mscdman

For those using the Dichlor then bleach method like me how often are you adding bleach if not using the tub daily? Do you add in daily anyway? Ive been adding after every use, usually every other day, bringing bromine to 6ppm. but it drops to 1ppm by the time I use the tub the day after. Are you all adding the bleach daily then to keep it consistent at some level? last year I added bleach after each use to 12ppm so that on my off day there was still bromine but the issue then was that high that regular was eating away at the pillows. thoughs?

Looping back as this question is on my mind and I’ve seen CH ranges all over the place. I think @waterbear mentioned in the 3-step bromine setup post that CH between 130-150 was advised but anything from 130-400 was okay? Taylor says 150-250 I think. So not sure what I should be aiming for. I have TA at 70. CH at 170. PH 7.6. Temp 102. Bromine with bleach method. Is my CH range for my hot tub okay? Too high? Too low?

Mildew remover is basically bleach. I hear what you are saying, however why would I have never had this issue for 6 months with the tub at 102? Hmm…you know what? I bet it’s because I’m not using the tub at all this summer and it barely gets opened. Duh

The last few months I’m seeing mildew fairly frequently on the underside of my cover. im running my ho tub at 85 F over the summer - like a pool - but I have it balanced and properly brominated. i wasn’t seeing this all fall and winter when I had the tub at 102. What could be causing the mildew? ive been straying mildew remover on it to clean. Bad idea?

So for the summer I’ve converted my hot tub into a faux pool. I’m at temperatures of around 85° consistent. In the winter time I noticed that using the bleach/bromine method I was having to add an ounce or so of bleach every other day to keep the bromine level is consistent at temperatures of 104. However after draining the tub for the summer refilling it and balancing the chemicals and setting the water temperature to 85 I’m noticing that the bromine level is staying consistent using the bleach method for some times a week at a time. This seems extremely unusual as shouldn’t the bromine be breaking down just as it would in the winter with the higher hot tub temps?

Interesting. Good thing I can differentiate shades of red and when I test PH, CH, TA etc. I make sure my sanitizer levels are not high. ive not had any issues yet

Incidentally, reading your post and your say NOT to use the K2005. Why is that? I just got it and love it. It’s easy to use and seems more accurate than the test strips

Thank you! I just got it drained and refilled yesterday. This time I got the proper ranges from the start hopefully. adjusted TA up from 50 to 90 - to account for bromine floater lower PH fall adjusted CH up to 120 PH was good.

Ok so in my case the cover is a 4 inch taper to 2 inch. There’s about 1/2 inch overlap around the perimeter and there is a “foam and vinyl covered flap) that is at the hinge and wedges between. im okay with water loss. Provided it’s not a leak. I’ve noticed on my tub even with the cover on 💯 of the time over a month I might see 1/16 loss. I think you’ve answered my question. It’s unlikely a spa cover will 💯 seal in all evaporation even without being opened. So some very minimal water loss could be expected even without use. Especially as the water temp greatly exceeds the ambient temp and with minor imperfections in the cover design

Yeah but you had a leak 🤣. I’m talking if there was a zero leak Covered tub that was set at 104 and never used would it be reasonable to say see a 1/16 or so inch water loss drop?

Anyone?

True but the water loss (per another post) is minimal and I can’t tell if it’s from a leak or normal loss from evaporation and carry out. I wrote a whole other post about that.

Thank you. Yeah I did finish it thanks for asking. I painted the frame black and filled with a small crushed granite between the stringers. Added mulch around the outside edge and some planters and electronic tiki torches for ambiance. only thing I would have done different is lay plastic under the whole thing to make it a little easier to catch leaks (vs. emptying to the ground and extremely hard to tell)

So been wondering about this. If you had a normal fitting new cover and a temp set at say 104 but never really opened and never used the tub (just an experiment - no obvious questions like like why have a tub then :)) would you still see any water loss over a month? im thinking no, but then again these covers aren’t 💯 hermetically sealed…

Also for a single bather and lightly used tub will I be in trouble if I Skip one 4-month drain cycle purge in order to allow the product seal not to be ruined