SaluSpa Bubbles Not Working? What to Check, When to Stop

By Jake Weber · Published October 12, 2026

On SaluSpa AirJet tubs, the bubbles come from a separate massage blower, not the water pump. The Bestway manuals I checked give three reasons they stop: the 30-minute auto-shutoff (press the button again), an overheated air pump (unplug, wait two hours, plug back in, press again) or a broken one (Bestway support). First: cover off, pump label checked against the recall, and if anything smells burnt, unplug if safe and stop.

Which manuals. Page numbers below refer to four Bestway owner’s manuals: AirJet Plus (pump S100205: Vancouver, Milan; 2020), AirJet (pump S100105: Miami, Bahamas, Hawaii and seven more; 2020), Coleman (SaluSpa 90363; 2017) and S400 (S400105/S400205 pumps; 2023). HydroJet models (water jets) and other pump generations aren’t covered. Your pump’s label and manual are the tiebreaker.

Safety note: check your pump against the 2024 recall. In September 2024 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of about 866,000 Bestway AirJet and HydroJet spa pumps sold with SaluSpa, Coleman and Hydro-Force spas from May 2021 to May 2024, because they can overheat and catch fire (recall 24-359). Before troubleshooting anything below, read the model number on the label on the side or back of your pump. The recalled models are P05332, P05339, P05711, P05807, P07000, P07001, P05511, P07034 and P07572. If yours is one of them, stop using it and follow the CPSC recall notice or Bestway’s recall page for a free replacement or a refund. The SaluSpa pump recall guide walks through the label check and what to do next.

Before you press a button or touch a fitting:

• Cover off before the bubbles run. “Air can accumulate inside the spa and cause irreparable damage to the cover and bodily harm” (AirJet Plus p. 16, AirJet p. 19). The Coleman (p. 8) and S400 (p. 12) give the same rule.
• Unplug before any maintenance, “to avoid risk of injury or death” (AirJet Plus p. 19, AirJet p. 21, Coleman p. 9, S400 p. 14). Off at the panel isn’t unplugged.
• Test the GFCI plug before every use. If the test fails, don’t use the pump (AirJet Plus p. 13, AirJet p. 16, Coleman p. 6).
• No electric appliance within 5 feet of the spa, and no spa use in the rain (AirJet Plus pp. 4–5, AirJet pp. 3–4, Coleman pp. 2–3).
• Burning smell, smoke, deformed plastic or an unusually hot housing: stop. Unplug only if you can reach the plug safely. Smoke or fire: get away and call 911. (My safety call, not a manual quote.)

Why are my SaluSpa bubbles not working?

In the manuals’ massage row, “air pump” means the massage blower (my reading of their parts lists, below).

Troubleshooting pages: AirJet Plus p. 23, AirJet p. 25, Coleman p. 11, S400 p. 15.

Is “no bubbles” an airlock?

Although many owners describe an airlock as “no bubbles since I filled it,” the manuals put the bubbles on their own blower:

• Separate parts. The spec tables list a “Massage Tube Blower” (6.5 A) apart from the “Water Pump” (0.7 A) (AirJet Plus p. 17, AirJet p. 20); the Coleman, a “Massaging Turbo Blower” and a “Circulation Filter Pump” (p. 5).
• The blower inflates the tub. The setup drawings inflate the liner with the massage button (AirJet Plus p. 12, AirJet p. 15, Coleman p. 7), and the S400 manual says it in words: “When inflating the spa liner, make sure that the massage function is running at full power” (p. 12).
• Its own pipe. For one specific job, disconnecting the pump from a filled tub to top up the air, the 2020 manuals have you screw cap P00217 onto the spa’s connector “to avoid water coming out from the air pipe” (AirJet Plus p. 19, AirJet p. 21).

“Airlock” is how owners explain it, not a manual diagnosis, and what they describe is on the water side: no water moving at the outlet, usually right after a fill. Water flow isn’t bubbles. Burping the pump covers those reports and the manual’s no-flow test.

Why did my bubbles stop after 30 minutes?

Because they’re built to. All four manuals give the massage a 30-minute auto-shutoff (AirJet Plus p. 16, AirJet p. 19, Coleman p. 8, S400 p. 12), and Bestway’s FAQ says it’s there “to save power.” Some sites say 60 minutes; every manual I checked says 30, and none explains how to change it. The fix: with the cover still off, “press the massage system button to reactivate.”

Why won’t my bubbles come back on?

First, the dangerous version: a burning smell, smoke, scorched plastic or an unusually hot housing isn’t a cooldown case. Unplug only if it’s safe, stop using it and check the label against the recall.

Otherwise, follow the fix all four manuals give for “Air Pump is overheating” (troubleshooting pages above), plus their GFCI rule:

1. Unplug the pump and wait two hours “until the pump has cooled.”
2. Plug it back in and run the GFCI test. If it fails, stop there.
3. Cover off, then press the massage button.

The manuals say two hours. Bestway’s online FAQ suggests two to three hours “during the cold time of the day” and explains that the pump has a protection that cuts “the power to the blower” when the temperature reaches a critical level, which “generally happens if the pump is exposed directly to sunshine.”

My advice from there:

• Shade the pump, but don’t box it in, wrap it or pile towels on it. My reasoning, not a Bestway rule: heat and direct sun trip the thermal cut-out, and the recall was about overheating (what not to insulate).
• Don’t cool it with a fan. No electric appliance within 5 feet of the spa (AirJet Plus p. 4).
• If it overheats again in shade and mild weather, stop retrying: contact Bestway support with the label’s model number.

