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If you have a technical problem with your spa your best bet for a solution is to START YOUR OWN THREAD with YOUR info, not piggyback on something similar. There are 2 reasons for this. First, most of us volunteers who help people here don't have time to read through 164 replies to get the background info to answer your question. Most of us simply skip those threads and do not bother to reply. And second, it gets very confusing for everyone when 2 different conversations get going in one thread, and advice gets given to and taken by the wrong person. So, if you want help from our experts, start your own thread. Include details about your situation, and pics of equipment area, circuit board, and wiring diagram. @waterbearcan you pin this?

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

Issue FINALLY RESOLVED! Replaced the heater today and that seems to have been one of my many culprits. Hot tub is now heating up. So I assume whatever zapped the battery on my board also took out the heater in the process. After installing that battery…cleaning out the ozone line clog…and replacing the heater- I finally have a functional hot tub. Thank you CanadianSpaTech and everyone else for your help !

(I finally found the post that I made back in 2010 on setting up 3 step bromine for a hot tub so I am reposting it here with a few edits to update the embedded links so they work and improve the clarity of the procedure. Enjoy!) When testing water do NOT use strips, get a good drop based test kit. Your best bet for Bromine if you are in the US or Canada is the Taylor k-2106 and for chlorine the K-2006 (NOT the K-2005). THE TEST KIT IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN OWN FOR EASY SPA MAINTENANCE. GET A GOOD ONE! I cannot stress this enough!!!!! If the K-2106 is not readily available in Canada you can use the K-2006 for bromine by testing for Free Chlorine and multiplying the results by 2.25 to get Total Bromine. You do not need to test for combined bromine (combined chlorine test) nor cyanuric acid in a bromine system. On to bromine: 1. fill the spa and balance the water.Do not turn the heat up yet. If you have well water or know your water has metals then add a metal sequestrant at this point. You will need to continue with weekly maintenance doses of the metal sequestrant if your water has metals. A better solution is to fill from a water softener or purchase a "spa stick" filter that attaches to your hose to fill the spa to help remove the metals. A,adjust TA to 50-70 ppm (here is a detailed explanation and howto on lowering TA if it's too high),, raise TA with baking soda if it's too low,, it's the same chemical sold as TA increaser for much less money! B. Once TA is in range then adjust pH to between 7.4 and 7.8 Use dry acid (or muriatic acid) to lower pH if too high (8.0 and above). If the pH is too low (7.2 and below) either aerate the water to outgas CO2 and bring up the pH or use borax from the laundry aisle to raise it..Do NOT use pH up because it will make your TA go too high!!!!!!!! pH up is sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda and raises both pH AND TA! C. IF you calcium hardness is below 130 ppm raise it to 130-150. If it is above 400 then add an anti stain and scale or calcium reducer to the spa weekly. If it is between 130-400 you are fine. 2. If you are not in Canada Add 1/2 oz of sodium bromide per 100 gallons of water to create your bromide reserve in the water. This is the MOST important step with a bromine spa and the one most people ignore. If you omit this step you will not have a bromine spa for several weeks until enough tablets dissolve in the water to create the bromide bank and you will be running chlorine until the bromide bank forms! Sodium Bromide is available in packets and jars from several companies. You will need to re add it on each drain and fill. Make sure that you get sodium bromide in either powder or liquid form that is sold to start the bromide reserve or 'bromide bank' and not a one step bromine product that is a mixture of mostly dichlor and a little blt of sodium bromide. READ THE LABEL! It should only contain sodium bromide (and water if in liquid form). Sodium bromide has been outlawed in Canada except as part of 'one step' bromine sanitizer products that are a mixture of sodium bromide and dichlor. A workaround is to use such a product for the first few weeks to build your bromide bank. The ingredients should be sodium bromide and dichlor (sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione). EDIT: I HAVE LEARNED THAT PLAIN SODIUM BROMIDE IS AVAILABLE IN CANADA AGAIN BUT IT SEEMS TO BE DIFFICULT TO FIND AND IS EXPENSVE. IF YOU CAN GET IT USE IT. 3. Shock the spa to 'activate' (oxidize) the sodium bromide into hypobromous acid (this is your 'bromine' sanitizer that you test for with your strips or test kit.) You can use MPS to shock but chlorine works just as well if not better and is much less expensive. One of the best sources of chlorine you can use with a bromine spa is sodium hypochlorite