Bob Sanders

And there you have it! Not a good idea to pay attention to any misadvice from this man. Waterbear: Do us all a favor... take a grow up pill and start acting like a moderator. This silly little brooding child behavior is embarrassing for everyone. Read fast ya all... because it won't be here for long

Thanks... good to know. Wasn't aware.

Do you have an ozonator? The reason I ask is because I have found it to be a god-send. I have a high traffic 1100 gallon tub and had various water problems of one kind or another and then a month ago i added an ozonator.... which seems to oxidize just about everything. Previous to the ozonator I was shocking about every 48 hours. It's been a month now and I haven't shocked once. The tub sees about 7 to 10 bathers a day (including kids) 7 days a week. The ONLY thing I add now is a couple of teaspoons of granular chlorine every other day. And while it is true that ozone will eat chlorine... it seems to eat TOTAL chlorine. In other words it seems to keep the CC in check as well. My PH was balanced out a month ago on initial fill and hasn't required any touch-ups since. And yes... ozone will oxidize the organics and conditioners too. I don't even use spa balls anymore... before I required no less than 2 in the tub at any time. Now there are some opposing opinions on ozone and you should consider those too.... but from what I have seen I'm sold on it. It has cut my water maintenance workload down to almost nothing.

Heaters are protected with flow detections systems... either a flow or pressure switch of some kind. If there is no flow then the heater is simply not allowed to start.

What happens with relays is a different issue. The contacts most often melt over time because of the arching involved. They wear in much the same way a spark plug does. As for spade connectors.... personally speaking I've always regarded them to be a little 'iffy' in high amp situations. They rely on sort of a friction fit and there is no way to tighten them past their particular level of friction. Granted that's just my opinion.... which is greatly outweighed by the level of use that they see. Common in stoves, hot tubs, furnaces... etc.

I've seen spade connectors heat up too. They're quite common on electric furnaces and they are not infallible. At least with screw connector you can simply tighten them again. A space connector on the other hand has to get cut off and replaced when they get old.

Just a loose/corroded connection is all. People tend not to do these things up tight enough and as a result an excess heat build up due to the added resistance causes the burn. It's always best to check those connections a couple times a year because they can loosen/corrode over time.

To be honest, jet pressure has never really done anything for me. It's the bubbles I like. My tub has been done with micro bubble jets and air bubblers as a result. The whole tub is filled with millions of tiny little bubbles which kind of tickles the skin as they rise. The bubblers on the other hand let out fairly large gulps of air which displaces a fair bit of water on the rise. By the time these gulps of air break surface there's enough force to compete with the stronger jets out on the market. They give quite the massage.

No doubt a clamp would be better... but this so-called "rookie" mistake has lasted 2 years so far.

IMO.... It's all a matter of convenience... or inconvenience as the case may be. Just like those kitchen gadgets you buy. If there's a spot on your counter and it's plugged in and ready to go, then it'll get used all the time, even after the 'newness' wears off. But if it sits under the counter with the cord wrapped around it then the chances are great that it won't get used much at all after the honeymoon is over. I use my tub before work every morning, and it's the last thing I do at night, not to mention the times used in between. Last Saturday I was in and out of it about 7 or 8 times. Not sure I would do that if it wasn't as convenient as it was though. It's one of the big factors I thought of when setting it all up.

4.5 inches of dow blue covered with with 1 inch standard http://building.dow.com/na/en/products/insulation/sm.htm

If you can't find an actual number in some manual (and provided your water pressure is somewhat stable) then time how long it takes to fill a 3 or 5 gallon bucket. Use that same water flow rate (unchanged) and then time how long it takes to fill the tub... then do the math. That'll give you a ballpark figure.

I think maybe you're missing part of the conversation here. If you have a small generator is it best to pile the energy into the pump and something along the lines of a small heat supply (a trouble light) or is it best to pile it into the largest heater you can run and stick into the under compartment.

Sorry... I beg to differ. The point of the circ pump is to shift heat around. It works in conjunction with the heater. When there is no heater then what you are doing is betting the hydro will be restored before you run out of heat to move around. THAT'S pretty risky since it doesn't take oodles of heat to MAINTAIN the water... but LOTS to heat it when the entire mass is cold. My tub is fully insulated. 6 inches on the bottom, 3.5 inches on the sides and 5.5 on the top. It also has a completely sealed vapor barrier to protect from the wind (which is where you REALLY lose heat). There is also a hollow channel around the entire tub between the insulation and the tub so that the tub can 'breath' air from the house itself.

The cover is lined all round with 5.5 inches Styrofoam... pretty standard