Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: teebone110 on January 02, 2005, 10:18:13 am
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I have been having problems with the medium jets in our Beachcomber. They do not seem to allow adequate flow output either.
Upon closer inspection there is a "W: printed on the outside of the jet.
I thought I remembered reading once that Beachcomber switched jet manufacurers because of this problem.
I went to the dealer, the guy said to make sure there wasn't any calcium build up on my jets, and clean with a wire brush, well... I did that and they are still popping out, 2 of 4!
Any recommendations??
Thanks.
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Depending on when your tub was built, you may be a candidate for a retainer ring replacement on all small and medium jets.
The issue is not a Beachcomber exclusive. Many manufacturers had growing pains with Waterway's "power storm jets" They became standard in Beachcomber models in 2001. Since then Waterway has revised the jets and retainer rings 5 times.
Your jet insert has a number on it: R1, R2, R3, R4 or R5. This tells you what generation the jet is.
As for the calcium, many dealers and spa owners see a white dust on these inserts and beleive it to be calcium. I am not saying it is not on yours for sure, but more often than not the white residue is what is left of plastic that has come of the jet insert. This will happen over time, period. Poor water chemistry will accelerate this process.
How old is your spa? Have you tried to insert different jets in the spots they are popping out? More information will help me diagnbose the issue.
HotTubMan
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teebone,
How old is your spa? I'm guessing between 3-4 years?
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teebone,
How old is your spa? I'm guessing between 3-4 years?
Stuart;
There were '02 & '03 Beachcombers that needed retainer ring replacements. Waterway had to shrink/weaken the retainer rings after beefing-up the locking clips on the inserts. The retainer rings have R#'s as well. For exapmle R5 jets would not come out and in some cases would not go into R1 retainer rings...
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Couple things HotTubMan;
The jets that had a white power on the body when taken out, were often diagnosed as an excess of calcium when in fact it was the jet itself breaking down and becoming brittle. This, along with the jet not staying in its port, was a problem Waterways addressed with their R4 and R5 replacements.
I had never used the retainer ring to fix the issue. The replacement to an R5 would do it on its own. That's my experience with them anyway... :-/
Steve
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Couple things HotTubMan;
The jets that had a white power on the body when taken out, were often diagnosed as an excess of calcium when in fact it was the jet itself breaking down and becoming brittle. This, along with the jet not staying in its port, was a problem Waterways addressed with their R4 and R5 replacements.
I had never used the retainer ring to fix the issue. The replacement to an R5 would do it on its own. That's my experience with them anyway... :-/
Steve
and that was on models around 3 to 4 years old right?
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Thad be about right Stu.
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Beachcomber released a memo in 2004 instructing dealers to replace all retainer rings and jets if a replacement jet was popping out of the same body consistently.
I disgarded these memos when Beachcomber stopped allowing us to perfrom warranty work for them, although I would bet a dealer with access to Service Bench could pull it up.
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Thanks everyone for your input.
My spa is a 550X and it was bought in 2002.
Upon closer inspection of my jets, the two that keep popping out have some numbers on them...
one has a printed "1" on the stem, and underneath it,
it says "218-4000" then it says "R1"
I would assume this is the part number and a defective jet?
the other says, "2" and also has a part number "218-4000" inscribed on it. There is no R2 stamped on this one though.
Other jets do stay intact when switched to different ports, but these two jets will not latch for anything.
Should I inspect all of my jets and request that all of them be upgraded because of the Waterway recall?
What should I be asking of my dealer? My warranty expired in October 2004 :(
Thanks
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Don't quote me on this but Beachcomber I believe is warrantying any defective Waterway jet whether in warranty or not. It's a recognized flaw and i's not the consumers fault.
Take the defective jets back to your dealer in exchange for an R4 or R5 replacement. Make sure they have them first! Let us know if you have difficulty doing that. I don't suspect you will.
Steve
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Well, as I expected..
Went to the local Beachcomber and " you can PAY to have your defective jets replaced, since your warranty expired 3 months ago."