and that can also be found in the laundry aisle. It is ordinary liquid chlorine bleach. You want the regular, unscented bleach, not a thickened or scented one. It will come in either 5.25% or 6%. Read the label to see which you have. Use 3 oz (6 tablespoons) of the 5.25% or 2.5 oz (5 tablespoons) of the 6% per 100 gallons of spa water to shock. Your bromine will go very high. Uncover the spa and circulate until the bromine drops below 10 ppm before you use the spa. Now heat the spa up to temperature. If you are in Canada you want to use your one step product to shock to about 15-18 ppm Total Bromine or you can shock with bleach and just let the bromide bank build up in time, 4. Put in the floater with your bromine tabs (which usually contain BOTH bromine and chlorine to activate the bromine, btw) and adjust the floater to maintain your bromine at about 4-6 ppm. this can take a bit of trial and error. Check your pH and bromine before you go in each time and if bromine is low add a few tablespoons of bleach and retest until it is above 4 but below 10 ppm. It really only takes seconds for the chlorine to oxidize your bromide reserve into bromine sanitizer. If pH is not between 7.2 and 8.0 then you should adjust it before entering the spa and wait about 30 minutes then retest it to make sure it is in the proper range. If both are off then adjust pH first then the bromine. YOU CANNOT ADJUST THE Ph WHEN THE SANITIZER LEVELS ARE HIGH BECAUSE OF AN INTERACTION BETWEEN HIGH SANITIZER LEVELS AND THE PHENOL RED INDICATOR USED TO TEST PH! It does not matter if the test is done by liquid reagents or strips. Most test kits and strips will not give accurate pH measurements if the sanitizer is above 3-5 ppm . Taylor kits are good up to 10 ppm. If it's higher than that you need to wait for sanitizer to drop before testing and adjusting pH. The only work around is a properly calibrated pH meter. If your bromine is always low open the floater a bit more. If high then close it down a bit. If it is above 10 then take out the floater and open the spa until the bromine level drops below 10 before entering the water and close the floater down a bit. Once you get the floater adjusted the bromine level will stay pretty constant and it becomes much easier! Remember to keep tablets in the floater at all times! You are done! Weekly test pH, Keep pH between 7.2 -8.0 and then when you have finished adjusting shock the spa with bleach just like when you added the sodium bromide but you do not need more sodium bromide. Add anti scale or calcium reducer if your calcium tested above 400 ppm. Every 2 to 4 weeks check and adjust TA and calcium before you adjust pH and shock. For the first few months do it every two weeks until you learn YOUR tub. If it stays fairly stable then you can drop back the testing to monthly. Every 3-4 months drain, refill, balance the water, add the sodium bromide, shock, and put the bromine tablets back in. Actually pretty easy! If you follow these steps you will not need to waste money on defoamers, clarifier, enzymes, etc.! The ONLY additive you might want to consider is a borate product. Borate has several benefits when added to a 30-50 ppm range. You can add borate with a commercial borate product such as Gentle Spa or Optimizer Plus or by using boric acid or borax. Most of the commercial borate products are a mixture of boric acid and borax to product a pH neutral product and might also contain a scent. Boric acid will slightly lower the pH but since the trend in a spa is a rising pH this should not be a major issue. If the pH is too low then add borax (at twice the dosing rate for pH up/sodium carbonate) to bring your pH into the 7.6 to 7.8 range, which is where your pH will want to 'sit' once the borate is added. Borax (both the decahydrate and pentahydate forms) will raise pH significantly and require the addition of either dry acid or muriatic acid to maintain the pH in the proper range. My recommendation is either boric acid or a commercial pH neutral product, Some commercial products are just the pentahydrate form of borax and will say in the dosing instructions that acid must also be added. . To test borate I highly recommend the LaMotte borate test strips. They are much easier to read than the strips from Taylor, Hach, and AquaCheck. The Lamotte strips have color blocks that go from rose pink to tan while the others have color blocks that are (very close) shades of tan and very difficult to discern between them. Initially adjust borate to 50 ppm and test as often as you test your TA and calcium. If and when it drops to 30 ppm bring it back up to 50 ppm. Hope this helps. Chlorine is a bit cheaper than bromine but it really does require daily attention. Bromine (and what I described above is known as 3 step bromine and is the most forgiving) is not as fussy (acceptable pH range is wider and water balance is easier than chlorine or 2 step bromine) and really only needs attention once or twice a week after you get it set up, besides checking sanitizer level and pH before you enter the spa each time. Happy bromine tubbing!