A code on the display is a different case. E08 on the 2020 pumps (AirJet Plus p. 25, AirJet p. 26) and E06 on the Coleman (p. 8) mean the thermal cut-out tripped: ambient over 122°F or the pump “directly under the sunshine.” Unplug, put the pump in a dry, cool place, and restart only once the water is at 93.2°F or lower. On the S400, E08 is a different alarm, not the thermal cut-out: it means the water reads over 116.6°F (p. 17). Don’t get in. The SaluSpa error codes guide has the tables.

Why does nothing happen when I press the massage button?

A working massage button turns its light red (AirJet Plus p. 16, AirJet p. 19, Coleman p. 8, S400 p. 12). If yours doesn’t:

1. Lock icon lit? The panel auto-locks after 5 minutes. Hold the lock button 3 seconds (AirJet Plus p. 15, AirJet p. 18, Coleman p. 8), or 2 seconds on the S400 (p. 12).
2. Still locked? Unplug the pump and plug it back in (AirJet Plus p. 23, AirJet p. 25, Coleman p. 11), then run the GFCI test.
3. 2020 pumps: hold ON/OFF 2 seconds until it turns green (AirJet Plus p. 16, AirJet p. 19). The Coleman has no ON/OFF button (p. 8).
4. Coleman showing “End”? That’s hibernation after 72 hours of filtration without the timer: “both the heating and water filter functions are disabled” (the manual doesn’t mention the massage). Hold lock/unlock 3 seconds (p. 8).
5. Display dark? The “pump does not operate” row lists a power failure or a broken GFCI. Check the outlet and run the GFCI test: “Do not use the pump if this test fails” (AirJet Plus p. 13, AirJet p. 16, Coleman p. 6).

Every other reset, by situation and pump: how to reset a SaluSpa.

Plug straight into a grounded outlet: the 2020 manuals warn that an extension cord or multi-plug adapter “can cause the plug to overheat” (AirJet Plus p. 13, AirJet p. 16).

GFCI trips when the bubbles start, or at any time? Stop. Treat it as an electrical fault: “Disconnect the power until the fault has been identified and corrected” (AirJet Plus p. 4, AirJet p. 3, Coleman p. 2). A qualified electrician checks the outlet and circuit, Bestway support the pump. No repeated resets, no bypass. A GCF or E18 on the display is a different grounding alarm: see the GCF and E18 guide.

Why are my bubbles weak or only on one side?

First, one manual-backed case: on Wi-Fi-equipped spas, the S400 massage has two levels, and “L2” on the display is the lower one; L1 is full power (p. 12). Beyond that, no manual troubleshoots this. Owners and repair answers suggest possibilities, not a diagnosis: air escaping at a connection, bubble holes clogged with dirt or scale, a blocked air intake, a worn blower, or a replacement pump that isn’t the exact part.

Safe checks, in this order. They’re a cautious inspection, not a fix the manuals give for bubbles:

1. Cover off for any bubble test.
2. Unplug the pump before you touch anything.
3. Adapters: level with the spa’s (if not, “elevate the pump with wood or another type of insulated material”) and hand-tight (AirJet Plus p. 23, AirJet p. 25, Coleman p. 11). The manuals give these for leaks and alignment, not for bubbles.
4. Nothing covering or pressed against the pump housing.
5. Bubble holes, at your next drain: soap and water, rinsed well. No hard brushes or abrasive cleaners (AirJet Plus p. 22, AirJet p. 24, Coleman p. 10), and nothing sharp (my addition).
6. Plug back in, test the GFCI, try again. No better? Bestway support, with the label’s model number. A replacement pump should be the exact part for your spa.

What shouldn’t I do, even if a forum says to?

• Open the pump to check a “blower fuse,” test it with a multimeter, or swap or defeat the thermal cut-out.
• Keep resetting, bypass or replace the GFCI plug, or run the pump from an extension cord.
• Box in, wrap or cover the pump to keep the sun off.

The manuals send “Air pump is broken” to Bestway support, none of the four has an internal repair procedure, it’s mains power next to water, and the 2024 recall was about overheating. Inside the pump is Bestway’s job.

FAQ

Can I run the bubbles with the cover on? No. Every manual I checked forbids it (see the safety box above).

Do the bubbles turn off the heater? The manuals say “Heat and massage system work together to create a warm massage experience” (AirJet Plus p. 16, AirJet p. 19, Coleman p. 8); the S400 says they “can be activated at the same time” (p. 12).

Can a dirty filter stop the bubbles? It isn’t on the massage row. The filter is on the water side: the AirJet Plus manual lists a dirty cartridge under the no-flow alarm and under poor heating (pp. 23, 25). Clean it on schedule anyway: filter care.

Is my pump part of the recall? The label decides, whatever the spa is called. The AirJet Plus manual lists its pump as P05339 (pp. 9–10) and the AirJet manual lists P05332 for the U.S. (pp. 8–13): both recalled numbers. Pumps get swapped, so check yours.

Why are the bubbles so loud? That’s the blower: Bestway’s FAQ puts massage mode at up to 72 dB, outdoors and one meter (about 3 feet) from the pump. The pump noise guide covers other sounds.

Did your bubbles come back? Tell me which pump you have and what you found. Owner reports keep this page useful.

Jake Weber — Jake Weber is the pen name of Rookie Spa’s editor. I don’t sell spas or chemicals, and I’m not affiliated with any brand. Every guide here starts from the manufacturer’s manual, is cross-checked against the questions and fixes owners report most often, and is written in plain English for first-time owners — with a clear warning whenever something involves electricity or water safety.