Can You Inflate a Hot Tub With Water In It?
Yes, it is possible to re-inflate your hot tub with water still inside. Your hot tub will lose some air from time to time due to drastic temperature changes or for some other reason. Therefore hot tub sides will become softer than usual and flimsy.
However, there is no need to take out the water. Instead, follow a few simple steps on how to re-inflate your hot tub with water in it:
- Unplug the unit.
- Remove the filters.
- Apply black rubber caps on the inside vents.
- Detach the pump from the hot tub (do not worry if some water comes out during this operation, it is normal).
- Attach inflation hose to the pump and the hot tub
- Turn on the pump and inflate.
- Once inflated, detach the inflation hose and attach the pump to the hot tub.
- Put the filters back inside.
- After you switch on the hot tub, check that everything is operating correctly, filters and the jets, and there is no leaking.
Be advised not to overinflate the hot tub because a few thousand pounds of water already put a lot of pressure on the hot tub. Therefore if you overinflate it, it will put too much pressure on the seams that might break eventually and cause your hot tub to leak. If you are not sure how much you need to inflate the hot tub, it would be best that you read the hot tub manual instructions beforehand.
Can you Inflate a Lazy Spa With Water in it?
Your Lay-Z Spa has softened and become more flimsy than usual, and you are wondering if you need to drain the water to inflate it. Absolutely not. You can inflate your Lay-Z Spa without taking the water out.
However, Lay-Z Spa manufacturers advise using only their pump to re-inflate the spa. The Lay-Z hot tub also comes with an air pressure gauge that fits the equipment. A pump that comes with the spa is designed to inflate the hot tub to the optimal level, and if you use any other pump, i.e., air compressor, you risk over-inflate the tub. Moreover, the Lay-Z Spa pump is also designed to take into account changes in air temperature so that the air is not inflated at a too great flow rate. Also, any additional air will be expelled from the area where the air hose connects to the pump.
On the other hand, if detaching the pump from the spa when you want to re-inflate your hot tub takes too much of your time, there is a possibility to use an air compressor. However, you should be very cautious because you do not have an air pressure gauge to guide you, so you could end up overinflating the hot tub—the overinflating of the spa results in splitting seams, which is the primary cause of the leak.
To add air to your Lay-Z Spa, you should do the following:
- Unplug the spa
- Remove the filters
- Apply black rubber caps on the inside vents
- Detach the pump from the spa
- Attach an air hose to the pump and spa
- Plug the pump back in and add air to the spa in the same way as when you initially inflate the spa.
Why does my Hot Tub Water Level Drop?
It is usual for a hot tub water level to drop a few inches occasionally. However, if you notice any drastic change in water level during the night or for a short time, your hot tub is most likely to have a leak.
Depending on the hot tub usage frequency, water temperature, air humidity, and ambient temperature, the hot tub water might evaporate one to two inches per week. The warmer the weather and the water, the faster it will disappear. On the other hand, your water level might drop even a bit more than two inches if there was heavy use or if you kept the hot tub uncovered most of the time. You could also waste some water by lifting the cover incorrectly. It would be best to lift the cover so that the condensation on the underside drains back into the hot tub.
Nevertheless, excessive water loss is usually an indicator that something more serious is happening within the equipment. Concerning this, you should be looking for possible leaks. To narrow your search, determine whether your hot tub leaks quicker with the pump running or when it is switched off. If the tub leaks faster with the pump on, then the issue is somewhere on the pressure side in the pipes after the pump. If the hot tub leaks faster with the pump off, the problem is on the suction side of the plumbing, in the pipes before the pump.
Additionally, one of the leak sources might result from the crack in the hot tub shell. In this case, the water level usually drops equally with the hot tub running or not.
Ensure that you check your water level regularly because excessive low levels could seriously damage your hot tub equipment, such as pumps or the heater.
