seabright_sc

Thank you for the tips! That was exactly what I was looking for:)

New refill and was hoping to switch to Dichlor then Bleach method based on my research... but my wife won't have it. No matter what she is convinced that Bleach is not a good thing to add to hot tubs (at least not daily)... especially since owner's manual and local dealer say so. Which is fine since we're used to Dichlor and it works for us.... except in one situation.... Dichlor granules need to be added with jets/pump on. Which is fine 80% of the time. However, once or twice every week or so I use our tub late at night for a long soak. Per my agreement with my neighbor, I do not turn on the jets after 10 pm. So... this means that I can not add dichlor granules after my late night soak. And from my understanding you should never let your FC levels to reach 0. Which is exactly what happens if I don't add sanitizer after each use. So I am thinking of using bleach for my sanitation one or twice a week after my late night soaks. My thinking is that if I agitate the water and slowly distribute the bleach around the tub, the 24 hr. circ. pump will do the rest and I do not need to turn on the jets to mix in the bleach (as opposed to definitely having to turn on the jets when I add dichlor granules.) So... i it okay to use Dichlor 90% of the time and add bleach on occasion when I can't turn on the jets (being respectful of my neighor's concerns about noise)? Or is there another liquid sanitizer I could use from time to time instead? I know that I should just switch to dichlor then bleach method and I'm working on that. But you can't argue with the mrs. Thank you!

Of course this is a rough estimate, but my 300 gallon hotspring uses about 100 kwh per month based on historical usage data. We set it to 100 and use it for 30-30 minutes about 5 times per week. On months when I empty and refill, my electric usage shoots up by about an additional 75-100 kwh. Not enough historical date to quantify with certainty, but I bet most of that additional 75-100 kwh is due to heating from refill. Hope this helps a little.

Most articles that I read says hot tub PH usually rises over time. We seam to have the opposite effect and I don't know why. Current sanitation is dichlor. 300 gallon tub used about 20-30 minutes per day 4-6 times per week by my wife and I. Jets run for probably 20 minutes per day. PH tends to drift down to 7.0 according to taylor test kit. Seems like it was drifting down every week when I checked. Also... side related problem. I have a heck of a time color matching the PH with Tylor test kit. I know it goes from light orang/yellow for low ph and red/purple for high ph. It seems like my sample will either be that light orange/yellow (7.0), but when I try raise it (baking soda) I only see darker gradients of orange and never really see the redish/purple colors. I read posts about matching up to northern sky/ white background, but this doesn't seem to help. What gives. Thanks for the help. -Happy New Year.

I've been using dichlor in my hot tub for the past year with no issues, but I'm thinking of switching to the Dichlor then Bleach method. We have a little 300 gallon Hotspring tub (24 hour circ. pump). We also have a neighbor who complains about hot tub noise. We agreed to not turn on the jets after 10pm. This makes adding dichlor after soaks difficult since we often use the tub after 10. SO.... if we are adding liquid bleach and disperse is around the tub, could we get away with NOT turning on the jets and letting the circ. pump mix the water? This way we can add sanitizer after late night soaks without pissing off the neighbor. Also, could someone send an in-depth link to the Dichlor then Bleach method? Thanks.

Well, the pump ran intermittently for a couple of days. Switching the breaker on/off or running the jets seemed to kick it in for a while. I had to pass on the news to my friend who owns the cabin. He wasn't concerned, hotspring dealer is local.

Taking the filters out didn't help. Jiggling the circ. pump around actually got it to kick in for a bit, but after a while the pump would stop operating and the lights would blink again. Powering on and off got it to kick in for a bit too. But even if the circ. pump started working, it always stopped with blink lights after a short while. Sticking a hose and forcing water down the filter shaft didn't work either.

