jeffr72

We lost power for 4 days with temps in the teens. I checked once a day and learned the tub lost about 8 deg. per day. Hot Springs insulated this tub well. Jeffr72

Thanks Dan, checks in the mail (grin). jeff

Is it okay to leave the 1/8" line clamped letting the hot tub cycle normally? Jeff

Hi, My apologies for taking so long to reply. I clamped off the 1/8 line and the pulsating went away. It seems like the pressure may be somewhat less than normal, but I'm not sure. What does this mean ? thanks, jeff

Checked w/my electrician, wiring was 10 gauge

When it was installed we set it up for 220. It also has its own breaker. If it's running 20 amp, 110v, check voltage with the heater energized at the main terminal block, then check voltage with the heater off

Serial Number is J2D1014 I believe it was purchased 11/02, I've owned it for 3 1/2 years. I opened the panel and on the left side looks like the lines your talking about. That's where all the "noise" is. I know the electrician that installed the tub, will ask him about the size of the wire. He's always been top notch so I expect it will be of decent size. Not sure how to check the impeller. When the pump energizes, it just about reaches full power, but spends more time building up pressure. My times are off a bit, probably a second-.and a half to cycle. I tried with caps on and off. They are always completely submerged. One thing to add. This problem began when the water level was low, flush with the top of the 4 neck jets. The water has been this low before without a problem. thanks, jeff

I have a HS Jetsetter and when I power it on, the jets/pumps pulse. Full force for a second, then dies down to almost nothing for about a second. This 2 second cycle repeats regardless of jet settings. I removed the filters and nothing changed. Anyone ever experienced this? thanks in advance. jeff

I have a 2002 jetsetter and I have seen this occasionally as well. My first thought was to open the secondary drain during refill but the first time I tried it, I saw the 'dirty water' briefly and it dissipated. I have even tried Spa System Flush with no consistent results. I haven't seen it in a while (change water about every 60 days) and it's never been a problem other than I just don't like to see it. (grin) jeff

What's the price of a heater board ? Where are they available ? My local Hot Tub Co. stopped me in my tracks when I mentioned no voltage and said I would need a service call. thanks, jeff

I have a 2002 Hot Springs Jetsetter. 6 months ago I replaced the heater 3 months ago I replaced a thermistor 1 month ago I replaced the circulation pump Things have been running well and then the water got cold. I checked the heater pipes and there was no heat. I checked the black and white connection of the heater to the panel (220v) and my multimeter registers 0. Does anyone know if there is a heater fuse or where it may be located ? I have uploaded a link to the pic of the electrical box. http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/516/elecbox.jpg thanks, jeff

Really, baking soda + acid together makes no sense. The baking soda raises TA and the acid lowers TA; you're doing two opposite things at once. --paulr I understand your thought and at first, it was mine as well. In my mind the baking soda is to raise the TA and the acid is to reduce the pH (raised from the borax). When I follow this recipe the TA and pH come out fine. If I leave out the baking soda, the TA is lower than I want. jeff

Dano, Shouldn't be an issue. When I change my water I have a small bucket that I add/mix my chemicals in while the tub is filling. It consists of 20 mule team borax, ph decreaser, baking soda, dichor, and calcium chloride. There is a bit of foaming when the baking soda and acid mix, but the testing is right on when the tub fill is complete. I have not had any problems with this in 2 years. jeff

Check out link below as another option. http://www.spspools-spas.com/ jeff

I have had great success using Cascade (even generic) dishwashing detergent. The important part is making sure the product contains phosphates. I use 1/2 cup in a 4gal bucket for 4-6hr and rinse well. Measure your pH a couple of hours after returning your filter to the hot tub as it may climb if the filter wasn't rinsed well enough. jeff

Not a difficult job but it may not be the heater. You should check the heater for continuity and the relay for voltage with a multimeter. Which heater do you have on it? Black No-Fault6000 or a stainless No-Fault? It has Watkins No-Fault 6000 on it. It has black covers on each end. I'm not an electrical wiz, would need help checking continuity and voltage. jeff

I have a 2002 HotSprings jetsetter and I noticed on the last fill the temperature rose very slowly. Now the temperature is dropping and I believe the heater needs replacement (feels warm to the touch). Is this a difficult job ? I have basic plumbing skills. thanks, jeff

