I have an older Highlife spa, a "K" series which the serial # would be a 1994. It has a slow leak that drains into the plastic shell below the bottom of the tub. This would then over flow into the heater/pump area and out the door. At 1st it was real slow and only leaked about an inch of water a week. After 6 - 8 months it has gone up to 3 inches every 2 - 3 days.

So on the lip where the water would run into the heater/pump area I drilled a small hole and placed a plastic tube there to drain the water away from the heater case and out to the ground. To find the level where the leak is I stopped filling it and let it drain on it's own, figuring that when the water stopped leaking that would be the approximate level of the leak. It's now down to the cool off seat and still leaking. It doen't look like it's leaking from the light as it's dry under the light, just flooded inside that opening under the mian floor.

My questions are; where does this hot tub normally leak? Should I remove an inch or two of water then see if it stops leaking or let it leak naturally until it stops? Or is there a better way to find the leak?

Let it leak until it stops - power off.
Check for cracks around the light lens and around the cool down seat.

Got it.

I powered her down the day I stopped re-filling her..

Thanks and when she stops leaking I'll look for the crack and report back...

Today the water level is even with the cool down seat & the water dripping out of the drain tube I had placed in it, & it is very slow.

So I opened the factory drain and dropped the water level 6 inchs below the cool down seat top, so it is now below the passive water in/outlets to the filter box. While this was draining I heard a vaccume release, some water flowed into the tub from the lowest jets above where you would sit in the seats. I could tell this as it was strong enough to move the dirt in front of the jets. When I walked around to check the drain tube it was dripping quite a bit more. I did mark the starting point from todays draining with a pencil and am now letting it drain till it stops leaking.

Does this aid in diagnoseing where the leak is?

Thanks...

Well, not really. I would still look for any cracks in the cool down seat as well as around the light lens, from inside the spa.

The water level has been below the light lens & side drain for a week now & it has stopped leaking. That would tell me it's not in the floor drain. I looked inside the tub & couldn't find any cracks. The light lens looks real old & is badly yellowed. I'm guessing that it needs replaced or sealed.

So would my next move be to remove the lens and inspect it? And replace/seal it if needed? What is the recommended sealer?

Then fill it back up above the lens to see if that was the leak?

A question about the under side of the tub, that area under the floor that fills up with water before spilling into the heater/motor area. Does that area have plastic below it or is it foam? Just wondering as it took awhile for the leak to stop after the water was down below the lens...

Thanks!

It is foam and plumbing under the equip area floor. The lens will leak behind the plastic and go into the foam.

You can check the light lens from the equip area for moisture.

Ok, I drained the tub down past the light & the side drain. The leak stopped after a week+. So I put water in it up to the side drain so it had water draining in it, but not touching the light lens. The drip started again within 5 minutes. The side drain is in the photo below on the left. (not sure if it's a drain or?)



In guessing the next step is to tip the tub up on the motor end and mine the insulation below the leak out until I get to the side drain, then seal the leak. Unless there is a better to reach it from inside the tub. The light lens will be tested next by filling up over it and see if it's wet behind it...

You need to do it from the bottom. You can put it up on blocks and poke holes in the foam. I would also poke around the main drain. This may not tell you exactally where it is leaking but will give you a better idea. Water goes where it wants to go.

before you raise it up I would do a dye test. Get a pint of blue food coloring and dump it in a full tub. Let sit and run it a bit to get it to leak. Then drain it. You should be able to easily follow the dye back thru the foam to the leak from the bottom and you should see the crack from the top if it is a crack because the dye sticks in it just enough to make it visible.

Right now I have the tub sitting with about 6 inches of water in it. So I'll bring it up and to where
I can circulate the water and give it a try..

Thanks...

3oz of blue food coloring in the full tub & it's leaking nicely. I can see now that it's leaking behind the light lens. So I'll order the replacement for that. I couldn't see that before?

