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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/22/2021 in all areas

  1. My 2 cents: A few red flags for me here that might be related. You have a floater for chlorine in a spa? The only form of chlorine used in a floater is trichlor, which is very acidic and dissolves quickly at spa temperatures and can lead to high chlorine situations that can damage and oxidize plastic parts above the waterline in a covered spa. Trichlor is slow dissolving at pool temperatures making it useful in a floater but it's solubility increases with temperature making it an unsound choice for a spa. Calcium only precipitates out in alkaline conditions and only below and at the waterline, not above. It also is only on plastic parts from what I can tell in the picture. This would lead me to believe that is it not scaling but damage from low pH on the plastic. I can't see any on the acrylic shell so I don't know if it is present there also. High FC levels can also cause oxidation of plastic parts and what I see on your skimmer looks like this might be what is happening. I don't see a buildup. I see what looks like a degradation of the plastic surface. You stated that you keep your spa covered so their might be a buildup of chlorine gas or volatile oxidation byproducts under the cover causing this. Also, you did not say whether you have ozone or not. There should be NO residual ozone in the water but the way many manufactures install ozone there is and it can build up in a covered spa and cause oxidation damage above the waterline too. Vinegar is too weak to have an effect on calcium carbonate. A stronger acid is needed. Baking soda is just an abrasive if used as a moistened paste and can damage the surfaces. Baking soda will also raise TA and that could increase scaling. (High TA and high CH is a recipe for scale formation and, in case you didn't know, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate is sodium hydrogen carbonate is alkalinity increaser from your dealer. They are all one and the same!) DON'T try using a Magic Eraser or other melamine foam sponge. They are very fine abrasives (like very fine sandpaper) and WILL dull and scratch the surfaces. What is calcium stabilizer? Never heard of such a product. Please post the ingredients. IF the ingredients include any mention of the word calcium then it's a calcium hardness increaser. IF the ingredients mention phosphonic aicd, phosphonate, EDTA or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (not a complete list but these are the most common ones) then your product is a metal sequetrant. Calcium is a metal. These will not lower the level of calcium in the water but will make it chemically inactive so it will not deposit as scale. They need to be added weekly. Over time (many months to years) they can have some effect on removing existing calcium staining and are the only way to remove calcium silicate staining on fiberglass, acrylic, vinyl and other plastic surfaces. On plaster pool and spa surfaces a pumice stone is used to remove calcium silicate and an acid wash for calcium carbonate (or a pumice stone for waterline buildup on tile surfaces. Now, under the assumption that the white stain is actually calcium (jury is still out on this, IMHO): The only chlorine that will cause scaling is cal hypo (calcium hypochlorite) which adds 7 ppm calcium for every 10 ppm of FC added. Scaling occurs under conditions of high calcium hardness and high pH (which is normally linked to high total alkalinity) IF you are using trichor in your spa stop and switch to different form of chlorine other than cal hypo or switch to bromine if you want to continue using a floater. Trichlor requires a high TA to prevent pH crashes because it is so acidic. IT can also damage plastic parts because of it's low pH. First question is how high IS your calcium hardness in the tub (strips won't tell you, they test total hardness only and magnesium does not cause hard scale. Second question how high is the calcium hardness in your fill water, Third question, Where is your pH NORMALLY and what is your TA? Smooth white to grey scaling is often calcium silicate and not calcium carbonate and it's next to impossible to remove. The way to tell the difference is to put a few drops of muriatic acid on the scale. If it bubbles it's calcium carbonate, if it doesn't it's most likely calcium silicate. As I said above, the only way to remove calcium silicate from plastic, acrylic, vinyl, and fiberglass surfaces is by weekly use of a metal sequestrant (preferably one with a high affinity for chelating calcium vs. other metals like iron or copper, often sold as calcium hardness reducer) over a long period of time and only partial removal might occur.
    2 points
  2. I see this all the time. Missing Suction/pump return covers. If you have one that is broken or missing it is important to fix/replace ASAP. These covers provide a critically important safety feature. If you ever put your hand over a missing cover with the pump running in high speed it will suck your hand in and hurt. They were mandated years ago after a young girl got her hair sucked in and kept her under water with sad result. The pic below is from a job I just worked on where the customer was just topping up his spa with a bit of water. Dropped his expandable garden hose in and turned the tap on. Within a split second it was sucked into the missing suction opening and made it's way from one side of the tub through the plumbing past a couple of 90 degrees elbows and a Tee fitting into the face of the pump. The impeller twisted it up 1,000 times. It actually sucked it in not from the fill end with the brass fitting but in the middle part of the hose. The brass fitting part stayed in the foot well. I can't hardly believe how many times I had to untwist the hose at the pump wet end, end before I could try and pull it back through and it was still twisted up inside the plumbing. Had to get at it by removing a second suction cover see on the right and pull it through that one first then cut it and pull it through where it got sucked in. It was a $250 mistake for the garden hose but the customer had young children using the spa and it could easily have cost a life over a $20 part and 2 minute fix. FYI...those expandable hoses can stretch out for a mile.. or 2... lol
    1 point
  3. A couple of observations... 120V spas will take 4x longer to heat then a 240V spa so you might just need a bit of patients. I see 120V spas that can take up to 36+ hours to heat from a fresh refill starting out at say 50 degrees. In a lot of 120V spas if you put the main pump into high speed it will cut the heater so it doesn't over AMP the breaker. The topside control in those spas are notorious for failing and they are no longer available. To fix a faulty topside you have to replace the spa pack as well so lets hope you are not in that situation. Perhaps one of our Watkins guys can run the serial number for you @castletonia
    1 point
  4. @RDspaguycheck out my edit in bold in my post above. I forgot some important information.
    1 point
  5. Only thing I will add is that ALL pool owners should upgrade their drain covers and suction inlets in pools and spas IMMEDIATELY if they have not already done so. I am pinning this topic because it's an important one!
    1 point
  6. Test for voltage at the heater terminals.
    1 point
  7. Not a real thing. You cannot create energy (heat) from nothing, it defies the laws of physics. If it is making heat it is also making your pump work harder by restricting flow. A pump running constantly will reach temperatures well over 100 under normal use, and will heat the water some by simple proximity. It would be cheaper to get a small inline heater or spa pack and install it in the spa. I get the DIY urge, but I guarantee it will cost much more and heat much less than just doing it right. Post some pics of the equipment area and existing circuit board/ control pack and we can offer some suggestions. Dang @ratchett, that's a nice setup you've got there. 👍
    1 point
  8. That would be Virginia Graeme Baker, namesake of the VGB act, later renamed the pool and spa safety act, which regulates protections from entrapment and evisceration (yes, that means sucking out your intestines when you sit on a suction at the bottom of the pool) on public pools and spas, as well as new private pool and spa construction in the US. Old private pools and spas are unregulated, and usually unsafe. https://www.emsworld.com/news/10409001/minnesota-girl-6-disemboweled-kiddie-pool-drain Thank you @CanadianSpaTech for bringing up this important topic. ⭐ Gold star for YOU my friend. Maybe some our other knowledgeable industry contributors, like @waterbear, @jimmythegreek, @Pool Clown, would like to add to this thread with their knowledge and experiences. This thread, or one like it, should be a sticky in every forum.
    1 point
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