Calspas SWIM - Page 21

21
Priming the PumpPriming the Pump
New owners often have diculty the rst time they start their spa and the pumps fail to prime. This can
be frustrating but these instructions should help you resolve any issues with air pockets inside of the
primary pump or other priming issues.
Start Up: Priming Mode
Sometimes air can become trapped in the primary pump while lling up the spa, although this should be
preventable by lling your spa through the lter basket, there is a chance that an air pocket can still form
even when following the proper steps. Initially it may seem that the pump is not working, with some
sound coming from the pump but no water movement.
Note: When a pump has an airlock, continuing to operate the pump experiencing an air pocket issue
can damage the pump. Do not operate the pump until this airlock issue is xed.
When the spa is powered up for the rst time, the spa will enter priming mode. During this mode all de-
vices within the spa is operational. You may wait for 10-15 minutes for the heater to engage, this period
of time resets when a secondary pump is activated or if the primary pump is activated for high speed.
The spa will automatically exit priming mode.
Bleeding Air from the Pump
IF you have tried priming the pump by pressing the jet or jet 1 button on and o again with no results,
you will need to bleed the pump manually.
1. Shut o power to the spa.
2. Using a philips head screwdriver, remove the front panel
from the spa directly underneath the control panel, and
locate the main pump.
3. Ensure that the gate valves are open
4. Place rags or towels under the plastic wet end of the
pump where the spa plumbing connects into the pump
5. On the plastic wet end there will be a plastic hex headed
bleeder valve that can be opened to bleed air trapped
inside of the pump
6. Do not fully remove the nut, there are grooves within the
nut that allows air to escape. Water will begin to trickle
once the air pocket has been removed, tighten down the
screw again with light torque.
7. If bleeding the pump is unsuccessful, loosen the pump
unions with plumbing channel locks to remove any
trapped air between the pump and the heater.
8. Turn the spa power back on and press the Jet button to
prime the pump again.