Hopefully that will stop the leak and no mining of insulation will have to be done. I'm going to let the tub sit for a few days to a week to let the blue food coloring have time to seep through any cracks..

The tub fired up nicely, started to heat and the jets worked fine then when I went to turn on the jets again they didn't work. Nothing had power. So I re-set the breakers and nothing. Then I reset the tub breakers on the inside of the panel and nothing. I'm guessing they just need time to re-set???

The new light is in and that wasn't bad at all.

I added some strips of wood to the access hatch so the mice can't get in..

Now I get to prop up the tub to fix the side drain leak...

This morning I mined the insulation out of the bottom of the tub where the side drain is and mined around the side drain. There is a blue-green stain around the fitting where the pipe joins to the fitting. But the insulation is completely dry?? No blue stains in the insulation. The pipe then continues towards the front of the tub and goes where I don't know. I'm guessing that I have to mine out the entire length of pipe to the next fitting to find the leak. So far all the insulation is dry under the tub.

Any ideas on where the pipe goes?

Am on the trail or chasing my tail???

Just finished mining to the 90 degree elbow and the insulation is wet and dripping there. On the elbow I can put a putty knife blade into a crack on the inside of the elbow. The elbow is dripping all the time.

I then opened the drain inside the service hatch & let the water out. It stopped dripping immediately. So I ran a fish wire into the drain to see if the elbow is the 1st thing in the line. It was as far as I could tell. Then I looked inside the drain and could see the elbow. Why? To see if I could tell if there was a tee in the line. If this is the only drain to the tub & no other line connected to or drew water from this drain line as then it could be capped from the tub side. Then when I need to drain the tub I can unscrew the cap or use garden hoses. What leads me to believe this is true, is that when draining the tub once the water level went below this side drain it stopped leaking. When I again then brought the water level above this side drain it started to leak. Not having a plumbing diagram I'm not sure. Does anybody know if this is true or where I can get a plumbing diagram.

Back to the elbow, to fix it I believe I will have to remove a 2x4 on the bottom of the tub as the leaking elbow is almost right above the 2x4. Then cut the elbow out and replace it.

Thanks...

I'm to that point where I think I need a little advice.
Here is a photo of the pipe that is leaking.

The bottom of the photo is where the drain valve is. The top 90's to the side drain in the tub around the corner. Everything else looks good leak wise, just this piece of flex pipe is broken.

1) Can I cut the flex tubing at the 90, then cut the flex tube again at the start of the tee, remove the middle leaking flex hose. Then clean out the tee and put in a new 90 and flex hose? I'm guessing that the inside of a fitting can't be cleaned out and the fitting has to be replaced.

or

2) Cut the flex tubing at the 90, then cut the connection between the tee and the gate valve & at the tee & 45 where it meets the 3/4 inch flex tube? Doing this would require me to buy a gate valve plus the other parts; 1 x 90, 1 x 1 1/2 tee, 3/4 45 & 1 1/2 flex tube.

And I'm thinking I'll need flex tube glue???

You can cut at the fittings and try to get the hose out of the fittings. Cut it a couple inches from the fitting and twist with a pair of pliers. Sometimes it will come right out. If that doesn't work I will use a dremel tool and cut a slit in the hose inside the fitting. You have to be careful not to score the fitting. Then I will twist the slit hose with needle nose pliers. If all fails then just re-plumb it all.

Have Fun

Thanks Pete.

Looks like I'll be under the tub working away on this on for a while...

I ended up re-plumbing all the broken flex pipe and replacing the fittings that were attached to the same. Then I used the expanding foam to re-insulate the pipes and put 2 coats of fiber glass resin on to seal her up.

Using a 3 ton floor jack I got her back on the ground and refilled with water. Once full I reconnected the power and everything fired up and ran like new. Thanks to all who responded to my e-mail for some help!!

Tonight the wife and I had a great soak with the full moon in the east!!!