jeffr72

Hi, I purchase testing reagents at: http://www.spspools-spas.com/ SeaKlear MPS and Dichlor at: http://www.horizonpoolsupply.com/ Cascade, baking soda and borax at the grocery store, calcium chloride at Lowe's jeff

Hi 104degrees, The equipment room is the great outdoors (grin) My tub sits on the back deck exposed to the elements. What temp was the equipment room???

Hi, I live in southern Maine and can share a power outage experience we just went through due to a nasty ice storm that killed power to us for 3 1/2 days. We have a Hot Springs 225 gal. with the OEM cover and keep the tub at 104-105F. I only opened the tub once a day to check the temp and had a propane burner on standy if needed. The first night was in the low 30's and when I checked the temp in the morning it was 98F. The next night was very cold with lows in the teens. Tested in the morning and temp was 89F. The 3rd night warmed a bit to the high 20's and in the morning it was 81F. When we got power back around midday it was at 78F. Looks like the average drop was about 8deg/day. jeff

On another note, what's the coldest practical temp you can do a water change? I'm trying to time it right for the winter. I'll let you know. I have a small tub (215 gal) and a high bather load and have been changing on a monthly basis. This will be my first winter and living in Maine there are a few days that are a bit nippy (grin). jeff

Hi, If your not ready to change the water, I've had good luck cranking the jets and scooping the suds followed by cleaning the filters and a dose of MPS. jeff

TSP and Cascade were recommended in this forum. Both use phosphates. I rinsed very well before installing and am pleased with the results. It's been 2 water changes (month each) with no problems. jeff

Hi, I don't know the chemical function of the active oxygen. Perhaps someone in the group can help with this one. jeff

I wasn't crazy about using the dishwasher, didn't seem to hit the filters all over unless I opened up and rotated. I tried soaking using generic dishwasher soap w/6% phosphates (3/4 cup to 5 gal water) and was very happy w/results. Only soaked them for about 2hr. jeff

I contacted a sales rep for Seaklear when I needed to make a purchase and was told the key to a higher quality MPS is in the active oxygen content. My container of SeaKlear lists active oxygen at 4.7%. The MPS that came w/spa was in the 3.8% range. jeff

Hi, I don't believe there is a chemical you can add to drop the free chlorine level. If your level is 8ppm FC, that is not a scary number. If you feel uncomfortable at that level simply open the cover and turn on the jets and it will outgas. Monitor until you feel comfortable with the FC level. Could take a few hours. Sunlight is also very good at lowering the FC level (CYA levels can affect this rate). The Taylor book that came with my test kit lists ideal levels for spas at 3.0 - 5.0 ppm with a max of 10ppm Enjoy, jeff

Hi, Using 25ml of water for the test, each drop of R-0871 equals .2ppm of free chlorine. Your math is correct, 40 drops = 8ppm FC A good range for FC is 3-5ppm jeff

Agree with all that winter is where it's at. I hope to convince my wife to try a roll in the snow this year.

Hi, We have a HS Jetsetter. Found it on Craigslist. 2003 $2600 Love it. jeff

Update. Seems like the root cause of the problem was how the spa was filled. I drained the tub and refilled with the hose in the filter area (the proper location) and everything worked well when the switch was flipped. Lesson learned. Must have been a good airlock/block to prevent the circ pump from resetting. jeff

The last few times I have drained my spa I have had trouble getting either the circulation pump to turn on or the heater to turn on. Through an inconsistent process of resets/poweroff/on's I usually have success not so today. I have a HS jetsetter wired 220. The jets work and no blinking lights. Once I have flipped power on the heater begins to get very hot. If I turn on the jets the heater will cool off. However if I turn off the jets the heater will heat back up and the jets will not cool it. Throughout all this I watch for bubbles to come up through the plate at the bottom of the spa and ... nothing. When we first filled the tub we only put a hose in the tub. The first drain/fill went fine as well as the 2nd (both times just putting the hose in the spa) The third drain/refill I opened both valves thinking I could drain faster and had the first bad experience after refilling. The problem this time was circulating pump was pushing water through but heater was cold and not heating the water. I had pushed the reset on the heater but not hard enough (it's incredible how hard you need to push). Finally pushed reset hard enough and heat came on. Since the local dealer told us we should fill through the grey filter pipe we went that route the next drain/refill. Same type problem. Tried the normal routine (failed) but through several resets/jetson/off cut power etc. it finally worked. No luck today. Any help would be appreciated. Local dealer said best person to help will be in Monday. jeff

Hi, What I have done to deal with the suds is put the jets on high and scoop for several minutes, clean the filters and shock the water. For water change, there is a suggested rule of thumb. Spa size (in gallons) divided by 3. This number divided by the number of bathing hours per day = Number of days for a water change. Hope this helps. jeff

Here are some suggested ranges to go with your test results apx 8.1 ph (7.4 - 7.6) 1 ppm free chlorine (3.0 - 5.0) 180 ppm total alkalinity (80 - 120) and 30-50 ppm stabilizer - Not bad pH and alkalinity tend to both move when you adjust for one. adjust your alkalinity first then check pH again before adjusting. jeff

New owner myself and I only have experience w/tap water. It also has very low CH but a few ounces of sodium chloride and things measure okay. No problems with metals using tap water. jeff

Hi, How often do you test your water ? Do you have test numbers you can share ? jeff

I'm a new owner and have a 215 gal jetsetter. I sanitize daily w/dichlor (2tsp) and shock weekly with MPS (2tbls). So far so good. My only question is if I'm using enough MPS. I measured the CC at 1.0ppm last night and 2tbls of MPS didn't touch it. Not sure if I should jump to 3tbls

Hi, Browse the forum a bit and you'll find there are some chemicals (depending on your setup) that you can purchase at the grocery store ! jeff

We have a small spa (215 gal) and because it is new to us, the 2 of us are in it at least a couple of times a day. We have 2 kids that use it occasionally. With the formula above, I should change the water every 18 days ! Sounds a bit much. But that's why I visit this forum. Never would've known. thanks, jeff

We just bought a 2003 jetsetter and love it(our first spa). It is on the small side (215 gallons) but there are only 2 of us and the size suits us well. Paid $2600 and cost $600 to have 220v installed. jeff

Hi, New spa owner of jetsetter 215 gallon spa. As a daily maintenance I add about 2 teaspoons of dichlor at the end of the day. As a weekly maintenance I add 2 tablespoons of MPS. When I perform weekly maintenance, is it okay to add these at the same time ? thanks, jeff