If you use the Metric system 1 tablespoon is approx. 15 ml and every 19 liters of water in your tub is approx 5 gallons. These values are close enough for practical use. For every 100 gallons (380 liters) of water adding 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of: 5.25% bleach will raise FC by about 2 ppm 6.0% bleach will raise FC by about 2.5 ppm 8.25% bleach will raise FC by about 3.3 ppm 10.0% bleach will raise FC by about 4 ppm 12.5% bleach will raise FC by about 5 ppm I have just learned that there is also 7.5% bleach being sold so I would expect the 7.5% bleach will raise FC by about 3 ppm (these numbers are not exact but are in the ballpark. They have been rounded to make measurements easier but should be close enough to get you where you want to be or very close to it) 10% and 12.5% bleach are normally sold as "liquid pool chlorine" 6% laundry bleach is usually called "ultra bleach" If you are using laundry bleach you want the plain,unscented, one with NO thickeners, detergents, or scents. The ingredients might list water, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chloride (salt), sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, and (for laundry bleach) polyacrylic acid (used to prevent soil from redepositing back on clothes and is also the main ingredient in many polymeric pool and spa clarifiers so the small amount in the bleach will NOT have any negative impact on your water). These are either added to stabilize the bleach or are the result of the manufacturing process and are a normal part of the makeup of bleach or liquid chlorine. The ONLY differences between the different strengths of sodium hypochlorite is how much is needed to reach a given FC level in a given volume of water and the shelf life of the bleach. The more concentrated strengths need less to achieve a given FC level in a given volume of water and have a shorter shelf life before they start to degrade and lose strength. There is no reason you can't use old bleach as long as you are testing the FC and adding enough to achieve the desired level.

Actually that wouldn't be correct - it wasn't planned obsolecense - I believe Hotspring's objective to retain a catalog of replacement parts for Highlife spas up to 25 years old. To keep a very long story short, your Orca board was made by a third party manufacturer for Watkins/Hotspring. About a decade ago, Watkins and customers/dealers were hit blindsided when that company went out of business, taking their proprietary information with them. This royally screwed everyone, including the manufacturer who had minimal inventory and old stock to support existing customers - they were forced to build a new replacement control board from scratch, and unfortunately the two systems cannot communicate with each other due to the proprietary software on the old system. By this point, all new-old-stock inventory has been sold out and people with your generation of Hotspring hot tubs got screwed leaving a bad impression about the brand overall (which is valid - Hotspring should have some sort of discount program for spa owners of that spa generation) So yes, it sucks - but this was out of Watkins control. This is one reason why Hotspring spas use so many proprietary parts - the more they make in-house, the less reliant they are on third parties to continue supplying parts. Well, if it's just the topside LCD you have a few different options. Very often I find people selling or giving away free Hotspring hot tubs in the local classifieds (Because they are leaking or broken due to freeze damage) - you can possibly salavage a replacement part from a tub in your local classifieds (offer the seller $50 to salvage that part), or some people salvage parts from hot tub junk yards (which are apparently a thing) - you might be able to score a replacement part that way if you call around. Alternatively, if you dig deep enough into this, I believe someone else was in your exact same shoes a few years back and published their progress (on this forum I believe). I think that person was able to determine that his LCD screen had failed and the system worked otherwise, so he dug in and extracted the LCD screen then looked up part numbers - if my memory is correct, he discovered it was a cheap LCD screen also commonly used in a few HP PDA devices from the early 2000's, he was able to replace the screen and fire up the controller without any problems. I understand that may be out of your technical realm, but if you find the part numbers - you might be able to buy a replacement LCD screen then take it to a professional electronics repair-shop which could de-solder and replace the screen for way less than the cost to replace the entire controller - naturally I'm sure they wouldn't guarantee their work on something like this - but if the topside controller is shot already - why not take a chance and try to fix it for less than $200

Walked into a backyard yesterday to find 2 beautiful bikini clad ladies sitting in the hot tub day drinking red wine and thought to myself... this is it... every service tech's dream is going to happen right now!.. but sadly I shanked it like a Buffalo Bills Kicker wide right. I'm such an idiot

Don't fill until they are there. They might need to move the spa depending on space or where the wire is entering the spa. A new spa will be fine sitting empty. Once they start the electrical install and the spa is in final position you can start filling and it will be full by the time they have completed their work. Be sure to fill through the filter hole so you don't get an air lock in the pump wet end. Enjoy

The Consumer Products Safety Commission recommends a maximum hot tub temperature of 104 degrees for private hot tubs. These strict guidelines are for your safety. Temperatures of 106 degrees or higher can lead to heat stroke. We absolutely do not support overriding spa temperatures to achieve higher temperatures. EDIT: For more information, please read our blog post on the topic.