Hi, I have had success using Cascade dishwasher detergent. I use 1/2 cup to 4 gallons hot water and soak overnight. jeff

For things you want/need to buy online, this place has excellant shipping/handling charges . . $3.95 TOTAL ! www.spadepot.com jeff

The pH dropping over time is not surprising since your TA is now lower. I don't think this has to do with the Borates, but rather from the combination of weekly MPS addition, which is acidic and makes pH and TA drop, along with carbon dioxide outgassing which makes the pH rise. It seems that your stable pH balance would be closer to around 70 ppm TA. However, the MPS addition would cause your TA to drop in any event (again, not sure why you didn't see that before the Borates). If you plan to continue to use MPS weekly, then you'll have to add baking soda to keep the TA up (but not too high -- sounds like 70 ppm is the highest for best pH stability in your situation). Do you find that your pH drops from 7.6 to 7.2 (and the TA drop by 8 ppm) after you add the MPS? If not, then perhaps it's more pH balanced in which case the TA won't drop as quickly over time. Richard Hi, I never gave it a thought that MPS would affect the balance. I assumed it was neutral. Will watch and let you know. Thanks again to you and everyone else that contributes in this forum. I never would have succeeded with the bleach method without all your help. jeff

I wanted to share my recent experiences with the bleach/borax method and Ph. Purchased a 225gal HS tub this summer and after much reading wanted to limit the dichlor(cya) and try the bleach method. Due to the tub size and bather load we were changing water every 30-40 days which makes it easy to try different things. With each of the water changes, calcium hardness was set at ~120ppm, FC varied from 2-6ppm and 2 tbls MPS was added weekly. The first attempt was with bleach without borax and an initial week of dichlor to establish some cya. This was a total disaster. Each day I added 3.5oz Clorox. TA varied from 80-100ppm, Ph swings were violent and I quickly discontinued. On the next water change, I tried 20 Mule Team Borax (10oz ~40ppm). Added about 1/2 Borax, 2tbls acid (sodium bisulfate) then repeated. Needed a bit more acid to balance, TA came in at about 60 and Ph at 7.6 After about a week of dichlor, numbers had dropped a little to 50 and 7.4 CYA was ~60ppm. I felt the numbers would climb when I started adding bleach and left them alone. Over the next three weeks I added 3.5 oz of Clorox each day. I tested the water almost every day (more in the beginning) and to my surprise the Ph and TA actually dropped over time. The Ph about .1 per week and the TA about 5ppm per week. I ended up adding baking soda and borax twice over the 3 week period to bring the water into balance. Needless to say I was quite impressed with the stability of the borax. I just did another water change and am trying a 20% decrease in borax. Numbers came in at TA 60 Ph 7.6 when all was settled. Will report back next month with the results. jeff

That will work, but it's just an extra step. A few oz of Bleach will disperse pretty quick (a few seconds) in the middle of 350 gal of hot water with the jets running. But an upsplash of bleach (from the jets running) would make me wish I diluted it. jeff

One other question. Do you add the bleach directly to the tub or to the filter compartment? Thanks Hi, I add the bleach into a 2gallon bucket with some of the tub water and then dump into the filter compartment. jeff

Hi Barb, I agree with your interpretation of FC actually being 2.4ppm though I don't have the background like chemgeek to explain it fullly. I have had my tub about 6 months now and change water monthly (small tub, lotsa use). The first 6-8 weeks I probably performed 100 tests on my water. Today I don't fret the results too much. I make sure there's ample FC and keep the pH balanced. enjoy. jeff

Hi, Here's a test you can perform to determine MPS compound as chlorine. I can't remember if I copied from this forum or the Taylor website. jeff Monopersulfate Compound Test 1. Rinse and fill sample tube to 25 mL mark with water to be tested. 2. Add 1 heaping dipper R-0870. Swirl until dissolved. 3. Add 10 drops R-0003. Swirl to mix. WAIT 1 MINUTE. 4. Add R-0871 dropwise, swirling and counting after each drop, until color changes from pink to colorless. 5. Multiply drops of R-0871 by 0.2. Record as ppm total oxidizer (TO). 6. To calculate ppm monopersulfate compound (MC) as chlorine: MC = TO - (FC + CC). Record as ppm.