#pragma section-numbers off
#acl All:read

= Exploratory Surgery on the Hot Tub =

My buddy Clyde kindly volunteered to take a look.  He seemed
quite optimistic about fixing the hot tub.  We targeted the
most likely cluster of jets.  Using a prybar, hammer, and utility
knife, we again attacked the siding.  The hot tub threatened to crack all its fragile, wooden slats.  We didn't care.
Once we got the siding off, we saw that the insulation consisted of
maintenance-resistant, sprayed-in foam.
We clawed our way through the foam the to the plumbing.

''first hole''<<BR>>
{{attachment:IMGP1834.JPG}}

<<BR>>
'''Hot Tub Design Report Card'''<<BR>>
''Name'':  Dimension One Spas<<BR>>
|| '''Category''' || '''Comment''' || '''Grade''' ||
|| ''Siding'' || Siding is thin wood slats, glued and stapled in place.  Nearly impossible to remove intact. || F ||
|| Insulation || Insulation is 3-lb foam, filling the entire hot tub.  The foam envelopes the plumbing, making it nearly impossible to service the plumbing. || F||
|| Overall Grade || || '''F''' ||
||<-3> If I were to construct a hot tub and completely disregard the inevitable maintenance, it would look just like Dimension One Spa's hot tub.  In their defense, the Dimension One e-mail support is pretty damn good:  they always responded quickly, and with helpful information. ||
<<BR>>

''first hole:  closeup''<<BR>>
{{attachment:IMGP1835.JPG}}


The foam and pipes behind the first hole were dry.  The hot tub
chuckled at our efforts.

Next, we removed some horizontal siding to probe another set of jets.
This was even more difficult:  the shiplapped siding is glued and
stapled to multiple vertical studs, and the foam adhered from behind.
After much slashing with a utility knife, we removed two slats.

''second hole''<<BR>>
{{attachment:IMGP1845.JPG}}


Again, the foam was dry.  However, we did discover that some sort
of "pan" sealed the bottom of the hot tub, and the pan was wet.

A few days later, on my own, I removed the siding from another
side of the hot tub.  It was very difficult, and I
butchered the siding.  This time, however, I hit a vein of wet foam.  The vein
seemed to extend towards another side of the hot tub, so I filled an
isolated section of the hot tub with colored water and cleverly
employed a toilet
plunger to administer a Red #3
enema.  Merry Christmas, hot tub!! A few days later,
I looked for colored foam.  This experiment yielded no results
whatsoever.


''hot tub enema''<<BR>>
{{attachment:IMGP1878.JPG}}


Clyde dropped by again, and we resumed foam removal.  After a few hours, we
isolated a pipe which, upon examination with flashlight,
visibly dripped water.  We were very excited,
because we had finally isolated the leak...somewhat.  Unfortunately,
the pipe was deep inside the body of the tub, and clearly headed
towards the center of the tub.  In addition, the water appeared exactly
where the pipe entered a humongous Wad of very hard plastic or foam.
It seemed highly likely that pipe was leaking inside the Wad.
The location of the leak, plus the impediment of surrounding
plumbing, plus The Wad, precluded further progress.  The hot tub
was making this as difficult as possible.

I corresponded with Dimension One Spas about dissolving the Wad with a solvent.
Gasoline, maybe?  I envisioned pouring a gallon of gasoline into
the hot tub,
watching the Wad obediently melt away, then crawling into the guts
of the leviathan.
Fortunately, Dimension One Spas said this was not an option.
A sharp chisel seems to work best, opined the Service guy.

We decided it was time to Flip the Hot Tub.

<<Navigation(slides)>>

<<Navigation(siblings)>>
----
CategoryHouse