rmcderm313

Hey Tinkers. I have the same issue (me not my wife). I've tried just about everything to help but I've come around to the fact that my skin is sensitive to hot water and it seems to be cumulative. We mostly use our hot tub on Weekends. On Friday I'm fine, on Saturday I start getting itchy and by Sunday I start seeing a rash. I get red bumps and sometimes they get bad enough to weep. My wife has never had any adverse reaction. I have found keeping my PH on the lower side helps a bit. Showering after doesn't seem to have a significant difference. I think my skin is just super sensitive. I'm not sure where you are from a climate standpoint, but in the Winter in the Northeast it's the worst. I think because my skin is dry and compromised to begin with. We don't really use the tub in the Summer so I can't tell if my skin would do better when it's healthier to begin with. I know this probably doesn't help much but your situation isn't unique. -Rob

Hi All, Can anyone suggest a good sealant to use on my hot tub? I need to seal around the edges of the jets on the inside of the tub as some of the gaskets are starting to deteriorate. There are so many options it's hard to know what's best. I would guess for this purpose I want something that will just seal and not an adhesive. Recommendations are appreciated. Thanks, Rob

@RDspaguy can you advise on how to get the 'jet internals' out? On some I can pry the cover off, but it seems like there should be a safer way to not break the small clips inside. Some of mine won't move much at all. Thoughts? Also, what clear silicon sealant do you use? There are so many brands with different profiles I'd love a recommendation. Thanks, Rob

Hi All, Looks like I need to replace my cover. Does anyone have any recommendations for a brand or vendor that you can pass along? I'm in the Northeast, and my tub does not have sprayed cabinet insulation (ThermoSpas). My tub is indoors but in an unheated porch, so insulation is important. My current cover is 4 inch at it's thickest foam, 91"x91". Which apparently is on the thinner side for my region. Also any shopping tips. Features I should definitely get? I spoke with 'BeyondNice' covers and a similar cover to the one I'm replacing is around $400. Thanks for any tips, leads or advice. Rob

@The_Penguin Thanks for the quick response. Yeah it makes sense I guess. I'm going to try and dry out the heavy panel and see if I can seal it back up for now. Maybe if I'm careful with the replacement brackets I can get by for a while. I wonder if they sell the panels separate from the canvas cover. My cover is in good shape. The cost of my 'free' hot tub continues to climb. I should have known better 🤣

Hi All, I've started having trouble with my cover lift. I'm pretty sure it's a Covermate III (picture attached if someone can confirm that). It came on a ThermoSpa tub made in 2009 which I've had for about 3 years. It had been working well for me despite visible damage to the brackets. I assumed it had been blown back by wind at some point. Recently when I tilt the back part of the cover back, the far bracket is bending way too far back and now as a result the bracket has cracked. I'm ordering the bracket kit to replace the brackets. Here is my key question. I took out the 'inserts' from inside the cover. They appear to be 4X8 pieces of hard styrofoam with a metal bracket attached on the sides where the 2 pieces meet. Then these are wrapped in heavy plastic. However, one is significantly heavier than the other. Is that supposed to be the case? Or should they be equal weight? I do see some condensation inside the plastic so I'm wondering if somehow one is water-logged. I didn't think styrofoam could get waterlogged but I guess it's possible. Does anyone have any insight into what might be going on here? If water has made one of these panels too heavy, I'm sure replacing the brackets will only be a temporary solution so I'm hoping someone who knows about cover construction can provide some advice. Thanks for any help! Rob

Thanks for the response guys. I always appreciate the guidance from all three of you. I think I'll use glue on the manifold side and just the clamps on the jet side. My logic being if my manifold repair leaks and I need to redo it, I won't need to replace jets too. I do know I could cut the hose and use a M/M adapter to avoid that... I'm probably overthinking the whole thing. Any other tips on working with hoses/barbs is appreciated. I've been heating the hose until it's soft and then just working it onto the barbs. Some are tougher than others. I've seen some people use a silicon sealant (non-adhesive) on the barbs. I'm not sure if that eases installation, prevents leaks or both. Again any further advice is always appreciated. Thanks, Rob

Hi All, I'm replacing a manifold on my Thermospa tub. When connection .75" ID (1" OD) hose to the manifold barbs or jet barbs, do you use PVC glue, or just use the clamps? Or something else? From what I can tell the manufacturer just used the clamps as I was able to remove the hoses with some heat and gentle twisting, but I'd like some input on the best way to put this back together. Thanks, Rob

Thanks for the response RDspaguy. -Rob

Hi All, This is a 2009 Thermospa. I've started to notice some white objects floating in the water particularly after running the jets. I believe it is coming from around the jets and appears to be either a sealant or a gasket coming apart. If I run my finger around the jets some of this comes off. The jets are sealed from the inside with a good amount of clear sealant, and so far I don't see any evidence of leaking. Is this a gasket or white sealant? Should a take action and apply a layer of sealant over this while the tub is empty? Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks, Rob

