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Drags

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  1. ive just finished carrying out this process. i managed to get hold of some SeaKleer Spa system flush and so added about half the bottom and left jets on for 60 mins. it left a brown scum line round the edge of the waterline which was "pleasing" in so much as i know it was cleaning the pipes well. i wiped this away with a paper cloth which was fine. let it sit overnight for 12 hours and then added the chlorine treatment to 50 ppm. left jets running again for 30 mins and another brown line (smaller) formed which i also wiped away. have just finished draining and cleaning and am now filling it up again to start nice and fresh
  2. Sounds VERY dubious! A 3 month treatment?! Can't imagine it will do anything but leave your wallet lighter and your water dangerous very quickly It seems to be a one man band as well, the website keeps saying "I" when talking about it and not "we". Who wants to call the guy "Ken" listed in the description and find out more?
  3. how long does the standard stock of tests etc last in one of these kits?
  4. Yes you can get Lamotte from Sword it's around £70 from what I recall. Once you get make sure you don't run too low on reagents as Sword often run low and supplies can be difficult. they actually wanted £79.84 plus £10 postage, plus VAT. so about £107.81 total which is quite a lot. i'm still looking into it, and am in the USA in May next year so may just try and get myself a Taylor K-2006 when i'm over
  5. thank you Chemgeek for the reply and thoughts I guess i'll explore what flush products are available in the UK a bit more in case i can find the Seakleer brand. if not, I'll have to try one of the others. I guess my question about removing filters was only because hot tub manuals seem to suggest you should never run the jets with filters out, presumably because stuff can get into the pipe work? If thats what is recommended for flush products (and for the deconatmination step) then i suppose it must be ok I'll have a look for bleech although give it only needs about 20 ml of Chlorine for a 10 pppm shock at the moment, giving a dose of 100 ml to reach 50 pppm isn't much in the way of chlorine anyway. maybe I'll go that route for ease.
  6. Guys, any thoughts on my questions above please?
  7. thanks Waterbear. I'll get in touch with them about that
  8. I have a few questions if i may: I'm not sure if the same flush products are available in the UK as in the USA, but any recommendations between PureSpa Spa Flush and JetOne flush? Or anything else recommended? I can't seem to find the SeaKleer Spa System Flush over here. I'll avoid Swirl Away as it seems it's not recommended? Do you take out the filters when adding the flush product? or do you add it, run jets for 30 mins and then take filters out overnight? bit unclear on this part If you add bleech to 50 ppm for the decontamination, is this just normal bleech like you'd buy from a supermarket? anything to avoid? (other than the lemon scented bleech etc ) Can you use dichlor granules instead for the super chlorination? - any negatives or positives other than presumably it being more expensive? how much would you need to add if you did use dichlor instead? When you have super chlorinated the water, do you run the jets for 30 - 60 minutes with the cover on or off? I know normally when you shock you would do with cover off to release gases and avoid staining the underside of the cover, but do you do it differently here to help decontaminate the cover? Do you run those jets with the filters in or out? presumably back in....any negatives in that if you've done the system flush, and then the super chlorination without emptying in between?
  9. i don't have any reliable way to measure CYA at the moment. Being UK based it's very hard to source a reliable drop test kit, but I'm trying to find something like the Taylor K-2006. I've onlty had the spa about 6 weeks. Thanks for additional thought about the Ozonator. I guess i need to try a bit of trial and elimination to see if i can pin point the cause.
  10. It does have an ozonator yes. I'm the only one whose been affected by it. Is there a sensible way to clear th bacteria if it was related to that. Would a shock do the trick or would I need a complete flush, empty and refill?
  11. Hi recently I have found that after using my hot tub i am left with a bit of a chesty cough / irration which seems to last a day or two before disappearing. I'm trying to pin point if there's something specific which could be causing this. I'm using chlorine as my sanitizer in a Hot Spring Sovereign tub. Could this be related to a high FAC when using the tub? or high level of chloramines in the water? Or something to do with gas being given off when first lifting the cover off the tub after a period of non-use or when first turning the jets on? Any advice or suggestions welcome.
