Hello to all...

I own a Morgan Hot Tub (a Malibu, I think) manufactured in 1996. I haven't had any problems with it and it has been running year-'round since 1997 when I installed it in my backyard (in a large gazebo). Anyway, I noticed one day that the tub had not been running it's usual filtration cycles as it had been and lifted up the cover to a display of "OH". The water was warm, but not as warm as what should have been set. I pushed one of the buttons on the display console and the tub came to life turning the pump on and running as usual. I came out about an hour later and the tub was back in "OH" mode again. I did a bit of playing with it and figured out that the tub would not stop when in high-speed (it's a two-speed pump) but it's on a 30 minute timer that shuts down the high-speed pump and then turns on the low-speed pump if needed (like for a filtration cycle). So, I then turned the low-speed pump on and noticed that it would only run for 2-5 minutes and then stop which would bring up the "OH" on the display.

I had a service technician come out and he said the control console was bad and that he would come back the next day to replace it. Well, I guess that wasn't it (I was skeptical myself) because my son called me later in the afternoon and told me the serviceman had left me a note to say what he had done. The note said that the reason it was going into "OH" all the time was because I was running the tub excessively in low-speed mode and that I shouldn't do that. He then charged me $150 and left! (He didn't do anything other that leave me the note.)

I am very tempted to rip out the Morgan tub and put in another manufacturers, but I think it's probably a pretty simple fix. My first thought is that it's the pump motor itself and needs to be replaced. Anyone out there heard, experienced, or seen anything like this?? Someone tell me if I'm on the right path...

- Jon

You need to determine if the heater is indeed hot - causing it to go into oh mode.

This will take all of the 3 minutes or so on low speed (that you're talking about) - and post back what you find.

The heater does heat - I know that. I can get the water to any preset temperature, not necessarily 104, and after that the pump will stop and the tub will NOT go into OH. I can also run it up to 104 and it will stop there too and NOT go into OH. Only way I can do that though is to stand over it and keep pushing buttons on the keypad when it DOES go into OH. (Does that make any sense..??)

So this is not a regularly repeating event then - errant/unpredictable yes?

The idea here is to determine if the heater is HOT - ie overheating - when it goes into OH (by hot I mean too hot to touch for more than a couple of seconds - way over 104). This eliminates a potential sensor problem.

If you can't check that (or if you have and it was indeed too hot), then...

First thing to check is pump suction - remove the collar and see if anything is stuck inside there.

If so, remove it - problem should be solved.

Next, check to be sure sensors are plugged into board correctly and not loose - eg remove and replug.

That's for starters.

This isn't a morgan spa issue, this is an any spa issue. You've got 10 years on this thing and it's entirely normal to run into problems like this - and that service tech is smoking some good weed to give you a diagnosis like that.

Yes it is repeatable and predictable - the amount of time it takes to go into OH is the variable and that happens within 5 mins. It shows "OH" on the display but I'm wondering if that is just a generic message saying SOMETHING is overheating - not necessarily the heater. When you operate the pump on high it will run until you stop it or until it times out, which is 30 mins from when you start it. But when running at low speed, it'll crap out every time in 5 mins or less - unless you push a button on the console and then it will run for up to 5 mins again until you push a button and then run for 5 mins....etc, etc...

Service tech removed/replaced all the plugs/jumpers I could see on the circuit board; I was standing over him when he did it. And I agree he must really think he's making his life better through chemistry...

Ok well here's the deal.

OH MEANS the HEATER is overheating.

Period.

That's why you need to repeat the problem. Then feel the heater casing to see if it is indeed overheated.

This will give you an immediate determination if you have a sensor/board problem, OR

A pump flow problem.

It's going to be one of the two.

OK. It might take me a couple of days to get in there and take another look around. I'll post a reply when I have some more info...

Well that's the real deal though - you shouldn't need to pay another tech big $$$.

It's really a matter of sticking to the basics - all OH problems need to be verified whether or not the heater is hot - because depending on yes/no, will determine which branch of troubleshooting to go down, because each one is totally different from the other.

Just a short note on this story - while winterizing the pool on Saturday, the stupid tub ran for hours bringing up the temperature from 93 degrees to 104. Then it stopped at 104 and no OH!! The next morning, however, I went out to look at it and it was back to normal with an OH display. I have the day off on Friday so I'll get to look at it again along with winterizing the evaporative (swamp) cooler on the house. Hopefully, I'll have some news to report.

On one note though, if the heater is in true OH will it be too hot to touch? I'mm wondering if the hard water out here hasn't taken it's toll on the poor heater as it does tend to build up on everything...