Hi all, I have a Maax Altantis hot tub. It does not have an ozonator and has a circ pump and a jet (blower) pump. It is hooked up to a panel with a 40 amp breaker (a double breaker I think) with a test button. I have reset this maybe 5 times in the last 3 years, maily due to the filter getting plugged and causing "Flo" issues. A few weeks ago it started tripping and would run for about 12 hours and then trip again. The tub would heat to about the 80's, then die. I played with this daily for about a week. There are no obvious leaks, although my cover is damaged from last winter and water leaks into the tub with heavy rain. A few nights ago I opened it up and disconnected the jet pump from the control panel. It had a "plug", so I tried it. It has not tripped since. The temp is currenty at 99 degrees and holding. When I tested this all out a few weeks ago when it first started, I ran that jet (blower) pump manually for a few minutes. It worked fine - good pressure and no odd sounds/whining. I am assuming that since this now works without the jet pump plugged in, that it is the cumprit. Is that a proper assessment? Is there anything I can do to try to fix the pump before I buy a new one? One other question. From the heater, there is a bare copper bonding wire that is attached to the jet pump. What is the purpose of that? There is actually a second (same type of) wire coming from the heater, but it isnt attached to anything at all. What would be its purpose? There are no other bare copper wires to speak of. Any help here would be fantastic! thanks!

I think I have a leak in my return line. After pump is running for the day I notice fine dirt on the pool bottom just in front of the return. I believe that water is being forced out into the surrounding ground while the pump is running and at night the dirt and silt seeps back into the leak and when the filter kicks on its putting this dirt into the pool where it collects on the bottom. Or the dirt is being sucked in while the filter is running. Of coarse these lines are under 4 inches of concrete. Does any one have a homemade preasure tester that they would like to share their plans with me? Also has anyone tried Fixaleak [url]www.fixaleak.com[/url] and if so their comments. Thanx Jimmy