  12. Being UK based I'd like to know this as well. If the Taylor Kit isn't available what are the best alternatives available here?
  13. I know the Taylor kits are very highly recommended here and I'm looking int availability of something like that in the UK. For the mean time i understand that there aren't any tests strips which can measure CH, only really total hardness, is that right? if that is the case, would something like this be a decent enough CH test kit?: http://www.splashspas.co.uk/calcium-hardness-test-kit.htm thanks
  14. thanks again Waterbear for the explanation.
  15. great, thanks Chem geek. I've been reading these fine forums all day and that was the message i was starting to get. For now i will remove the Nature2 silver ions since i'm not using MPS at all and just stick with the chlorine only system (small amounts after each use and a weekly shock). if for any reaon i find problems with chlorine or sensitivity maybe I'll look again at the MPS + silver route, but given the additional costs it seems unnecessary
  16. could someone give me a quick pros and cons list of using Nature 2 vs just chlorine? would i be right in saying: Nature 2 (silver ions + MPS) - cuts down on need for chl for those maybe sensitive to it or wanting to cut it out for one reason or another. I appreciate some people are sensitive to MPS as well. Some chl still used weekly as shock though. Any other benefits? Seems to be that you also have to add more MPS than you would if you were using just chlorine, more daily and more if you used MPS to shock. Seems to me like it's quite a lot more, about 1 TEAspoon chlorine vs 2 TABLEspoons MPS - referring to some maintenance guidelines hotspring have for their 'Everfresh' system. So does that mean a negative is having to buy more of it and so spending more money on it in long term? Chrloine - if using just chlorine as a sanitizer and not MPS as i understand it there is no point in having the silver ions in there? they won't do anything to help? So chlorine might actually be simpler as you're just adding a small amount after each soak and a weekly shock? also need about half as much as you would if going the MPS route so cheaper in long run? only negative is maybe some people sensitive to chlorine or wanting to cut it out for one reason or another? Also, if you do go the silver ions + MPS route, and use MPS before and after each soak - do you have to also keep a particular FAC level in the tub as well? I assume you use MPS test strips (like the Nature 2 test strips) to measure a suitable MPS level every day, but do you also need chlorine strips to keep a certain FAC level, albeit presumably you can have lower than the normal 3 - 5ppm needed for a chlorine only system?
  17. wow waterbear, many thanks for an excellent and informative reply! It was the parts about the silver ions/MPS “freshwater” system which were confusing me, and the Hotspring Highlife owners manual (http://www.hotspring.../owners-manuals) doesn’t seem to make it very clear. So which would you say would be the best route to go? Hopefully I've got this summarised right, but the options seem to be: Their so-called “Everfresh system” = Silver ions (changed every 4 months at a cost of ~£30) + daily MPS use after each use + weekly chlorine shock as normal? Presumably because MPS seemed to be a bit more expensive (~£42 vs £30 for same sized tub of chlorine) and because of the added cost of the silver ions every 4 months, this is a route if you want to minimize use of chlorine for whatever reason, and don't mind the additional cost? Are there any benefits of going this route or is chlorine cheaper and easier? If you use MPS daily, does it show up on the same reading for free chlorine ppm on the test strips? Ie is it a straight substitute almost for a daily top-up? Just chlorine – no need for silver ions as they are useless if not using MPS? Cheaper presumably for the actual chemicals too as chl is cheaper than the MPS. A daily small dose after each use to maintain FAC and then a weekly shock as well. any negatives of using chl instead of silver + MPS? I will look into the Taylor test kit, thanks for the suggestion. In terms of the scale inhibitor according to the bottle it contains “phosphonic acid, 1 – hydroxythylidene-1, 1 disphosphonic acid.” (that’s exactly what it says on the label). I will look into a better test kit so I can establish the calcium hardness and then determine whether the scale inhibitor is necessary I guess. I’m clear on the steps now for cleaning and soaking the filter cartridges every 4 months or so at a refill, that's great. I guess given there are 4 filters in the tub and they are about £40 GBP each in the UK, I need to consider whether to buy a spare set for ~£160 for such occasions or just not have access to the spa for a couple of days while the filters are being soaked and dried. Do you know how long roughly a normal Hotspring filter should last? The cartridge cleaner given in my starter pack is “immerse” cartridge cleaner and says to use one sachet of 100g for 4 gallons of water. The sachet “contains sodium hydroxide and sodium metasilicate” it says. So is this a good or bad idea as a soaker would you say? I guess I won’t bother with the cartridge cleaner spray if they are acidic and could shorten the filter life, unless I suppose if there’s regular calcium build-up – but I guess that's more about addressing CA hardness really? Is there an occasion or benefit to using the instant cleaner sprays? The graininess on the side just wipes away easily and doesn't seem to be set or anything, but I’ve only had the tub a week so a bit hard to tell I suppose.