Hi All, I've recently had a leak on a manifold. I'm 99% sure based on where the leak was coming from (hard to tell sometimes) and the pictures below that this is where it was coming from; the dead-end of the manifold. My question is more about how this might have happened. Here is the situation. I've had this tub in my house for 3 years now. It's been running the entire time, has never been without power and always heated to at least 98 degrees. So I'm certain no freeze damage could have occurred in the last 3 years. I moved the tub from another location and it was a pretty rough move. I had to rebuild the frame from scratch so I was expecting some leaks, but to my surprise there were none aside from some pump unions which were easily resolved. The previous owners didn't really maintain the tub too well so the possibility of water freezing in some of the parts at some point is certainly present. After 3 years this manifold started leaking. Like many, we have had significantly high temperatures the last couple of weeks. The porch where the tub sits can get as high as 110 degrees ambient temperature when we have extended heat waves like this. With that as the background does anyone have any thoughts on how this 'crack' could have happened? It looks like freeze damage to me where it appears the dead-end was pushed out, but why would it happen after 3 years of sitting and not leaking? Could it be related to the very high recent temperatures exposing an existing problem? One last 'confession', I mistakenly over-chlorinated the tub (Dichlor/bleach method in the bleach 'phase'). I had dosed it high when I left on vacation for a week and then 2 people stopped in while I was away and dosed it again (all a miscommunication). By the time I tested the water when I got back the chlorine was over 29ppm. I never did get it to fall and after 2-3 days I dumped the water to do this repair. I'm not sure if mega-high chlorine could cause this as well so I figured I'd mention it. I'm asking only to educate myself about how leaks can occur. It doesn't look like the kind of thing that would happen just due to age of a manifold. Thanks for any thoughts. Rob

Hi All, I've got a 2009 ThermoSpa that developed a leak last week. I've identified the source and it is a water manifold. It appears to be leaking from the dead-end (I have some questions about how it may have happened, but I'll post those in a separate thread). I'm having trouble figuring out what parts to order to make this repair. The pipe that leads from the pump to the manifold is 1.5" but most if not all water manifolds I'm finding have 2" slip connections. I've included a bunch of pictures with caliper measurements in the hope that someone can help me find the correct parts. I'm speculating that somewhere around the 45' angle there is a 1.5" to 2" converter and the manifold is actually 2", but not really sure. I'm pretty sure the barbs on the manifold need to be 3/4" based on the 1" OD of the hoses. This seems to be pretty standard. Any guidance to the correct parts would be very appreciated. My plan is to cut the 1.5" pipe and make the repair from there with an extension and slip. Thanks, Rob

Hi All, I've got an older Thermospa in which the 'finish' on the foam headrests is in rough shape. It looks like they were originally coated with some kind of paint, but in many places that finish is worn off and I can feel the exposed spongy material below. They have some mildew staining as well in places and I'm hesitant to use standard mildew products to try and clean it up before I understand if I can refinish them in some way. Structurally they are in good shape, it's just the finish that is the issue. I have found some new ones for sale but they are $50-$75 each and there are 6 in the tub. Does anyone know of a path to restoration for these? Thanks, Rob

Thanks @dashmer, just making sure... -Rob

Hi All, I use the Dichlor/Bleach method on my tub, which has been very successful. I bought this sanitizer (granules) and I don't see any mention of CYA in the ingredients? Is there CYA in this Sanitizer? I was under the impression all Dichlor had CYA. Thanks, Rob

Thanks to you both. I'll do some more research and make up the plug. Then stand back and flip the breaker It sounds like just ground to ground (green) and then black to one hot prong and white to the other. -Rob

Hi All, I've been testing/fixing my pumps using a 120v wall plug for short durations. I've found in some cases that on 120v a pump won't spin up without help, but when I hook it up to the 240v connection in the tub it works fine. I have an unused 240v dryer outlet which is a NEMA 10-30 style from my research. I'd like to use this outlet to bench test my pumps on 240v. Can I just use a pump cable and replace the board connection side with a 240v NEMA 10-30 plug? I do realize that I could also just plug the pump into the board with it outside the tub, but honestly the less I can touch the board the better I'll feel. When the tub is working I'd much rather leave things alone. Is 240v power from this type of outlet OK to run a 240v hot tub pump? Thanks for any insight. Rob

I had a heater connection burn up on me as well on a Balboa board/heater. Mine was using the copper tabs instead of wires. I suspect a loose connection (based on feedback here). Since then I've made it part of my monthly routine to check those connections with a small torque wrench (specs were in the heater and board manual) to make sure they haven't vibrated loose at all. I also had an extra board and also ended up sending my burned board off to be fixed. It came back looking pretty good, but I haven't swapped it back in to test it yet. Good luck, Rob

Thanks guys. I'll check the big box stores again. Last time the shelves were empty of 'regular' bleach. -Rob

