Hot Tub Plumbing

Plumbing Systems

Now that we have examined the types of hot tubs and hot tubs and you have selected the one that's right for you, we will take a look at the network of pipes, valves, and jets that circulate the water. Although your hot tub may be preplumbed and all of these components hidden from view, you may want to repair or upgrade your hot tub someday, so a basic understanding of the plumbing systems is essential.

To truly understand a hot tub, we must follow the path of the water. Water from the hot tub enters the equipment system through a main drain on the floor, through a surface skimmer, or through a combination of both main drain and skimmer. The water travels into a pump that is driven by the attached motor. From the pump, the water travels through a filter, then to the heater, and finally back to the hot tub through jets that provide both clean water and the characteristic massage action that makes hot tubs so popular in the first place.

Skimmers

The purpose of the skimmer, as the name implies, is to pull water into the system at the surface with a skimming action, pulling in leaves, oil, and dirt before they can sink to the bottom of the hot tub. The skimmer also provides a conveniently located suction line for vacuuming the hot tub. Most skimmers today are molded, one-piece plastic units. Older inground hot tubs have built-in-place concrete skimmers.

In either case, the skimmer will be accessed through the face of the hot tub wall or through a cover that sits on the deck at the edge of the hot tub (the cover will be plastic or concrete). Most redwood hot tubs have only a main drain; but if they also include a skimmer, it is likely to be a flat, vertical model that has no basket but skims the surface and pulls any floating debris to a plastic screen. Modern portable hot tubs, with filter cartridges built right into the hot tub, incorporate a skimmer directly above these cartridges .

So how does the typical skimmer work? Water pours over a floating weir which allows debris to enter; but when the pump is shut off and the suction stops, the weir floats into a vertical position and prevents debris from floating back out to the hot tub. Debris can cause the weir to jam in a fixed position, thus preventing water from flowing into the skimmer. When this happens, the pump will lose prime(water flow) and run dry, causing damage to its components. Therefore, during windy periods it may be better to remove the weir from the skimmer to prevent such problems.

Hot tub skimmers also include a debris basket, which will collect leaves and large debris and is easily emptied. The hot tub skimmer pulls the debris to the grid, but when the suction stops, the debris is free to float back into the tub. The skimmer built into the portable hot tub includes a debris bag, much like the ones on vacuum cleaners, which can be emptied periodically.

By the way, you should exercise care in working around the skimmer when the pump is on. I have nearly had fingers broken when placing my hand over a skimmer suction opening and have lost various pieces of equipment, T-shirts, bolts, plastic parts, etc. which invariably end up clogged in the pipe at some turning point where leaves, hair, and debris later catch and close off the pipe completely. Keep small objects away from the skimmer opening when the basket is removed, and especially keep your hands from covering that suction hole!

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