  18. ok many thanks. so the "spinner" jets are actually pumping water out and you can control them to full off if you want. The moto massage and the small precision jets are air and they have the controls on top, but can't be turned fully off. It's no massive deal, and i did wet test it first, it was just something i was wondering as i wondered why those couldnt be turned 100% off
  19. Hi all, i have a 2011 Hotspring Sovereign model which i've just purchased and am enjoying a lot. My question is about the individual jet controls. Some of the jets you can control fully via the turning attachments on the shell, turning them exactly to your liking or even completely off. However, some of them (moto massage and the small precision jets) are only controlled via the small control on the top of the tub. those don't allow you to turn them completely off though, only control the intensity. is there any way around this to turn them down even further or even off completely? can any adjustments be made to their valves or anything to allow for that? i appreciate you can turn the jets off or re-direct them from some seats, but for instance you can't be in the recliner seat with jets on anywhere in the tub without the moto-massage jet being active. what if you wanted jets on in other seats but not the recliner? thanks
  20. Hi all, i'm new to this forum but have found it to be a great source of information and expertise. I've just purchased an ex-display 2011 model Hotspring Sovereign spa which i'm enjoying a lot so far. I had a few questions if i may about water chemistry. At the moment i've done a new fill and used PH reducer to bring the TA and PH down to the correct levels, these seem balanced now. I did an initial fill Chlorine shock and have added small amounts after each use to keep chlorine ppm at correct levels. The tub has an ozonator and silver ions as standard as well. An initial few cap fulls of "hot spring scale away" was added at fill as well, and i've been told to add that along with the chlorine shock weekly to help with calcium build-ups. I've not actually been able to test the water hardness in the tub but our area is known to be "hard water". i'm intending to test it at some point as my test strips don't do that at the moment. anyway my questions: The tub has a 24 hour filtration pump. how effective is that at disipating chlorine into the water if you added a small dose after a soak into the filter compartment? Of course a 10 min clean cycle is preferred, but to avoid disturbing the neighbours too much late at night with noisy jets, would the filter pump help inject that chrloine into the water much? Is scale away only needed if calcium hardness is over a certain value? Would it hurt to add it if in doubt weekly to avoid CA buildup? the sides of the shell of the tub are still very smooth and feel clean but above the water line, the shell feels a little "grainy" to the touch. is this from disolved condensation formed when the cover has been on? any advice on how to treat or just simply wipe away? I'm a little unclear on the use of MPS non chlorine shock. the service engineer described it to me as an occasional alternative to using chlorine for your weekly shock. While it would be normal to use chlorine, that takes >4 hours before you can use the spa, but if you needed to use it sooner you could use MPS non chlorine shock instead and it's safe after 30 mins or so, and then revert to normal chlorine treatment for daily doses? is that right, is it worth using much at all? Any other chemicals recommended at all? I was intending to buy an "instant filter cleaner" spray or is that not really needed? many thanks for the help
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