cameoguy

The Flo Switch on my 2009 Sundance Cameo is fluttering as shown in the video here < https://youtu.be/kE_h77MZmBs > . Is this normal operation? Its not completely closing. Backstory is I've had a stubborn Flo issue for > 1 year now. The last 6 weeks the tub wouldn't heat at all and it was always flashing Flo/Temp. I used Ahh-Some and dumped the tub yesterday, making sure to completely pick out any debris of the water outlets. Filled the tub this morning and kicked it on and the heater kicked on and there is no Flo error. I have yet to re-insert the filter however. I checked the Flo switch and its fluttering, not completely closed. The circ pump is set to run all the time. So at least its heating now but I'm wondering if I'm in for more trouble due to the switch not being completely closed. Could their be an obstruction some place in the line or circ pump? Could this newish Flo Switch be bad? Also the tub is off level on my concrete pad by an inch due to the fall of the pad. The filter box is on the "high" slope of the pad and the circ pump Flow switch is on the "low" slope. Could this be contributing to the issue? IMG_0896.MOV

I am the owner of a Sundance Cameo Spa which came with a Covermate 3 cover lifter. I have had the spa for almost 3 months and was quite surprised when I got my first electricity bill. I live in a mild climate in California and got the spa installed in the middle of September (2009). My first energy bill had a full months of tub usage contained. It turns out my tub consumed an additional 400 Kwh of energy then the previous month when I had no tub. I was using about 350 - 400 Kwh per month, which in California as a PG&E customer put me in to the Tier 2 pricing. My bill however was only about $50/month average. The additional energy consumption made my bill about $150 more in the first month. After getting the hot tub my Kwh usage went to 795 for the first month (sep-oct) and 769 Kwh for the next month (oct-nov). Here is how it looks: Month 1 - Aug-Sep - Usage - 389 Kwh (Before getting tub) Month 2 - Sep-Oct - Usage - 795 Kwh (Tub Month 1) Month 3 - Oct-Nov - Usage - 769 Kwh (Tub Month 1) The guidance I get from the the dealer and other sources on the Internet is that the tub should consume about and 5-7 Kwh per day. Currently the tub is using about 13 Kwh per day. More then 2X. The reason why I was so surprised was that I had a poorly insulated tub about 18 months ago I bought from Costco. That tub consumed about the same amount of energy and was the main reason why I got rid of it. The dealer decided to send a tech to my home for an inspection. I told him I noticed that steam was coming out the sides of my hot tub cover during cold mornings. When the jets run on my tub and the cover is closed the hot tub leaks hot air out of the sides of the cover where it folds towards the edges of the tub. I have a Covermate 3 cover lifter and I noticed that this slightly lifts the cover where it folds towards the edges. I believe but am not certain that this cover lifter and the cover itself is what is causing this heat loss. The Covermate 3 is designed to hook in to the cover and has gas shocks which pull upwards. I believe these are causing the cover to lift ever so slightly off the tub and allowing it to leak hot air. I am wondering if anyone has had similar experiences with their Cameo or Covermate 3 lifter? I am working with the local dealer to get new shocks put in that don't lift so much and a solar blanket to seal in the heat. Are there any other suggestions or words of wisdom out there? I like the tub but don't believe it should be consuming as much energy as it is. Could anything else be causing this such as a faulty thermometer, heater?

Had my spa (Sundance Hawthorne) about 2 months. This is full foam insulation too. Based on the same months last year my electric bill has gone up approx $25, but that's with it being used at least one hour every day. I have had my Sundance Cameo (2009 model) for about 5 weeks and just got my first energy bill from Pacific Gas & Electric. I live in a mild climate on the California Coast where average temp right now is about 62 degrees. My electricity bill went up $150 dollars from last month. We do use the spa alot, almost every day, and have the temperature set to 103 degrees typically. We were low energy users before the spa and were paying less then $40/month for our energy costs, so you can say I was a little surprised to see this bill. Does anyone think that the electrical hookups could be contributing to this? The spa was hooked up by a licensed electrical contractor who charged me $720 for parts and labor. Interesting thing is that I had a cheap Costco spa for 3 months last year and got rid of it for this exact same reason. That spa was costing me about $150/month to maintain from an energy cost standpoint. We are much happier with the cameo for obvious reasons (comfort, features, etc.) but I would like to learn how to save in energy consumption. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. We love the spa just not that steep bill.