RFD100

We are looking at buying a new Hot Springs Sovereign tub. My twenty-year-old Sundance is on its last leg. Yes or no to the salt system option? It’s an additional $700.00 upgrade. It is just the wife and I using it. We never had a guest or friends over for a soak nor do we plan to. Thanks in advance for the input.

Thank you. The only I have found different is the water has a different smell.

I did a flush and refill and got my steps out of order. I have started adding Dichlor to build the CYA before I added 50ppm of Borates. Will this be a problem or should I dump the water and start over?

Wuice, If you have a swollen capacitors do you just replace the capacitors or do you recommend a new board? I realize they are soldered to the board however that’s not that difficult if you know what you’re doing or have friends that do and can find the parts. My tub is 2003 and I wondered how long the board and other parts (heater and ozone) would last. All of those parts are still original in my tub. Nothing I hate worse than working on this thing in the freeze cold temps.

I have replaced both my pumps in my 2003 Marin last year and they are not that hard replace. I went back to my dealer and got the pumps that were and exact fix. The hardest part was disconnecting the pumping lines to the pump. They were a little tight to get to with a pipe wrench. Not much space without taking off the side covers. I kept my old two speed pump and bought a new wet end so now I have a replacement. I took the motor apart and grease the bearings. It was an AO Smith motor and could be rebuilt. My single speed pump was junk. It was an Emerson motor and the bearings were shot and could not be rebuilt. Also I would suggest you keep your eyes open for a replacement circulation pump. I found a new one on E-Bay this past summer and replaced it as well. The bearings were getting dry and it was making a lot of noise. It’s also very simple to repair.

I don't see anything floating in the water. I got it to turn a light blue tonight after shaking the daylights out of the bottle. Thanks for your input.

I filled the water to the 25 ml mark. Put in 20 drops of R-0010 and mixed. Added 5 drops of R-0011L mixed, and the water never changed colors to red it just stays clear. This afternoon I pulled out my old HTH 6-way test kit and the CH measured at 160 ppm. From the tap is was 150 ppm. I take it after your up and going you don't worry must about the calcium level. We also have a ozonator on our Marin. I need to test it and make sure it still works. Bubbles come out but some where I have ozone test kit that goes in line. If it's working naturally it would take a little less bleach.

It's been a week from the refill and I also have a new Taylor K-2006 FAS-DPD test kit. My PH and TA are steady at 7.5 and 90. My CYA is 30 and my FC is 16 (1 drop = 0.5 ppm, use 10 mL sample). I started with a CH of 150 and now the kit does not register any CH at all. Do I need to add some calcium? Is it possible for calcium to just go away? We have used the tub once last week and the water did not feel as soft as with the bromine. I added 50 ppm of borates per the pool calculator. Also how much bleach should I add after each soak. It two people for about 20 minutes three or four times per week.

Thanks for the input. At this point I think I'LL wait it out. I did order a new test kit yesterday and just have it by the end of the week.

My numbers this morning weren't to bad the PH was at 7.2 a TA of 80 a CYA of 32 and CL of at least 10. It was off the chart. I would assume that was because I put in to much dichlor too fast. So will the CL drop off over the next day or so? Would it help to leave the cover off and run the aeration (air injection pump) for a hour or so?

I have two test kits one is a Taylor Kit K-1004 and the other is a HTH 6 way test kit. Only the HTH test for cyanuric acid. I hope I have not messed this up by putting in half of the dichlor. Should I wait 24 hours before adding more?

I added half of the dichlor at 6 a.m. and was going to put in the other half about 6 to 7 p.m. tonight. When add some bleach tomorrow or is that rushing it?

Ok I have drained and flush out the tub and filled with fresh water. From the tap the PH is 7.5 and the TA is 160. I have adjusted the TA to 80 (added 8 oz of muriatic acid) and adjusted PH back to 7.5 through aeration. According to the pool calculator I need to add 24oz by weight of borax and 11oz of muriatic acid to adjust the PH back into range to 50 ppm of borates (400 gallon tub). Do I add the 1.6 oz of dichlor now to get the cya to 30 ppm and then the 8.3 oz of bleach to get the FC to 10 ppm or just the dichlor only at this point?

Thanks for the input. I'll probably go with the borax and muriatic acid on this fill (because I have them on hand)and order some for future use. I assume you only have to do this when you fill the tub not part of on going weekly maintenance? I never mess with it when I was using bromine so I don't know much about it.

Thanks for the input. If I’m reading right I need 50ppm borates and I should use 20 Mule Borax. What exactly does the borates do?

I have used PH Balance. The water well fizz when the pumps are on and is only cloudy after each used for about 5 to 10 minutes and would clear up. Also I assume just draining the tub and changing the filters is good enough, or do I need to flush and drain several times to get out all of the old bromine out?

Our tub sets under a covered deck so sun light is not a problem. The City water has a CH of 150 to 160. Is that a good level? Thanks

For the past year I have used Bromine and I ready to switch to Dichlor/Bleach method as I’m tired of the bromine smell both while in the tub and on your body after each use. However I have a few questions after reviewing Nitro’s write up. Each fill up I use Leisure Time PH Balance to hold the PH level. Can I still use this, or do not need it anymore? Is there a better brand of Dichlor to buy? I was looking a Spa Choice from the Spa Depot. Thanks

I always used Leisure Time de-foaming agent. When I have massive amounts of foam I usually double up on the enzymes. I use Natural Chemistry's Spa Perfect enzymes. I was think of switching to SeaKlear Enzyme and de-forming agent as well.

I just replaced a foot well jet yesterday on my Sundance Marin. Push the jet in and turn counter clockwise until you feel a pop and then it should pull out. You might want to place a rag over the chrome ring as you turn it. The edges can be very sharp.

What brand of enzymes does everybody use? I used Leisure Time for six months and switch to Natural Chemistry, Spa Perfect. The Spa Perfect doesn’t have that pungent smell it like Leisure Time. I have also noticed less foaming problems using Spa Perfect. Are there any better or cheaper brands on the market?

There is a black ring around the outside of the jet that moves. I found this when I took off the chrome cover that turns the jet on and off. Is that some sort of retention ring? It swivels so I can’t picture it holding back the jet.

The pump runs great and all of the jets work but one. How difficult is it to replace a jet. Are they screwed somehow in or do they pop out?

I have a 2003 Sundance tub and one of the jets has stopped working. It does not appear to be blocked as some water still comes out. However the flow through the jet is very low. The jet in question is a part # 6000-315, Fluidex Intelli-jet. Has anyone had any experience changing one of these out? Does it require any special tools? I would assume you would need to drain the tub to change it.

The local tubs dealer told me not to use TSP as it will cause foaming. I have used the HTH brand of cleaner from Wal-Mart and good luck.