Hi All, We're having a hard time finding simple bleach locally. Everything is splashless or scented or something. We found this A-1 concentrated bleach which provides a decent ingredient list in a PDF which I have attached. Can anyone tell me if Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Silicate and Sodium Metaperiodate would be problematic to use in our tub? I still don't know what % Hypochlorite it is, but it's probably better then the 3% stuff I've been using. Thanks, Rob A-1_Concentrated-Bleach-64oz_0-54200-03107-4.pdf

Hi All, Quick update. I got the old board that burned up repaired. I sent it to a place I found online. www.spacare.com. I would have liked to find someone local but I really couldn't find anyway interested in the repair. It cost me $205 including shipping and took about 2 weeks to turn around. They repaired the damage, replaced the heater and hi-limit relay, replaced the battery (it was leaking slightly, separate issue) and included a set of heater connection wires (which I didn't ask for but might be glad to have). Here are some pictures of the repair. Pictures of the damage can be found at the beginning of this thread. I'm not sure what I was expecting but the repair looks solid even if it's a bit messy. I've only tested general continuity of the repair. I know I should probably swap out the new board and test the repair but it's too damn cold right now. I really just wanted to have this as a backup as a new board, if one can be found is over $400. Anyway I figured it might be helpful for others to get a sense of repair costs and see the results. If I ever need to swap this back in I'll let you know how it goes but I'm guessing the repair is solid. -Rob Findings: Replace heater relay and hi-limit relay. Repair burn damage. Add a set of heater wires.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply. I will make those small process adjustments based on your recommendations and cruise along. -Rob

Thanks @waterbear for the reply. I was aware that the article was quite old, but I haven't been able to find much further written about the organic/inorganic chloramines. Interesting timing, this has become more of a practical matter for me since posting this question. I'm now struggling with a CC near 1ppm, and possibly even a bit over depending upon how stringent I want to be about a color change between the 2nd and 3rd drop. I'm using the K-2006 kit. My spa is on an enclosed 3-season porch, so I am concerned a bit more than others on DBP. I do open all the windows when I run the jets or use the tub at all, so ventilation is pretty good but there are no vents at the ceiling. There is no UV that hits the water. I've used the bleach/dichlor method on this fill, which was filled on January 16th. CYA is right around 30ppm. I did use 50ppm boric acid at fill. TA has been consistent around 50. Chlorine demand is reasonable. I do not use MPS and only bleach (after Dichlor to reach desired CYA) I use bleach after every soak to ensure I start the next day with between 3-5ppm FC. Sometimes I shoot a bit high and start the next day with between 8-10ppm. We shower before using the spa every time. I've been shocking every Monday with bleach. 16oz of 8.25% which bumps the FC to between 18-20 depending on how much we've used the spa over the weekend. Water is crystal clear and only has a slight chlorine/chemical smell up close. Up until recently pH has been right at 7.4-7.5 without effort, but in the last week it has climbed to 7.8. Not clear on why this happened. Aside from the boric acid and some calcium to raise CH to 150ppm at startup (our water is soft), the only chemicals I have used are the Dichlor (to get to 30ppm CYA) and then bleach. Today for the first time I added 2oz of Boric acid and 2 tbsp of calcium. Where I've had to add some fresh water over time to keep the tub to a good level, I figured I should compensate for that loss for the fresh water and that maybe the additional Boric acid might help lower my pH a bit or at least provide a bit of an additional buffer. Given all this, should I be able to get rid of that combined chlorine by 'shocking' with bleach each week? Or is it possible that in my situation I will not be able to get rid of it until I drain and refill. Is there anything else I can try? Finally, so far we are not bothered by what might be greater than 1ppm combined chlorine. Is there any danger in that? Or is it more that it might irritate some people's skin or eyes? I have very sensitive skin so I'm surprised I haven't encountered an issue yet. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge. Rob

On mine the screws that hold on the wider panels are beneath the 3 thin vertical rails on each side. However, on mine you can see the screw heads (with caps) on those rails. You might try sliding those rails up or down, or maybe they are flexible enough to (gently) pry off to reveal the main panel screws. -Rob

Hi All, I'm interested what folks on this forum think of the findings of this article from Aqua magazine. It's general premise is that super-chlorinating to release chloramines only addresses inorganic chloramines and will leave behind any organic. Article on Break-point Chlorination If I read and understood correctly, even MPS will not address organic chloramines and the only way to get rid of them is by 'draining and dilution'. Although the article does also mention that MPS might have advantages over chlorine in releasing less 'disinfection byproducts' (DPB's). I've noticed a number of posters who super-chlorinate (and/or use MPS for that matter) but still have some undesirable combined chlorine readings. I have a minor issue with this, but it's not been enough to worry too much about. I haven't read in any of the responses a reference to possible organic chloramines being part of the issue that, if this article is accurate, you cannot get rid of. I only stumbled across this article in the course of researching the break-point process and I have no concept of its accuracy. It seems well balanced in it's approach, even pointing out that DuPont has a vested interest in pushing MPS. I'm not trying to spread fake news, that is why I'm interested in the opinions of those contributors here who have helped me get my hot tub water chemistry in very good shape. Any thoughts? Thanks, Rob