2005 coleman 471

when i discovered the leak i wasnt sure the rate of leak. i over filled it so the heater would run (had DRY message) and heated up the water so no chance of freezing when i turned it off. over night it was about 1 inch lower. called tech and he would come in 3 days. the day he came i checked and it was about 5 inches down from the overfilled level i had it at.

when the guy came he said he saw it leaking where the skimmer met the frame. i wasnt home to see this. he called me next day and said they used flex seal on another customers tub and they never called back so assume it fixed it. he said they could come back in 3 days and try it. in those 3 days the water didnt appear to go down. so it did appear indeed just at skimmer level it was leaking

he was here yesterday and the flex steel was very runny even after shaking the can. he sprayed the crap out of it and told me i could put a 2nd coat on next day after 24 hours. i paid 300 for this. today i went out and took these pics. i called but techs arent in on weekends . i decided to peel away the loose and just spray it more for the fun of it. but then it got me wondering. where the cracking was did that really matter? the joint is below it isnt it? if so it seems like you need something thick painted on 'up and under ' the joint if i'm seeing it correctly.

any ideas?

 

i forgot he sprayed inside too

 

Hard to tell what the pictures show but it looks like he sprayed over some type of tape ?
That's not terribly effective.
Spraying it into the skimmer is even less effective.

This is a service call worth $100.....not $300.

Sealing a leak from the outside is nothing more than a temporary band aid.
Not sure what is holding that skimmer in place but it should be removed and reset.

 

agree i dont think i should have paid for 2 guys to come out. they had to drain it a bit with a pump but sure a job for one. i am not sure if he put tape over it or not. wasnt out at that time. i really doubt they will take the skimmer out at this point. and who knows what it would cost if just spraying stuff was 300.

how is the skimmer normally set.with caulk..gasket etc?

cant get a new tub. they are insane pricing and i just paid a fortune for a new privacy fence around the tub so i do want the tub. ill probably fill it monday after work to see if perchance what they did worked.

was considering doing this because as you can see they probably arent worth having out again
https://flexsealproducts.com/products/flex-paste

 

And this was the crap a reputable hot tub service company used (which we all know is a total scam) to fix a hot tub?

 

yup said the other customer never called back

but maybe was a reason they never called back!

 

Being a DIY site I'd say get in there and look for the leak yourself. You can add some food coloring to the water if you have trouble seeing the leak. But just getting close and shinning a flashlight is a good way to find the source of the leak. I don't mean "skimmer" but you are looking for the specific leak location. Is it where the skimmer mates to the spa shell? Is it where one of the pipes connect?

While waiting for the spa to fill to check for leaks I'd find some good adhesive sealant. 3M 5200 is a good choice for gluing fittings or mending cracks.

 

he said between skimmer and tub was where he saw leak. but he didnt remove any other panels. admitted could be other leaks. i know water just travels down to where it does , but the most water on the concrete outside the tub was totally opposite. but that could be how the concrete was slanted. who knows maybe it will work. !

before they even came out i did try to look but all i saw was bunch of water all over different places. but i cant pay more money for them to do what they just did thats for sure

 

nite one after filling 1 inch above the skimmer line showed no leak. today is nite 2 and it showed about 1/2 inch leak. very impossible to see but theres water dripping in the pic where my finger is. tried to take a pic with and without finger. when i knew it was leaking i just pulled away all the loose crap which is why it looks so bad. also its hard to see but there is some kind of sleeve that is lower on the pic. it looks like tape was wrapped around but it's not. its from the factory there with i guess a rubber gasket. its NOT leaking from where that joints the other surface below as you would expect. it's leaking from where the lip is where my finger nail is resting.

since i dont know what to use ill use that 3M stuff in the above post once this dries about a day. my ideal thing would be put gloves on and maybe even use plastic putty knife or something to spread the stuff around the entire circumfernce. thankfully i did confirm that the rear out of the way spot is not wet but i feel i shouldnt just try to fix the leak. i should try to prevent more

they are behind their bookkeeping at the pool place. you have to give at CC card to make an appt but they didnt charge me yet. so tomorrow i think ill call and say it's still leaking and could just they give half hour labor back and ill just try to fix it myself cause of course no way do i want them back lol.

 

I would sand the area where you suspect a leak. The white coating could be concealing a crack. Plus, sealant won't stick well or seal to a coating that's peeling off so sanding down to clean base material is best.

I know it's a mess but food coloring in the water can help identify the source of the leak. Color the water and raise the water level to cause a leak. At first, while it's leaking, the water coming out will be slightly tinted but the source can be difficult to see. But if you leave it a day or two, until the water level stops dropping. The hours & hours of leaking will sometimes evaporate and leave a darker food coloring stain making it easier to see where the water is coming from.

Or, sand the area to remove the white coating. You don't water seeping under the coating and appearing somewhere else. Then raise the water level so it leaks. Then smooth out toilet paper or paper towel over the area and look for the wet spot. You can also dust the area with flour which will also show where it gets wet.

 

well apparently the email i sent that the owner read got some action. but they kicked it back to the tech. i expressed displeasure at 300 for a spray job that failed. he reminded no guarantee. then i heard in background some talking. he finally said there's a paste that lowes has and we will just charge the 15 for it and zero labor.. probably a bad choice but i decided to let them come out monday but i wont be here when they are sadly.

he said they never ever have taken any skimmer out of any hot tubs. thats its all factory done

 

today i lowered the water down to the bottom of the skimmer just so all could dry. i dont want them patching in the skimmer though. just in the tub cavity. i took out the filter and water of course drained. the good news is i had the water below skimmer level for a day and didnt see any issues. but when the filter water went on top of the filter i could easily see where it leaked in the inside area. then i poured more water in the same spot. could see it leaking. so i'm confident its just that one area now. the around the back area was all dry. monday will be fun

 

2 other guys came out today. the guy def knew more than the other guys. basically cant do anything because its a can of worms. if he calls the MFG and they say its silicone in the threads then if they unscrew it it could break it. then he started talking about the other 2 inch pipe having to be cut out etc . basically no matter what they tried wouldnt be guaranteed so i wont spend any more money.

 

4 days no leak with the 3m stuff i put on. yippee

 

after a few weeks i decided to balance the water since it hasnt leaked

put in the powder to lower the PH and went out 20 min later to retest

the damn thing leaks! only thing i can figure is now it's due to something only when pump 2 is running. only pump 1 has run the past few weeks during the filtering cycle. im mad because that front cover was almost impossible for me and the repair guy to put on since its pretty much falling apart. im just going to take the side cover off sometimes and hope the leak is down that end, not near the motor or skimmer.

is there any magical guess as to what would only leak when pump 2 is on.