PostalDave

Ken, I have some experience with this stuff as my dad was an early proponent (and installer) of this type of insulation. As Roger said, it can be a real mess, and cleaning it up is an adventure in and of itself. Once it's on something, a visual and tactile residue will stay on it whether or not you immediatly wipe it off or not. That said, a better insulator is hard to find. But remember, the underside of a spa is a place where you may need to do some future work. Filling that space up with foam insulation means you will have to remove it in order to work on it. Not to mention, if you get a leak somewhere, trying to track it down through all that foam would be no fun at all (I know from first hand experience). Additionally, once you do get a leak, closed foam or not, that foam will hold water like a sponge. Heat + water + wood makes for a mold paradise. I'd probably lean towards using it, but make sure that I've got plenty of space behind it to allow for future work/repair. I'd suggest using a heavy mil plastic for instance (6 or better), and using it as a 'curtain' to limit the foam expansion into areas you don't want it to enter. Don't know that it will work with a spa, but it's very common to see this type of system in certain warehouses where you have to ensure for for a nice structural density, but not gunk up the contents. That way it gives you the insulation, but also allows for you to pull out an entire section of foam to check out/work on something behind it. You may want to couple it with a radient barrier as well, (something like astro-foil or it's like). Dave

clerk1, Well, as a newbie owner myself, and facing an ozonator issue myself, my thoughts are that you may need a new ozonator. You'll have to determine whether or not it's a UV lamp or CD (Corona Discharge) system, and act accordingly. From my research over the past couple of days, it appears that older CD types will last somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/4/5000 hours, and the UV bulbs I've heard a year or two (effective for less than that though). Depending on the layout of your ozonator, it could also be that you have a buildup around the ozonator blocking the ozone from entering your sytem. Apparently it's common to see a nitric acid buildup around the hose from the ozone generation (something to do with the way the ozone is generated, the temperature of air it generates it from, and the water content of that air). For instance, my Coast Spa seems to have had it's ozonator go out in the past couple of weeks. Mine is a CD type, and I can buy a replacement chip for it for about $50, or buy a new one (perhaps delivering the ozone more efficiently) for about $130. I'm just trying to sift through the available evidence to determine whether or not to replace it in my bromine system. In particular a gentleman by the name of 'Vermonter' and his older posts (some in 2003, others in 2005 on different spa/pool forums) have have broadend my understanding of ozone immensly. Good luck with the problem, Dave

itabb, Thanks for the reply. I haven't bought 50lbs YET (because I don't know the shelflife), but when we do buy in bulk it will be more than the 6lb container I bought a month ago (and which we are plumb out of). That said, you bring up a very good point, particuarly how much will we use in a 'normal' time period. For that, I'll have to own and operate the spa for more than the month I've been using it. =8^D Additionally, your storage observation is a good one: unless I get the chemicals in sealed containers (or do so myself), I'll need to consider the wear/tear ofl keeping it in the garage year round. Thus, 50lbs may be way over the top whereas 25lbs may be a much better choice. I do know (from just a month owning/operating) that our 500 gallon tub takes a fair bit of sanitizer. It could be due to us using it 4 nights a week, with several parties included in that time period. I've also got one additional drain/fill cycle to consider becuase of some repair work I need to do on one side (plumbing leak, soaked foam and rotted support). Excellent points, and I'm thankful you brought them up. Have a great day, Dave

Greetings, We've got our spa (Coast Spa Bahama Soundwaves) up and running, and after the first month things are well in line. Our misc levels are in good shape(PH, alkalinity, bromine, etc...), and stay there. We used too much bromine early on (readings up to 20ppm) , but finally got the floating dispenser adjusted correctly and everythings just fine. I think it had to do with us running the ozonator 10 hours a day, but given how nasty the spa was when we bought the house, you could understand why. My question has to do with buying in bulk. My wife and I tend to buy in bulk things we know we will use. Bromine tablets for the spa are going to be one of those things. If I buy a 50lb tub/bin of bromine tablets, can I expect they will remain good for a year or two? No need to try and save money by bying in bulk only to end up throwing it out because it doesn't last. Thanks for the info, and have a great day. Dave

Tom, Thanks for the quick reply, and the welcome. I like finding forums for specified products/tools and gaining knowledge from the board members. Nothing better than to deal with pro's and proud owners to help cut through the marketing distractions. On to Coast Spa: I have to admit that I find Coast Spa's website more than a bit lacking. [rant]To be perfectly frank, I find that it spends entirely too much time selling new equipment than supporting existing owners. I'm an old hand at searching for stuff across the net, and I've failed every time while searching for the model number of this tub. I've even searched the site with google's 'site' keywords, and have had no luck. The local installer was next to no help either. Firstly they told me it was either 'tub a' or 'tub b', yet it was neither. I found the model number under the wood skirt, and gave it to them. They did scare up a manual for it, but it appears to be a generic manual with no specifications of any kind. I know the tub has two pumps on it, but that's from looking at the program control, not from the manual. I know it has a remote, but again, that's because I have one, not because the installer/manual said it had one. I didn't know it had an ozoneator (sp?) on it until I payed the installation company (EW) $100 to come by and look at it. The service guy who came buy was certainly knowledgeable enough, and appeared to give me straight answers (no upsell for products or what have you) but I found it a bit distressing to get a generic manual and no specifications for $100. Now I don't mind looking stuff up, and to be perfectly honest, I like the search for information a great deal. But after spending more hours than I care to name looking for info, I gave up. Learned a valuable lesson too: namely, don't trust companies for support information. I thought the computer industry was bad till I came across Spa's and Hot Tub's [end rant] At any rate, have a good evening everyone, Dave

Greetings all, My wife and I recently bought a house that has a huge Hot tub on the deck. I've got very limited information about the tub, other than the company who made it (Coast Spa and/or Gecko), and that it has an ozoneator, built in speakers, a 7hp pump and sits 6 (or more?). It appears to be in good shape, but it has been sitting (unused) for at least 5 months, full of 90 deg water under cover (5” thick spa cover over the whole tub). What the gallon capacity is, I have no idea. Now, I've been reading the back and forth on this forum between chlorine and bromine, and will go with the latter. I've followed water bear's recommendation that the Taylor K-2106 water test kit is the one to get, and have ordered it. My primary question is this: since the tub has sat for so long, what are your recommendations for cleaning the tub out (I would guess the tub is acrylic)? It's got a significant brown contaminate along the top edge of the water (probably algae) that comes off when we rub it with our thumb. This same color gunk also can be seen inside the tub in spots, mostly around various ports and internal fittings. Should I just empty, wipe down the inside with chlorine and refill it? what about a double empty, refill cycle with a shock treatment between the empty and refill actions? I've seen various 'flush' chemicals, but dont' know how much those types of things are really needed. Secondly, since I am a COMPLETE newbie with a Hot Tub, what book/magazine/'net resource (other than this forum) can you suggest for good information on how to care for and maintain a Hot Tub. Appreciate your suggestions, and have a great weekend, Dave Kansas City (Olathe)