Hot Tub FLO errors and three Dashes

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You went out to check your hot tub and found the water cool and three dashes on your control panel.  Or, you might have seen a FLO error message:


The FLO error on your hot tub tells you that you're not getting enough water into your heater.

Two varieties of Hot Tub FLO errors – letters and 3 dashes

When you have a FLO error,  your hot tub is telling you that it doesn’t think it has water flowing through its heater.  If there’s no flow, the hot tub turns off the heater to prevent it from burning out.  This error is caused by one of two problems:

  1. One of the sensors that detects water flowing through the heater isn’t working right, or
  2. Water really isn’t flowing through the heater.
Unless you’re experienced, you’re probably going to need to get a technician to help you with problem number one.  Sometimes sensors go bad and sometimes sensors go out of adjustment. 

We get two or three telephone calls every week from hot tub owners who are encountering FLO errors.  What we always recommend, before making an appointment for a service call, is to check your hot tub’s filters.   Before you dismiss that advice as too simplistic,  here’s a few things we hear:

Hair conditioners and body lotions clog filters

A dirty hot tub filter

“But I just changed the filters last month.”   Most hot tub manufacturers recommend that you clean your filters once a month.  The reason that recommendation is made is because dirty filters cause hot tub problems.  If you changed them last month, you’re due to change them again.

“I just checked and they look clean.”  Filters catch debris in the paper pleats, so unless you took the filters out of the hot tub and looked inside the pleats, you didn’t check them.

“I checked them last week and we’ve only used the tub once since then.”   How did you use the tub?   If you had a party and ten people were in and out of the tub over an evening, then every bit of shampoo, sunscreen, hair conditioner and body lotion your guests had on their skin is now in your filters.

After just one night’s use at a busy party, a hot tub filter can get clogged with a slimy coating of beauty products.  Under water, the coating is almost invisible, but when you run your fingers through the pleats, you’ll understand how the water flow through your hot tub is impacted.

First Aid for a FLO error
When a customer requests a service call for a FLO error, the first step we take when showing up at their home is to examine their filters.  About 25% of the time, their FLO error is caused by dirty filters.  And that’s after they told us they checked the filters.

So, how do you check the filters yourself, the right way, to make sure you’re not charged for an unnecessary visit?

Believe it or not, you can’t trust your eyes.  Besides what we’ve already mentioned, hot tub filters can also get clogged by mineral impurities in your water.  The best way to see if your FLO error is caused by dirty filters is to just take the filters out.  That’s right, it’s as simple as removing the filters from your hot tub.  If you notice your water flow suddenly increases, then your filters need to be cleaned or replaced.

Some hot tubs will lose the FLO error as soon as a clogged filter is removed.  Some hot tubs will require a reset, by turning off power to the hot tub at the circuit breaker, and then turning it back on after a 15 second wait. 

A Simple Hot Tub Filter Maintenance Routine.  

Get yourself two sets of filters.  One set is in your tub, and the other is on the shelf where the rest of your hot tub supplies are kept.

On the first of every month, replace the filters in your tub with the set that’s on your supply shelf.  Take the dirty filters from your hot tub and clean them: 
  1. Spray through the pleats with a hose. 
  2. Soak the filter in a bucket of filter cleaning product, following the product’s instructions.  
  3. Rinse the filters to get the cleaning product out.  Then let the filters dry.
  4. Finally, put the filers away until next month, when you’re going to put them into your hot tub and repeat the cleaning routine with the other set of filters.
Following this simple hot tub filter cleaning routine will save you money on unnecessary service calls, and it will help you have a clean tub that’s a pleasure to sit in.

For more information on FLO errors, no heat problems or to schedule a service call to resolve your hot tub problems, contact us at 201-897-7900 or 732-894-4494.  You can also reach us by email through this link.