Best Thing I could have done to this spa! The controls are SO much better with the new topside panel. I'm sure this will be safer, more efficient, more reliable alternative; and perfect solution for the problematic old equipment I used to have. So far the new Balboa kit is working great. Tricky to configure at first. After a Youtube video of someone installing and configuring one it was a poc. It did take me all day though, had to replace a blown breaker to top it off. I'm a low voltage technician... I probably shouldn't screw with some things but I do... But what can I say. Just glad I didn't screw up the equipment! Thanks for all the help and input from everyone here.

Nah, you'd have to go into the shell or before the heater, not enough heat loss between the heater and the tub in the plumbing. Even then it wouldn't noticeably overheat the spa. Early balboa systems had the temp sensor in the shell and the high limit on the heater, and you would find little difference when the pump/heater was on. Turn it off and the pipes cool faster than the tub, which is partly why they moved them both back to the heater. It helps avoid any frozen pipes/pumps from 10 hours with no filter cycle or call for heat. Actually, those few of us who answer all these questions everyday get to know each other, and we like to joke around. That was for me, not you, and I found it rather amusing.😉 The other thing you have to remember is that we aren't just talking to you, we are talking to every clown who reads this post for the rest of eternity, or until the internet breaks. And yes, we DO feel that we have to babysit most of them. DIYers are not known for doing things right, or safely. I have to tell people to be sure they turn the power off before they touch any wires in the spa. Sense is NOT common, whatever they may say. We have to keep that in mind or risk being responsible for any results. So we just assume that, someday, a total moron is going to read this. It's generally that guy we're talking to, not the person who raised the question. If we weren't industry pros we could give you any bad advice we cared to, but as we are professionals presented as experts in our field we have a greater responsibility than your average Joe. So we will continue to post things that discourage people from fiddling around with their safety devices, even though we are aware that you already got the hint. Some folks aren't so quick.

What @ratchettsaid! Hudson Bay is the low end line of Leisure Products Inc. Their current offerings are Hudson Bay, Dr. Wellness and Catalina. When I was researching, I initially thought that a Dr. Wellness was one of my top choices due to size, features and price. I quickly found out that they were a LPI product, which I had owned one about 25 years ago and had bad experiences with. I also found out that the dealer in my area wouldn't allow my to look at the equipment area which was a red flag, Why wouldn't the dealer let me look? Because I would have found a poorly insulated tub with sub standard plumbing, proprietary parts, thin shell and Proprietary parts. This dealer didn't service their tubs either, they contracted out to any Spa tech that would take the job. They are cheap for a reason. If you are on a budget and are willing to spend $3000-$5000 on a five year starter tub, then they are OK. You are much better off though, buying a top quality tub that will last 10-15 years or more, that are well insulated to mitigate heat loss, that are energy efficient with good warranty's from a reputable dealer as the dealer IS your lifeline. Good used tubs are out there, you just have to be diligent and quick to move on one. Remember. always see a used tub full and running.

