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partyboy

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  1. Thanks, I am enjoying the Envoy so far. I love the NXT remote. I have always kept the salt at 3000 and borate at 50 for the water feel. My fingers don't get so pruny with the added salt and skin feels better after a soak than without salt and borates. I went ahead and put in the ACE a month ago and am very happy so far. I had to make some minor changes to my recipe but it went pretty easy as my fill water has a hardness of 50 and I can use a bit less salt. I got the TA low enough to keep the PH from drifting and when I was happy with that I added borates. After using enough dichlor to get CYA to 30 I switched on the ACE and haven't had need to add any chlorine since. I use my spa regularly, 2x daily and the system keeps up fine on setting 4 or 5. I love the freedom to go camping for a few days and know the water will be perfect when I return. I haven't had to make any adjustments to the water other than shock with a little MPS every couple weeks/as needed and rinse filters monthly.
  2. Welcome Ron! Read Nitro's post. I also just bought a new tub with warranty. The manufacturer strictly prohibits any liquid chemicals (bleach/acid, etc) and only wants you to use their approved granulated chems. I have been using Nitro's dichlor/bleach method for years without issues and will continue to do so (don't tell the manufacturer). The key is having your water balanced as described in the attached link and not doing anything crazy with the liquid bleach that will cause damage to your equipment or cover. If you don't have a good test kit you need one. The poolcalc app is very helpful in determining dosages and predicting results. I use a digital kitchen scale to measure out my dry ingredients. I got one for about $5 on ebay. Filling with soft water shouldn't be an issue but you will need to add calcium to get your hardness to at least 50ppm to help prevent corrosion. I usually add enough calcium to get the CH around 150ppm.
  3. Other than a salt cell I’d say no. You’ll get more time out of it if you turn off the heater and superchlorinate before you leave, but in my experience anything more than 5 days will require a bit of cleanup work before re entry.
  4. Once you have the right balance you will know. This is called "teaspoon chemistry" for a reason. Read Nitros post fully and follow it exactly regarding water balance/TA/PH. It will help. the product you are looking at is likely boric acid. It will help with PH drift and for me it makes the water feel better and skin feels better after a soak. I still don't add it until I know the water is balanced and the PH is stable.
  5. Nice tub! These things do require daily maintenance if you are using them daily, but it isn't hard if you understand the chemistry that's going on. Over time you will get a feel for how much sanitizer to throw in based on usage, water feel, and smell. Once you get your water balanced you wont have to worry about much other than sanitizer. Read nitros post and take notes. Ask questions here if you have them. If I can offer any advice I would say you need a good test kit to get everything dialed in. The Walmart drop kit is not the one you want. Test strips are definitely not what you want. Once you are dialed in you will only be using your fancy new kit at water changes if you don't remember your chem dosage from last time. Source water for me is pretty consistent and I have perfected a recipe that gets me my desired results quickly with little testing. Either way you NEED A GOOD TEST KIT to get started and to diagnose problems with your water. There is simply no way to tell whats going on without one. Welcome to the forum!
  6. Hi guys, I just ordered a Hot Spring Envoy NXT and will be getting it in a couple of days. I'm pretty stoked. In the past I have always used the dichlor/bleach method, with Calcium at 150 , salt at 3000, borate around 50, and TA balanced to get the right PH. With this setup I have been pretty happy with the water feel/quality and have had to do little other than add bleach as needed in between water fills. I don't have issues with bad smells/foam/cloudy water/ph drift, etc... The new spa has the option of adding the "ace saltwater" system. This system calls for Calcium hardness at/under 50 which shouldn't' be hard to achieve. Has anyone had experience with this or other saltwater systems? Any pros/cons. I have always had good results with manual chemicals. I hear from the spa dealer that he has had a lot of angry customers with failing saltwater cells, often because they didn't clean the cells regularly or didn't keep the water properly balanced. I don't mind doing things the old way, just looking for input from others with their experiences as to any benefits/differences in water feel/quality with the Ace system. Thanks
  7. Thanks for the explanation Waterbear. Things are making a lot more sense to me now. I now also understand why my TH reading on the test strips is a lot higher since adding the salt. I read about the high sulfates of Epsom but figured I would be ok if I didn't overdo it. I like salt because it takes longer for me to get pruney. I also came across several hippie web sites claiming that Epsom is a cure all. I knew Epsom was the least desirable salt choice for a spa but wanted to give it a try and see what happens. I will try regular pool salt next time. For me it is kind of an ongoing chemistry experiment.
  8. Ok, I got my new kit and am having issues with the CH test. I tested my fill water and got 40ppm. When I test a sample from the spa and add the indicator my sample stays blue/purple and never goes red to indicate the presence of Calcium. I added roughly 5oz by volume calcium chloride dihydrate and got the same results. My tub is around 380 gallons. I have added borates to 50ppm and 4lbs Epsom salt (approx 1200ppm). at the time of testing my specs were: PH 7.8 CH ?- sample wouldn't turn red-stayed blue TA 120 BROMINE 3.5 I'm wondering if my calcium test is being influenced by other chemicals (borates, epsom salt) in my tub.
  9. Itchy and Scratchy: thanks for your input. Your real-world experience was what I was looking for. I can deal with 1/2 day waiting for the bromine levels to come down, just not 1.5-2 days as it has been taking. Waterbear: I probably am over-thinking this a bit. That happens when my OC disorder kicks in. I recently ran out of MPS and will be using only bleach to shock. It shouldn't be hard to learn how much it takes to get to approx. 15ppm bromine. Thank you both for your help.
  10. any ideas on the ideal ppm bromine to shoot for when shocking? I have read as little as 10ppm is sufficient but would prefer a second opinion.
  11. What is CD? I guess It's not Chlorine Demand, but more like Bromine Demand. I was referring to how much sanitizer the tub uses in a 24 hr period. Any ideas on how often a shock is really needed with bromine and how to tell? I think weekly is overdoing it when its usually just me soaking.
  12. I am running 3 part bromine with little problems. I have 380 gallons running filter/ozone cycle for 4 hrs a day. I keep the bromine levels at 4ppm with the floater and this is relatively easy. I will add a little MPS or bleach during partys/high bather loads and after if levels drop lower than usual. The problem: I can't easily test CD in my bromine system since the floater is always in. My MPS bottle suggests I shock 1x a week at a dose that makes my bromine shoot up past 20ppm for a couple of days rendering my tub unusable. If I don't shock for a few weeks I will have to open the floater to maintain the bromine level. In my mind this means it is time for a shock. Question: I can easily make changes to the amount of MPS or bleach I add when doing a shock to get the desired bromine level. What is the required level in ppm for a maintenance shock? Should I shock weekly or just when I find myself having to open up the floater to keep up? I'm seriously considering dichlor/bleach because I don't like the 2 day wait after oxidizing my tub.
  13. If you have any concerns about bugs in the water I strongly suggest you do the decontamination procedure outlined in the sticky at the top of the page under hot tub water chemistry.
  14. Thanks for the info. I keep my bromine at some shade of yellow on the OTO scale-they all look the same to me... The "guess" strips are better in this regard. Soon I will have the Taylor kit... Regarding the frog, I already broke off the handle and had it in the skimmer for about 1/2 hr. so it would be hard to sell "as new". It is now in the garage where it will stay for a while. Although I am satisfied with my water I am thinking of adding salt to it. Did you get your sea salt in yet and if so what did you notice in the feel of the water? I usually soak for around 1/2-1hr per day.
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