CMP

CMP pool and spa fittings

CMP, short for Custom Molded Products, is a name that turns up throughout the pool and spa trade on the small moulded components that rarely get noticed until one of them fails: return eyeballs, suction covers, valve bodies, jet internals, air controls and decorative water features. Many of these parts are supplied as original equipment to shell and cabinet builders, which is why a spa or pool can carry a completely different name on the outside while the fittings themselves are CMP mouldings. Here you will find CMP items listed by their own part numbers, so a component can be matched without having to work backwards through the name of the spa it came out of.

Pop-up fountains and bubblers for spas

The range here centres on the LED Pop-Up Fountain Aqua Bubbler for spas, part number 25267-324-800. A pop-up fountain is a water feature that sits almost flush with the shell, step or deck surface when it is not in use, and rises once water or air pressure is applied to the line feeding it. That flush position is the point of the design: nothing protrudes to catch a foot or a cleaning cover, and the feature disappears when the spa is covered. The LED element adds illumination to the water plume itself, so the feature reads as a lit column rather than a dark one.

Fittings of this type are usually fed from a dedicated port on the manifold or from a diverter that shares flow with the jets. If the fountain rises weakly or not at all, the cause is almost always upstream of the fitting: a closed or partly closed diverter, air trapped in the line, or a filter restricting flow. Only after flow has been confirmed is it worth looking at the fitting itself.

What wears out and when to replace

Pop-up fittings live in a demanding spot. They are walked on, exposed to sanitiser, warmed and cooled repeatedly, and the moving barrel runs inside a moulded housing that collects scale and body oils. The usual reasons for replacing one are:

• Sticking or slow rise – scale, suncream residue or grit in the barrel bore stopping smooth travel.
• Failure to retract – a tired return spring or debris holding the barrel part-way up.
• Cracked or crazed escutcheon – the visible ring takes the standing load and the UV exposure.
• Dim or dead illumination – LED assemblies eventually fade or fail, and in many fittings the light is not a separately serviceable item.
• Leaks around the body – a perished seal or gasket between the fitting and the shell.

Where a fitting has simply become stiff, a strip-down and a clean with a descaling solution sometimes restores it. Where the plastic has cracked or the LED has gone, replacement of the complete assembly is the practical route.

Identifying the right CMP part

CMP part numbers follow a consistent pattern — a base number, a colour or finish code and a packaging code, as in 25267-324-800. The middle block is the detail that catches people out, because the same fitting is produced in several shell-matching finishes under one base number. Before ordering, it is worth doing the following:

• Read the old part – the number is frequently moulded into the underside of the body or the back of the flange.
• Measure the cut-out – note the hole diameter in the shell and the depth available beneath it.
• Check the thread or glue socket – fittings connect by threaded boss or solvent socket, and the two are not interchangeable.
• Note the finish – match the escutcheon colour to the rest of the trim if the fitting is in a visible position.
• Photograph the assembly – before removing anything, record how the barrel, spring and retaining ring sit together.

CMP at PoolParthub.com

Here we list CMP spa and pool fittings by their manufacturer part numbers, including the LED Pop-Up Fountain Aqua Bubbler 25267-324-800, so that a replacement can be matched to the number already in the shell rather than guessed at from a photograph. Keeping the original numbering means the part that arrives shares the same footprint and connection as the one being removed.

Decorative water features and their LED assemblies are among the items that are hardest to source once a spa is a few years old, which is why they are worth keeping on the shelf. If a number has worn away or the fitting is unmarked, send through the cut-out measurement and a photograph of the assembly and the range can be checked against it.