TL/DR - No. HudsonBay spas is an LPI brand of spas. They are a terrible company who builds budget-grade spas using the cheapest components possible - since they are a mail-order product they are also constructed with essentially zero insulation to reduce manufacturing and shipping costs. When bought new (from sites like HomeDepot) they are extremely overpriced for what you're getting. LPI is a terrible company, they sell the same products under multiple brand names to obfuscate the customer making it harder for you to read all the negative reviews on the company. If you visit Hudsonbay's website, you'll notice they never once mention "LPI Inc" on their site. That's intentional. Head over to LPI's website and you'll see a list of their brands, and I'll be honest - they're all terrible low-grade products - https://lpiinc.com/shops/ (Note for anyone curious - Catalina spas WAS A good brand name in the 90's until LPI acquired the brand in 2016) That's because everything you're seeing has already been picked over by the pros and other desperate people shopping for a hottub. Keep in mind professionals are also buying used tubs off the classifieds to flip/resell if there's a good enough profit in the deal for them. If you want to find the best deals on used hottubs, you need to watch the listings daily and sort only by recently-added. The BEST used spa deals sell in literally less than 24-48 hours, so you'll never see those listings (sellers take down the listing because they TOO many hits). The trick is to watch for newly listed spas which you can see filled with water and working. Then look up the brand and product line to figure out what tier/class it's in (most big name brands build multiple product tiers to fit every budget - sometimes these are bells/whistle changes, other times they are improvements under the hood to increase product lifespan - when buying used I'd personally be looking mostly at the flagship top-tiers from any brand to ensure you get the longest lifespan). Also note - warranties do not transfer on used spas so don't pay 85%+ of retail pricing for a 10 month old spa! All that said - hottubs require routine maintenance for proper operation. Many people can't even maintain the filters in their vacuum cleaners, let alone water chemistry in a hottub. For some, a hottub is an impulse purchase without realizing everything involved, soon enough they get bored and sell the spa to try and recoup some of their money back. I see amazing deals pop up all the time in the classifieds (at least a few times a month, and I'm in a warm subtropical climate where there aren't too many spa owners!). I have no doubt if you keep watching the market you'll find a nice spa from a name brand in your budget ($1k to $3k will definitely find you quality working hottub). Just be ready to buy when you find what you're looking for because like I said - you're competing with professionals who do this for a living.

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.

It's more useful to start a new thread than revive one that is 12 years old. That being said...... It sounds like you don't have a great dealer. If they do not properly understand how the salt system works, or water chemistry in general, I would seek out someone else. Do you have a local Hot Spring dealer? Same salt system so maybe they can be of more assistance. What do you mean when saying the salt system didn't work? Was it not producing chlorine? Was the cartridge failing prematurely? As for the stereo. I'm not personally a fan of music on hot tubs due to longevity issues with the speakers, but of the Hot Spring and Caldera models I have sold with music I have had zero issues with bluetooth connectivity and only a handful of bad speakers. Have you gone through the pairing process? Foam is not the hot tubs fault. Foam is a result of something being introduced to the hot tub and in many scenarios it is laundry soap residue on swim suits. Otherwise it is usually personal hygiene products coming off the body of bathers. Watkins (Caldera) customer service is really good. If you are not getting the help you need from your dealer reach out to them and let them know your issues. At the very least they can get involved and work with your dealer to resolve the situation.

As a dealer all I can say is best of luck. I’ve sold hot tubs almost 20 years now. You’re not saving $2,000 buying online. I also think your making a huge mistake thinking you need a pump that is 4HP. HP rating is in my opinion for worst way shop. My hot tub has a 1.5HP pump and it has in my opinion good power. The type I can sit in front of for as long as a I want without hurting. I’ve also sat in a Coast Spa with a legit 7HP pump and a Dynasty with a legit 5HP pump. Both were fine but it doesn’t feel good when you’re getting abused by the jets. YMMV. Of the brands you listed, Catalina is the only one I would even consider. Dr Wellness is about as low as it gets in terms of quality.

@RDspaguy @cranbiz @Cusser @waterbear @ratchett Check this "Disclaimer" out. https://www.hottubrepair.biz/general-8 @Competent Hot Tub Repair What you got to say for yourself?

Looks like the LCD is failing. Unfortunately, the electronics mfg they used from Q3 2009 - Q2 2012 did go out of business and the displays are no longer available. Unless you can source a used one, a new control panel and control box + software are what will be needed. Probably looking around $1,000 in parts plus you will need the software from your dealer

My goal in life

Not all Loungers are built the same and you do have to sit in one with water to find out. My Artesian has a lounger. I don't use it a lot when the jets are on, I prefer to sit in one of the captain's chairs with the neck jets. My wife, however lives in the lounger but she prefers to just soak. Our first tub didn't have a lounger, we really wanted one this time but it had to be the right one. Your dealer will make or break your ownership experience. My dealer is 90 miles away. Sure there are many dealers closer but they all got eliminated for one reason or another. The Hot Springs dealer blew my appointment off, the Bullfrog/Vita dealer outright lied about the different features and was using 4 year old sales material, the PDC dealer didn't have any tubs on display, The American Whirlpool dealer was a good dealer and didn't misrepresent his tubs but the tubs didn't pass the wet test for us. The Sundance dealer was also good but Sundance didn't have a tub that fit my space requirements. The Aqua Living dealer was high pressure, pushed financing we didn't want, wouldn't show us under the hood of their tubs, no wet or dry testing and didn't have an inhouse service dept. I ended up at an Artesian/Marquis dealer who was excellent, had a lot to look at and had a tub on order that hit all my check boxes. They were happy to set up a wet test of a similar tub (during Covid where other dealers wouldn't), answered all my questions, pulled side panels so I could look at plumbing and insulation, let us talk to existing customers about their sales and service experiences and as it turned out, had a very good price. They had no issues with my distance from their showroom and that still continues to be true today. Because of all this, they sold 2 tubs that day, one to me and one to our friends who were shopping with us. So dealer IS important.

