Episode #828
December 14, 2024
Things are not always as they seem. Sometimes the truth is hidden behind the obvious.
The drain plug of my inflatable spa came loose and the water drained out.
I don’t remember kicking the drain plug. In fact, I had not been in the spa for days. Did a temperature change cause the plug to loosen? What had happened to cause the drain to become unplugged?
The water draining occurred after carpet cleaners came to my house. I don’t think they jumped into the spa. What did they do? They drove their truck around the back of the house so their carpet cleaning hoses could reach the interior of the house. A-ha!
The truck had run over the drain garden hose attached to the spa. I surmised that when the tires compressed the empty hose small puffs of air pushed through the hose impacting the rubber drain plug. It was just enough force to push the friction sealed plug open. The water could then flow out.
I resealed the plug and filled the spa with water. When I turned the filter/heater pump on the control panel registered an E90 error: “No water flow.”
In the manual, troubleshooting suggested several solutions:
- “Turn off the pump, unplug the power cord, then restart the system.” This eliminated the error code, but as soon as I turned on the filter/heater switch the E90 error reoccurred.
- “Check for obstructions and/or change the filter cartridges.” How could that be the problem?, I thought. The pump was working, unobstructed before the water drained. The problem must be with the pump motor, I assumed. The motor might have burned up from running dry.
A call to Intex tech support set me straight. The helpful lady asked a few questions.
“Did you reset the power to the system?”
“Yes.”
“Did you clean or replace the filter cartridges?”
“No, since they were working normally before the water drained.”
“Please remove the filter housings and see if the error code reoccurs.”
I did just that and there was no error. Water was obviously flowing out and into the spa motor. I opened the filter housings and discovered clogged and restricted cartridges.
“You have solved my problem ma’am. Thank you for your help.”
I had assumed that when the water drained out, the pump continued to run dry and burn itself out. A new pump unit would have cost me $400 (and would not have solved the problem). I had the replacement filter cartridges in my garage and installed them at no cost.
But how did the cartridges become blocked? Reviewing the water draining in my imagination I realized that when the surface of the water passed the filter housings the system skimmed whatever debris was floating on the water and clogged the cartridges.
Things are not always as they seem. Sometimes the truth is hidden behind what you assume.
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