Update.... With garden hose I pushed water through filter stem. Still no bubbles or circ. pump operation. I also momentarily unhooked both hoses leading to circ. pump. Water came out. Reconnected. Powered back up. I still get the blinking lights but now I could hear the circ pump straining to operate. sounds like it's sputtering. Still blinking lights and no air bubbles coming through the bottom vent where the circ pump normally does. What gives?

At my friends cabin for x-mas. We filled up his tub and all was aok for about a day. Then we heard the circ. pump gurgle/strain... not sure how long that was going on for. We turned on the jets for a clean cycle, powered it on/off and it appeared to be fine. We came back a couple of hours later and the lights were blinking again, the circ pump was not operating. Jets and lights work. I believe there may be an air lock or obstruction. I remember this once happened to and hot tub and I ran water through the filter stem(?) to unblock it. But I don't remember the procedure. My friend is coming up on the 26th, so I'm hoping to resolve the problem so he'll have a nice hot tub to relax in. Any help is appreciated! Thank you and Merry Christmas.

We have a 300 gallon HS prodigy circa 1997 and it works great. We'll be going out of town for 10 days this month and the water needs to be changed. So I figured I'd turn it off/ let the chorine drop to zero, and drain and refill when I return. I'm 99% sure I don't have to worry about freezing damage since we rarely drop below freezing. But if we do, it's likely that we won't drop below 30F and even if it gets that cold it would only be for a few hours before dawn and after sunrise. Could this potentially damage the tub's plumbing etc? Thanks for the feedback.

I've used the search but still can't find the enough info. I'm using Taylor test kit for hot tubs and I have a hard time with the PH test. On the test block the colors go from a yellowish orange to grades of pink/purple. But all of my samples are shades of orange. At first I thought that the PH was just a bit low so I added PH increase. It just seems to change the shade of orange in my test sample. Yes the regents are less than a year old and stored properly. What gives. The only thing I have been trying to do is to match the shade of the water sample as opposed to the color itself. I've held it up to a light colored background in natural sunlight etc. Doesn't help. Any advice?

I've used the search but still can't find the enough info. I'm using Taylor test kit for hot tubs and I have a hard time with the PH test. On the test block the colors go from a yellowish orange to grades of pink/purple. But all of my samples are shades of orange. At first I thought that the PH was just a bit low so I added PH increase. It just seems to change the shade of orange in my test sample. Yes the regents are less than a year old and stored properly. What gives. The only thing I have been trying to do is to match the shade of the water sample as opposed to the color itself. I've held it up to a light colored background in natural sunlight etc. Doesn't help. Any advice?

I recently purchased a very nice double wrapped cover from RH tubs. It's 6"-4" with 1# foam. We live on the central coast of CA where the temps rarely dip to freezing, but we do average about 25-40" of rain per year... 90% that falls from November through april. I'm wondering if all of this rain pounding from the outside can accelerate the water logging process of the foam. I know that most of the damage comes from the rising steam but I am wondering if throwing a tarp over the tub during heavy rains is worth while. Any other tricks for keeping a new cover lasting long? Generally how long can I expect a double wrapped cover to last for? Thank you!

I finally went for a Roberts cover. 6"-4", double wrap, reflective bottom. But i did not upgrade to 2# foam. It has Standard 1# foam. Will 1# foam become water logged quicker? I hope not... Here's another question. For our usage, we generally add about a teaspoon or 2 of Dichlor for daily use. Should I leave the cover off for a while (to extend cover life)? If so for how long? The cover is awesome. Great quality.

Ugh! Way to much info out there... way too many manufactures that all seem the same.... I'm looking for some info from those with experience. Have you bought a cover from and are you happy with it? What about foam thickness? We live on the Central Ca coast... mild all year, rarely above 80 or below 38. Is upgrading to 2lb. foam worth it? What about that extra hinge seal as an option? I'm assuming a double vapor wrap is a very worth while "extra". True? So many manufactures all within a very close price range I have no idea where to start? I was thinking purchasing from Spa Depot. Thoughts? Ugh... too much time spent on research has me even more confused! Help!! Thank you!