The average hot tub owner hosts guests in the spa 3-4 times a year. Unless you're REALLY cozy with the neighbors/friends, my advice is to focus on a spa large enough for the family living at home. Instead of buying the largest spa your wallet can afford, consider a smaller more luxury spa. Lounger seats are build for the average height and average BMI in America. Not all loungers are created equal - you may or may not have buoyancy issues. Half the people who buy a spa with a lounger opt not to get one with a lounger in their new tub. I personally love the lounger in my Jetsetter, but the general rule of thumb is that you should always wet-test a lounger from any brand you're considering and skip the lounger if you cannot wet-test to confirm it's comfortable for you. Most brands sell multiple product tiers to fit every budget. Lower tiers will generally have less jet power, less insulation, and fewer jets as well as built with lower quality materials. These are fine if you only want to soak in hot water, but you may need to consider a higher-tier spa if you want a therapeutic spa experience. Again jet-feel is subjective, horsepower numbers can be faked/inflated, jet counts don't matter (some use tiny itchy "bullet-jets" to increase jet count numbers) - wet testing is the ONLY way to know how comfortable a spa really is for you personally Industry average lifespan for spas these days is 7-14 years depending on care/maintenance. A budget-grade or bottom-tier spa will be on the shorter end of that lifespan, while a top-tier flagship spa from the top brands might last 15-25+ years depending on care/maintenance. Last piece of advice - the dealer you buy from is responsible for warranty labor costs. Not all dealers are created equal - do your research on the dealer, how long they've been in business, if they have technicians on payroll or outsource service, customer feedback online, etc. Do not settle for a shady dealer just because you want XYZ brand of hot tubs - I personally saved 20% because I didn't like my hotspring dealer so I found another dealer equidistant from my rural location (rare for that to happen, most dealers won't overstep into another region) - no haggling needed, just very different business models and operating margins.

Wow what a mess! I have good luck with Digikey, their shipping is great, order as late as 9pm the night before and you have it the next day, most times before noon. They do have a standard $8 delivery fee, free over $100. If you go through a lot of batteries (ie kids with toys), thier Panasonic bulk packs are good deals, and help ease the cost of the delivery if you are just buying a few things. https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/filter/terminal-blocks-wire-to-board/371 If you can measure the pitch or pin spacing on the connector, you should be able to match it up. Looks like two separate connectors there, butted together.

Happy birthday America! And me! Officially over the hill now at 51 (me, not America). Chillin', grillin', and blowin' **** up! Have a good one, and be safe!

It's not corrosion, it's scale, aka hard water deposits, caused by calcium. In water, it is the result of high ph, and on surfaces the result of evaporation, which means a small leak. Acid will dissolve it, but can damage the heater element. If you have good flow through it, just watch your ph and let it go. If it's clogged, get a new one.

Yes, it will work.

Are the jets in the lower half on a different pump than those in the upper half? If so, your likely looking at another air lock in the lower half. If the lower half are on a different pump, do you hear the pump start when you turn it on? If the pump does not hum or try to start, you have other mechanical issues that other are better suited to help you with. The only other thing that comes to mind is if you have a diverter valve and it is set incorrectly (to top only). Not familiar with your tub so I am only guessing.

In the US, by code, a gfci can be used to protect a circuit with no ground. That was one of the original purposes they were designed for. Technically, the green wire should be taped with white phase tape at each end, but it works the same. I would still recommend a ground wire, as a gfci can fail, leading to a possible electrocution hazard. Make sure to test it frequently.

Have used an oil filter wrench forever. You won't over squeeze the fitting and you can "feel" tightness a little better.

