Ariel tub floor jets drain water when they are off?

[42Dodgers]

I have a 71 inch Ariel jetted tub. Whenever water is in the tub and the jets are off I hear a slow draining noise even though the plug is closed and no water is draining directly out of the tub drain. I have tested it (and also used a rubber drain stopper) and found that water very slowly drains out of the 8 jets located on the floor of the tub whenever there is water in the tub and the jets are off. This draining noise is is somewhat loud and irritating and the 80 gallon tub will drain completely in about 2 hours, even though the drain is plugged, except for the small area around the drain plug where water can't escape. When trying to listen to the tubs sound system the constant slow draining noise makes it difficult. I contacted Ariel and they can not recommend a single person in my area who could diagnose and fix this issue. Plumbers tell me they don't work on jetted tubs, and Pool company's tell me they only repair hot tubs. This metro area has 2 million residents! Any recommendations?

 

[Breplum]

to my general vast knowledge I've never seen jetted tub with the jet tubing connected to a drain. So if your tub is draining, I think it is ONLY via the drain itself. Jets and their pumped lines are NEVER connected to the plumbing drains.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jeff H Young]

agree those pipes only connect to the tub and not the drain system. the piping could leak around the tub but id expect that 80 gallons of water would appear somewhere and the tub couldnt leak below the lowest port . So look at the drain stopper

 

[42Dodgers]

You can pour a cup of water right on top of the plugged drain . A day later the full cup will still be there. The ONLY water that leaks out of the tub is that which drains down through the jet spout openings. I have tested numerous drain plugs and NO water drains past them when the drain is plugged. For some reason most plumbers seem to have very little experience working with jetted bathtubs.

 

[42Dodgers]

Just to be sure...I put a new rubber drain stopper in the tub, and covered the entire drain area including the plug with 1/2 inch of plumbers putty. An hour and a half later (I realize that plumbers putty takes several hours to fully set) I ran water into the tub and heard the exact same draining noise and watched the water level slowly drop. Your ideas make sense logically, and I understand that fiberglass tub drain seals do eventually fail, however I am absolutely certain that the water leaving my tub is not breaching the drain stopper or drain seal.

 

[Jeff H Young]

jetted piping leaking or the pump or unions and all the water is leaking into the ground ? its a long shot but based on your info thats the issue
jetted tubs have a panel to acces the pump look inside

 

[Breplum]

i will guarantee that the jet tubes don't connect to sewer. If you can't see where, how would a plumber ?
There is nothing for a plumber to work on except changing out a pump. Everything else are made and part of the tub maker's side and not typically available except online. Sure we can fix PVC, but so can any handyman. Lack of access just not worth paying us $250./hr to tinker.

 

[Jeff H Young]

right if the tubes leak it goes on the ground vegas is a desert presumeably sand soaks it up