you replaced the O-ring gasket and it is still leaking, you likely have a cracked split nut. I recommend carefully inspecting the split nut for a small crack, or simply replace it. I also recommend removing the plumbers tape from the threads. It is better to use a lubricant on the threads to ensure that the two threaded pieces can mate completely.
    I hope this helps!
    Thanks,
    Mark
    SpaDepot.com

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  16. Thank you for listing these steps on how to find out what is going wrong with the spa. My hot tub has been not working correctly this past week and I have no clue what went wrong. I’m going to use these steps and try to figure out the problem. Once I do, I’ll call a repairman to come and fix it for me.

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  17. My husband and I just got a hot tub but don’t know much about fixing them. I like how you gave a step by step on what to do if you find a leak in the hot tub, the first step being to unplug it as to not cause further damage to you or the tub. I’m glad I now have a guide to follow if we ever have a leak!

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