Just wanted to send a note of thanks for Waterbear's contributions to the forum. We've had a 7000 lt swim spa for a few years now and I've always struggled with water quality. Based on his posts this is what I have done... Cleaned filters and pipes Emptied the spa Refilled spa Bought a Lamotte ColorQ 2x PRO 7 testing kit Balanced Calcium Hardness Balanced pH and Alkalinity Added 260 grams Sodium Bromide (bought in the USA and shipped down under - not available here) Shocked with 500 ml Liquid Chlorine (12.5%) This morning, after adding the Sodium Bromide yesterday afternoon, the test results are as follows: Bromine = 6 ppm pH = 7.7 Alkalinity = 94 ppm Calcium Hardness = 190 Not perfect, but not too bad for an accountant playing with his new chemistry set. The Bromine and pH look a little high, but I'll test daily and see how it shifts. Moving forward my plan is: - Experiment with the bromine tablet dosage in a floater - Shock weekly with a cup (250 ml) of Liquid Chlorine Unless of course, Waterbear tells me otherwise... Thanks again, Chris

Thanks for all your help everyone! I found the issue. The wiring was corroded a bit after not being used for 5 years so I cut off all the ends and rewired it and it powered up just fine. Thanks!

Thank you for that information. We are very much aware of the "hanging chads" so to speak. Most times the purge gets the low hanging fruit of bio-gunk on the first cycle. Letting it set for a few minutes and turning on the pump intermittently will usually cause enough water flow propulsion to knock loose Biofilms that were still hanging on for dear life. Very good information you have shared.

FIXED! So after going through what you had said at the GFCI and voltage being correct. I checked continuity between the ground and white. There was none. I went back to the panel in the garage and the white had come loose. I thought it was secure but it was completely loose. Thanks so much for the help! Hopefully this helps someone else with similar symptoms.

...and find a new service tech

If not in the equipment bay or drain, it's probably the light fitting. Those D1s are notorious for it. I'll explain how to fix it tomorrow sometime. It's a process, and it's late. Maybe there's a video out there. It's not hard, frankly it will take longer to explain it typing with one thumb on my phone than it would take me to do it. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the point. 😉

Also not a vita fan, but consider Sundance top of the line.

couple of things that I see (doesn't mean I'm right, just an educated guess): WE HAVE A WINNER! It's an add on salt system and the heater is probably not 'salt-safe" which really requires titanium coils and not incoloy. it's rust colored because stainless steel is made from iron and some stainless steel does rust, particularly when salt is present. My guess is that the screws are not salt grade stainless either. 304 stainless is the most common type but salt will cause corrosion. 316 stainless is more impervious to salt. IF the heating element is incoloy then there IS iron in the heating element! It is a nickel-iron-chromium alloy.

update I finally had time and its warm enough to work on this I opened up all 4 sides no visible water leaks BUT when i put my hand between the plastic sheet on the bottom and the sprayed in foam I found a puddle a big one! so I started prodding and found it was wet all the way up almost to the top so I scooped out soaking wet foam until I found some lines and hour later I found the leak an air line had 3 pin holes when blower was off (which is 99% of the time) line fills with water and it was dripping pretty steady I cut out as much of the hose as I could it was just clear tubing and put a new piece in no more leak now I'm trying to dry the foam at least I had a carpet dryer blower so after 2 days its almost dry now ill just watch water level and see if there are other leaks.....

The caps in the last set of pictures (the old board, I guess) are bad. For a while, there were a lot of counterfeit capacitors made by several Chinese companies that were used throughout the electronics industry. They came to light due to leakage and electrolyte expansion which domed the top. My industry is the computer industry and I can't tell you how many bad caps I have changed out.

Your Wallet

Mrs. Big Mack - sounds like you know how to suck !!!!

It would also need the correct/matched mazzi injector. Bubbles doesn't necessarily mean the ozone is working If you replace the ozone also replace the one way check valve and inspect the tubing going from the ozone to the mazzi injector as the line can get caked/gummed up with ozone byproduct. Any connections (tubing, barbed fittings) in the system can get brittle as they get older so have care when working on or around them.

No, bromide does not show up as part of the total bromine. Total bromine is a measure of hypobromous acid and bromamines. Bromamines, unlike chloramines, are effective sanitizers. Total bromine is tested the same way as Free Chlorine with DPD, FAS-DPD, tetramethylbenzidine test strips, or syringaldazine/vanillin azine test strips. Fun fact, if you want to convert the chlorine scale on your comparator or test strip container to give a total bromine reading then multiply the 'chlorine' reading by 2.25 to get total bromine. However, most comparators and test strip bottles just double the chlorine reading for their bromine scale (which is certainly close enough for the ppm levels we are testing). Testing for sodium bromide (bromide bank) is much more difficult and either involves the use of sodium bromide titrator test strips (similar but not the same as salt test test strips) or by using a chemical titration test that is beyond the scope of home users and is more involved and/or uses highly toxic reagents such as mercuric nitrate (as opposed to the much less toxic silver nitrate used in the Taylor titiration test for sodium chloride).

