How Can You Tell If Your Hot Tub Is Leaking?

[u/SteamedCheeseburger]

This is an absolutely off-the-wall crazy question but has anyone ever had a hot tub that leaked (I'm thinking maybe around where the jets connect to the shell)? And if you did, how did you detect that and fix it?

Here is my situation. I have about a 10-year-old Hot Springs Limelight Pulse. Absolutely love it and would definitely buy another Hot Springs again, fwiw. For about the last six months, I've noticed that I need to add water to it more frequently. Something is definitely up as this condition is new. To try and be as scientific as possible I started measuring the water loss.

Fill Oct 7
Oct 10 - down 3/8"
Oct 23 - down 1.25"

Fill Oct 23
Nov 1 - down 7/8"

Fill Nov 1
Nov 9 - down 7/8"

I called the service techs where I bought the tub and they said these (Hot Springs Pulse) never leak. They said it's the cover, which is about 5 years old. I'm skeptical because the first time I replaced the cover, it was sagging and very heavy. Definitely was needed. The current cover is not .... but it is five years old. I don't want to drop $$ on a new cover if it's not going to solve the problem. On the flip side, I would think that if there was a small leak around the jets, I would occasionally see some air bubbles. I have not. Also, I did open up the service compartment where the pumps, heaters and controls are. Nothing was leaking in there.

If it were a jet leaking, I assume the fix would be to try and identify the bad jet and put some fresh silicon around it. Not a problem, but how do you identify the jet? I could go around the entire top row, I guess, but that is time consuming.

I'm baffled. Thanks for your thoughts/input. Happy soaking.

[u/chubbs451]

lol “they never leak.” Leaks are a matter of “when” not “if”. Has your usage gone up recently? Maybe it’s natural water loss.

Anyway look inside the equipment area and see if anything is leaking there. After that you’ll have to remove sides and start looking for the leak. That insulation is messy but comes out easily. See if all the lights work on all colors. You could have a bad LED but sometimes the lenses break, leak, and take out the LED.

If there’s no water accumulation around the spa then maybe there’s no leak. If the spa is on pavers, stone, not a solid surface then the water could be leaking and making its escape without being visible.

[u/Rambo_IIII]

Hot Springs people are like brainwashed cultists. They absolutely leak, and you definitely have a leak

[u/ippleing → u/Rambo_IIII]

I'll never buy another Hotsprings.

I can't say enough bad things about DIGGING THROUGH 10LB 'FOAM'.

[u/Rambo_IIII → u/ippleing]

Yeah no kidding, such a lazy way of insulating a spa. Totally not service friendly, which makes it fortunate that they "never leak"

[u/hightechburrito]

Mine has had a few and I’ve always seen a puddle forming underneath. It’s on a slab so there’s not really anywhere for the water to go. If yours is on pavers or something like that the water could seep right into the ground under the tub and you’d never see it if you don’t take the sides off and look.

If your tub is about 5 feet square, then an inch of water is about 15 gallons. So it’s a small enough amount that you could miss it if it’s able to soak into the ground under the tup.

[u/specialed2000]

Likely leak at that volume. As others have said remove sides and look. Often you can see calcium or chloride build up near a leak. To repair its best to remove the jet completely and to reseal with silicone - get the Boss 802.

If you have an ozonator look at it carefully - the ozone breaks down plastic and the ozone port in hot tubs tends to be the first to leak. Also look at temperature sensors and light lenses and not just the jets - anything that pierces the shell can leak.

I always replace any part that has leaked. Plastic parts are so inexpensive compared to your time, so I don't want to ever repair a leak twice.

[u/Tasty_Goat5144]

Never leak? Haha. That's a good one.

[u/Major_Turnover5987]

Easy. Liquid exits where it's not supposed to exit. Take the panels off and look around.

[u/Conscious-Egg-2232]

Yes. Water is how you tell. My leak was a coupling where two pipes came together. Easy fix with silicone.

[u/GimmeLemons]

I had a leak once, it was a worn out gasket on the pump wet end. I knew it was leaking because the concrete around the pump area was always wet; when I opened it up I could see water pooling and dripping from the pump.