If the jets in your hot tub or spa are not letting in water with enough pressure, then this guide will show you how to increase spa jet pressure and keep your hot tub functioning effectively!
It can be quite frustrating to sit in your hot tub after a tiring day at work, only to realize that the jets simply do not provide enough water pressure to massage your sore muscles.
If you adjust the speed of the pump and even that doesn’t do the trick, it might be a wise idea to make a few other changes.
Thankfully, most hot tubs come with a range of features that allow you to increase the water pressure on a particular side or specific seat of the tub itself.
For instance, if you have six jets that require a flow of 15 gpm each, you will want to ensure that the flow to the manifold remains at 90 gpm.
Ideally, one of the best things that you can do is to make sure that you remove and clean the spa jets at least twice, or in some cases, thrice in a year. Basically, the more you use your spa, the more you need to think about cleaning it.
The best way to clean the spa jets is to remove the inserts from the hot tub and then place them in a bowl of white vinegar. White vinegar is able to clear all kinds of debris and dust from within the spa jets.
This is an effective method that you can use not just for cleaning the spa jets, but it’s also quite useful for cleaning shower heads and faucets too.
Most hot tubs use a standard plumbing system combined with a pump to filter, heat up, and then circulate the water. You need to fix a pressure gauge on the air valve and then wait until the needle stops moving altogether. Finally, turn the jets to their maximum “on” position.
How To Increase Spa Jet Pressure
Look for Worn Out or Loose Jets
It’s also important for you to take a close look at the jets and identify the ones that have gotten loose or those that need to be replaced due to wear and tear.
The good thing is that you can easily find non-stainless steel jet internals in a variety of different colors. If you are concerned about the aesthetic appeal of your hot tub, it will be a wise idea to select spa jets that go along with the design.
Remember, selecting the right spa jets is a critically important step that will determine how effective your hot tub really is. Ideally, most starter hot tubs have 14 jets and 1.5 HP jet pumps to go along with them.
This is a suitable starter configuration, depending on the water capacity, and it is ideal for a small-sized hot tub. Without the hot tub jets, your spa is just an oversized bathtub.
There’s no fun in sitting in a bathtub full of hot water unless you have the jets massaging your back. If you notice that the pressure in the jets has decreased significantly, there are quite a few things that you can do to improve the pressure.
First of all, you may want to close the waterfall. The waterfall control valve is present on most hot tubs, so look for one on the side. Almost immediately, you are going to notice an increase in the flow of water that runs through the jets.
The next step is to open the air valves. This is going to add some more force to the flow of the water. More importantly, if you are sitting in the hot tub but not all the seats are occupied, why allow their jets to run?
You can manually close the jets that are not in use through the valves. This is going to help concentrate most of the water pressure on the side of the hot tub that you are using, and you will automatically notice an increase in the pressure.
Scaling
If you don’t pay attention to the calcium content in your water or the pH levels of the water, it could eventually cause scaling in your hot tub. Scaling is basically the deposition of calcium in the pipes, which reduces the space available for water to flow freely.
The first thing you need to do is check the water in your hot tub to determine whether the problem is actually caused due to the calcium content. If the pH levels are higher, it’s probably the case.
Thankfully, you don’t have to lose hope. Go out to your local store and buy a good quality descaler. Descalers can be mixed with the water and can liquify the calcium content that has hardened over time in your hot tub.
If the water that you fill in the hot tub contains a higher amount of magnesium or calcium, you might want to consider adding a hose filter when you fill the tub the next time.
The hose filter is automatically going to bring down the amount of magnesium and calcium in the hot tub, thus preventing such issues.
Check for an Air Lock
Similarly, another major problem that can reduce or completely stop the pressure from your spa jets is the buildup of an air lock in your pipes.
An air lock can prove to be a serious problem, and it’s something that you need to work on fixing right away. Thankfully, bleeding the valves and the pipes is a pretty effective way of getting rid of the air lock.
You can also activate and turn off the jets for around 30 seconds and that may help you get rid of the air lock as well. When the air is released through the discharge pipe, it creates somewhat of a hissing sound.
It’s not a difficult process, but it’s something that you can’t delay. If you delay releasing the air from the pipes, it could cause serious problems in the long run.
Remember, the internal pipes are designed for carrying water, not air. These are just a few things that you should know about how to increase spa jet pressure.
Hello, my name is David Zal and I’m a plumber with more than 20 years of experience based in Englewood (Florida). I like to teach normal people how to make easy fixes in their homes. I believe that a lot can be achieved just with DYI and that’s why I started this blog.