If you are super-chlorinating then MPS is not necessary, MPS is an oxidizer. Chlorine is both an oxidizer and sanitizer and at the levels needed after a fecal accident it will more than take care of oxidizing any fecal matter in addition to the pathogens (which are also part of the fecal matter).

Man I feel like I dodged a bullet on this one..... After typing my original post, I went back out by the tub looking for any signs something was bad on the heater and relay board. One of my kids walked up and told me she turned the temp down to 83 the other day for no reason.... So I check and sure enough, temp set at 83.....This makes sense now because the heater lights were on indicating it was working, its just the temp was turned wayyyyy down. The one thing I never thought to check was to press the temp button to see where it was set. 😣 Thanks for the help tho RD! She is now grounded from touching anything electrical in the back yard until shes 21 🤣

Test strips are notoriously unreliable. I recommend a good test kit.

Here is what we recommend to do after completing a plumbing colonoscopy or purge process. Be sure to wipe off any sticky clinging gooey gunk that has come out during the purge. Wipe this as you see it. Do NOT let this stuff dry on the shell or acrylic. Biofilm is primarily a polysaccharide, which is comprised of sugar molecules. So, sticky sticky sticky. A wet towel does a great job. After draining as much water as you can, just wipe the entire inside shell clean. Refill! One note here. When refilling be sure to add water into the filter well (where the filter(s) is (are) located to be sure that upon startup, the pump primes quickly and leaves no chance for a heater "dry fire" event. Adjust chemicals to balance the water. No need to refill, run the jets for a few minutes and drain again unless you feel that there was so much gunk released that this would be the best course of action. For the next day or so you should and may see floaters that drained back into the piping while draining the initial purge water. No big deal. Just wipe them as they accumulate around the waterline. Any hard to remove stickies can easily be cleaned off by using a small amount of the Ahh-Some Gel, 1/2 teaspoon added to 32 ounces of water in a trigger spray bottle, let it dissolve, and spray on the ares of concern. Works quite well. Hope this helps everyone.

HP can be irrelevant depending on how well the plumbing design was engineered. If you are trying to compare HP, ignore the claim. Find out the amp draw on each motor. That will tell you how comparable each is.

Personally never heard of WCS but I'm in Canada so.... I see the WCS uses a Waterway Spa Pack. Have not seen many in the field and have only seen them when they first started as a pack supplier several years ago. It was a different looking setup and it appears to have not caught on and they have now gone to a more traditional board set up. The fact that it is such a small company that has changed hands a few times as you say worries me given the current world situation...but perhaps that works in their favor...hard to say. Artesian Spas usually rank fairly high when the this or that question comes up. I was a little surprised at the list of "Options" that could raise the price beyond what you expect. • Pump/Heater Valves...odd that it is an option...• PermaBase ABS Pan, Led lighting, ozone As you do your research you will find many professionals on the service side say that a reputable dealer with a long proven history should be near the top of your decision making process and I agree. When looking at HP ratings take them with a grain of salt. To truly know the HP you have to look at the AMP draw ratings on the pumps. On Waterway pumps a 10 amp is a 3 hp high speed 12 amp high speed is a 4 hp a 16 amp is a 5 HP. Companies will use Brake HP and might call a 12 amp motor a 5hp. Long story short I would be leaning towards the Artesian...but a wet/dry test might tell you a different story if one "fits" you better. God Luck. Let us know what you decide

Do you have any other local options? Cal Spas isn't going to get a lot of love anywhere other than from them and their dealers. I regretfully sold Cal years ago and while not the worst spas out there, I would NEVER sell them again. Company support was horrible which made it impossible to continue and take care of the customer after the sale which is why the company I worked for dropped them. Quality wasn't great either. Didn't necessarily show up right away but as the hot tubs aged was when the lack of quality showed. If you are set on Cal then I would go with the cheaper option. Generally the simpler the hot tub Cal offers the likely better longevity with less issues.

With a 4-5K budget I would be looking at the used market. More tub for the money...JMO