OK I guess I have half the battle done, found small leak now need repair advice. The is a PVC manifold under the recliner portion of tub with six vinyl hoses attached, it appears that one or two may be leaking slowly, I tried to add some radiator clamps but they didn't stop leak. If I cut the hose then it would be too short to reattach and I don't wanna have to trace it back to source. Is there some type of connector type connection(to extend length), and what is neccessary to reattach to manifold and prevent leaks.
BTW this is a Vita spa with full foam insulation. Thnaks for any and all help.

You betcha! I've done this one myself a few times with great success. My guess is that you discovered that the clear vinyl pvc hose has enlarged around the fitting? What I did in this situation is cleared the insulation from the clear pvc hose so I had about 6 inches to work with. then I cut the enlarged end off all together. Then about 2 1/2" back from the cut end, I cut it again. Took that hose to the local "Home Depot" and got a brass compression splice fitting that fit my hose. I used that to put in the place of the cut I made 2 1/2" back, and had enough hose to slip on the barb of the manifold, since the compression fitting adds about an inch, and used the hose clamp to be sure it stayed in place. If you aren't sure if you will have enough, "Home Depot" sells this clear hose in rolls, so then you have all you need.

Thanks Charger!
You got that all right, I already have enough room to work the hose,although its always gonna be tight in there. I understand what you are saying, sounds fairly straightforward. Would you use any kinda glue or sealant on the manifold port? It kinda got me worried about all the other manifold fittings around the whole tub. Thanks again for your work on this forum. What would we do w/o the internet? Proceed Blindly.

I wouldn't use any form of sealant, as the manifolds are easy to break, and if you have to ever remove that hose again, trying to undo sealint will greatly increase the chance of it breaking. I would just use a stainless hose clamp and call it good. Just don't over tighten them... snug is usually enough.

hi Charger,

went to home depot, was not quite sure about compression fittings. I know about comp fittings for copper tube, but they had some plastic type compression fittings also, are these the ones you mean?they went up to 1/2" in sizeat that store. as usual HD personnel were useless.

You still use the copper compression fittings. What you do is the fitting should come with two brass furrles that are basically inserts that you put inside the pvc/vinyl tube, so when you tighten down the fitting, the compression ring clamps against the furrle, thus locking the hose into place. You don't need as much torque with the pvc/vinyl tube as you would copper, of course! I will attach a picture of one to show you what I am talking about. It's a little blury, but I think you will get the idea.

Charger,

Thanks, great pic I have seen those and now know exactly what to do. I can't believe the Home depot personnel, they had no clue.. Thanks, Ira

Hi Charger,

I went to H/D and called around the plumbing supply houses, no one has compression fittings for the 3/4' ID vinyl. Were you talking about some smaller diameter? I called manufacturer (DM Industries) and spoke with tech, he told me to get the plastic barbs to extend the vinyl hose and use PVC cement on the fitting. Whatta you think? Thanks again.

The barbs would work fine, and I would use hose clamps on them as well to be sure a good secure fit. I'm still not shure I would go and cement the hose to the barb on the manifold though. There would be nothing wrong with it, but if you ever had to replace that hose again in the future, it would make it just that much more difficult.

Hi Charger,

OK, I used the barb fittings for extending the hose, but it still leaks at the PVC manifold connection. I see there are no barbs on the manifold connection. I guess the next step is using cement. Will the cement work with plain vinyl tubing? any special cement? Can I build up the pvc a little with several coats of cement? Thanks again.

I would try just using a coating of silicone for the sealant. But, I do wonder, might you have a hairline crack in the nipple from the manifold? In my experiance, it is unusual for these to leak, especially after attaching a new section of hose!

Well when I removed the vinyl from the nipple it slipped off very easy with no resistance, kinda like it was slack, someone should invent a barb that slips over and glues over those smooth nipples.I was thinking the same thing,about the hairline crack, but it is very hard to tell, any way to use a dye and see if it gets sucked up? Thats a much bigger job, where do you get those manifolds are they custom made for the industry?

Hi Charger,

Just went out again with my glasses, magnifier and lantern light, I could not see any hairline cracks. I did notice that in removing the old hoses I made some razor cuts the length of the nipple and this could possibly create a channel for the water to flow thru. I guess I need to lightly sand, I was reading a tech from the spa doctor and he talks about using Oatey Green or blue to build up. Put it on then let it dry. Plus some silicone as you say. Thanks for the help.

Just had another thought, the nipples are slightly upward pointing, can I use an eyedropper to fill the body with a food dye and wait to see if it comes thru anywhere?

You could use an eye dropper for food coloring, but I don't think that will do what you are looking for. If you do have a hairline crack, if you LIGHTLY insert an object into the opening that is tapered, it will flare the crack and make it visible.

BTW the manifolds are often available. They are speciffically made for spa use, and I'm not positive if spababes has them listed or not, but I do know they are out there for replacement.

Hi Charger,


You were right it appears to be a very fine crack in the manifold, I have the area but not found crack yet. This is a 2" manifold with 4 3/4" inch nipples that glues into another 2" manifold with 4 3/4" nipples, you can understand the job to replace the manifold. Remove,repair, replace 8 water lines plus extending the 2" lines to compensate for the removed lengths. I'm leaning towards 2 part marine epoxy or some type of fiberglass and resin matting to just repair the existing manifold. Your opinion and any possible idea would be appreciated.

Is this what you were looking for?

Made by Waterway, part number 425-5040.

Is your manifold for Air or Water? If it's air, you can get a 2 part plastic repair epoxy at Wal-mart for a very reasonable price. If it is for water, and the crack isn't severe, you can take a medium weight pvc cement (use primer too) and build up the area SLOWLY, layer by layer, letting it dry fully between coats. You only need to use the primer on the manifold, not between layers. I've done this personally on jets. The two part plastic epoxy may be strong enough for pressure, but I haven't tested that out as of yet. I've only used the build up method and had great success with it, so as far as marine grade epoxy, it might work just fine as well, I really don't know.

Hi Charger,


Not exactly mine. All my nipples are on one side pointing in same direction, and my nipples are not barbed(why not???) like the one you show. Otherwise the ends of the body seem the same. The leak is slow and hard to pinpoint, almost as if the plastic is porous.These are all water lines. I think the only benefit of marine grade epoxy is that it dries under water.

Wow, I think I found it! I found a drop of water on the side of the pipe coming out from the body, it's a tiny pinhole. Its either a manufacturing defect that took time to show or some chemicals must have eaten away at a weak spot of the PVC wall. Ever seen/heard of this, I'm new to spa's so I'm just guessing. I'm gonna try the primer, pvc cement buildup. I(t's just luck that I was ever able to zero in on this manifold and find that leak.Along these lines I know there is a stop leak product, like for radiators, the overall consensus is not that great, but maybe in a situation like this it could be good preventative medicine. The spa was made in 2000(not that old) and works great otherwise. Thnaks for all your time, again.