I do not have a problem paying for replacement parts if it is a maintenance issue, but the thought of being held responsible for something that is not even my fault, sounds totally riduculous to me!
The dealer is well aware of the defective nature of thr R1 and R2 jets, but are refusing to help out their customer.
The worst thing about it, is that I have been back to the dealer at least twice before, complianing about this issue, and they only replaced the jet in question.
I believe that once they had known about this problem, they should have replaced all of my defective (R1 and R2) jets!
Anyway, I am going to try my luck with head office and see if I can get any customer service from them.
What would you do? :-/
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You are 100% right to do that. If I was still with Beachcomber, I'd phone myself! >:(
Call 1-800-663-6557 and ask for Maria Silva. She'll look after you and if you talk to her, say HI for me! She's a great lady!!
Your dealer is a shmuck! And you can tell them that from me too! ;D
Steve
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As the saying goes...
"If you want to get something done right, you gotta do it yourself!"
After a call out to Beachcomber home office, my issue was resolved.
And no thanks to my dealer >:( >:( >:(
Thanks Beachcomber for standing behind your product! :D
and also Thanks to Steve and everyone else for your guidance and knowledge, much appreciated,
and happy tubbin' ;D ;D
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Glad you were looked after T.
I don't know too many people that Beachcomber head office has let down. The odd dealer might need a frontal lobotomy but otherwise.... ;D
Steve
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I don't know too many people that Beachcomber head office has let down.
Steve
Yes you do. What about our mutual friend......LOLOLOL
But thats another story.....
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Yes you do. What about our mutual friend......LOLOLOL
But thats another story.....
I thought of that while I was typing; hence the "too many" part of my post! ;)
Had a good conversation with him today BTW! You gonna show up next Friday night? Bring the beer and pizza!
Steve
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I have been thinking about this whole R1, R2, etc. Jet Insert Issue and I am wondering why Beachcomber did not just come out and contact those customers who own these tubs with the defective jets and had them replaced in the first place.
I am sure that there are some records out there that could trace back those who purchased which tub, based on serial numbers, etc. Especially if it was affecting tubs from 2002 and 2003.
I know there are a lot of people out there putting up with this, and not even realizing that there is a proper fix for this annoying problem. :-/ :-/ :-/
But then I guess it is not only a problem that affects Beachcomber tubs exclusively. Sounds like a Waterway mess up. ???
People work hard for their money and when they choose to buy something of significant value, I feel that the manufacturer should ensure that their customers are taken care of to the best of their abilities as much as possible.
This includes going that extra mile to make sure that their customers remain happy with their purchase, not only 1 week, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years after their investment.
Some people may have had better luck than I, but I think there is always room for improvement.
I just think that things like this should be handled better.
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I do not beleive they have records of who has R1, R2 etc. I could be wrong.
Many have come into our store saying "I have a '01 Beachcomber and I need a new ____" thinking that it is like cars. Beachcomber would do things like use 2 or more pumps in calender year. The answer is always "Bring it in or call with Manf. part #"
Another snafu was the covers. The straps do not always line up with replacements. Beachcomber makes their own covers, but for some reason changed the distance from the corners. We had to replace replacement covers under warranty because of this.
As far as the jets, you are 100%, it affected many manufacturers. I think some manufacturers handled it better than others.
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Hey HotTubMan, I just read in your profile that you are in Ontario. Where is your store, maybe I will start to do business with you in the future! :)
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I think the reason they didn't do a complete recall of sorts, is that not all of these jets have this issue. You can have an R1 or R2 jet that works for many years without a problem.
Steve
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I own a 2002 Beachcomber 550x.
I have not had any jet problems to date.
One thing that influnenced my buying decision was our friend Steve. What a salesman!
Steve gave me a great deal of comfort in purchasing our Beachcomber with his informative postings on this board.
I am still really pleased with our Beachcomber 550x
Regards, Zz
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Hey ZZ! Nice to see you back again. How are things?
Teebone, I am in Burlington, but I am no longer a Beachcomber dealer.