Ozonator Question

[trucker11]

We have a master spa with an ozonator, but I can't tell when- or if- it is operating. Are there any visible noises or visuals when the ozonator is running? Does it run whenever the circ pump is running? or only when the main pumps are running?

[B0Darc]

We have a master spa with an ozonator, but I can't tell when- or if- it is operating. Are there any visible noises or visuals when the ozonator is running? Does it run whenever the circ pump is running? or only when the main pumps are running?

You don't want to hear this... I also bought a Master Spa and ~paid~ for an ozonator. It was listed on my contract. I have experience with other hottubs and the ozonator should be somewhat obvious. It should also be visible if you take off the service panel.

Unfortunately for me my ozonator was not installed as promised, and after deciding I could not see any evidence of one I called and they came out and put one on... "OOOops how'd we forget that!?"

The ozonator doesn't turn on until the jets have been off for two minutes. The you should see small but not tiny air bubbles coming from the circ pump jet behind the control panel. Turn on the light and place your hand about 8 inches from the small jet to help determine. Otherwise the very powerful jet will disperse them too much to see *easily* (to the middle of the spa) By blocking them, they are much more noticeable. You can also take off the panel and look for the ozonator itself mounted up inside at the highest point. When operational it glows with a blue (ultraviolet) light... but that is NOT from inside the water, only looking at the spa guts with the access panel off. Check out some of these install directions it should help you determine for sure. Lots to google online... check this

It's too bad because I think my DownEast Exeter is superb and I really couldn't be happier, but the level of ~apparent~ shadiness is disheartening to say the least (it'd be impossible for most folks to not know they didn't have the ozonator they paid for...) Good Luck getting one... for me they came right out, but as you can see I knew what I was talking about. Keep it friendly on the phone! ...more flies with honey thing. hahha and leave me out of it! Try really hard NOT to quote this line "This guy online says MasterSpas likes to leave off ozonators from delivered spas"... I am ONLY saying mine was not installed... and when asked they sent out a technician promptly to install.

[chem geek]

Unfortunately, having small bubbles in the recirculation water flow just means the air injector is working, but doesn't prove that ozone is actually getting produced. That's a lot harder to prove without special equipment (ORP sensor near a return, for example). If you have a sensitive nose, you should be able to smell a very faint odor of ozone which smells electrical (i.e. sparks generate ozone). It's a really low amount, however, so not everyone can smell it. The ozone doesn't last as a residual in the water so you can't easily test for it except right at the return where some of it should still exist.

I'm not sure if this will work, but you can try holding a bottle full of spa water near a return attempting to capture the air/ozone bubbles and then bringing it to the surface and sniffing the bubbles as they rise in the bottle.

Richard

[SteveO]

Plus the ozonater will only come on during your filtration cycles.....if it has a del zone system (CD) it will have a window on it and should glow when running on low speed on the first pump and should go off when the pump is switched to high speed. If you have a 24 circ pump, and if you have a balboa pack you should be able to program the ozne system.

[B0Darc]

Thanks chem_hombre, helpful as always! So now your interest is piqued and you *must* know if indeed you have an ozonator, it might be best to pop off that access panel under the controls (thumbscrews on one corner will allow you to slide whole side panel off spa). They are supposed to be mounted as close to the top as possible so as not to get backflowed with water.

You can see a picture of your ozonator (somewhat small!) on page 11 of your manual. I downloaded an electronic PDF version from their website. I'd just give you the link but I'm not on their timeclock, and I'm trying NOT to look like one of their reps which I am not... heh they can't afford my services. Just type masterspas into your browser location bar and press cntrl+<enter> and click on the Customer Support link

[trucker11]

Thanks everyone. Soon as it stops pouring outside, I am headed out to take off the side panels and look.

[countrygal]

Wow, I was told that if it bubbles it is working, when it stops bubbling call them. Looks like I will be opening up my spa to.

[chem geek]

I didn't mean to cause any sort of panic. Odds are that if it is bubbling, then the ozonator is working. However, it is possible for a Corona Discharge (CD) ozonator to have it's discharge wire break as it does technically wear over time and it is possible for an Ultraviolet (UV) light ozonator to have it's UV lamp go out as it too technically wears out over time (just as a fluorescent light bulb would). It is also possible for the power supply for either of these types of ozonator to fail, but in that case I would expect the air/ozone injector would stop working as it is also powered.

I saw in this link ozone detector cards at $40 for 10 cards. That's a lot cheaper than the regular detectors that are several hundred dollars. I have no idea if this will detect the normal ozone levels one would expect to be wafting in a spa with a working ozonator.

Richard

[trucker11]

Ok, so I went out today and took off the front access panel. I had checked the website BODarc told me about and found a nice clear picture of the ozonator. Looking inside , everything is covered in foam except for the pumps and the heater unit. Foam is everywhere. I see no sign of an ozonator unless it is actually located along one of the sides or unless it is covered in foam. But there seems to be no place to even attach one, which means I have to remove the side panels, which it is too cold to do right now.

If any Masterspa Downeast owners can point me in the right direction it would certainly be appreciated.

[trucker11]

The reason this all came up is that when the water gets a little lower than usual, the circ pump starts emitting lots of bubbles. At first I thought it was air being sucked into the filters and causing bubbles to be ejected through the jet. Then I thought, hey maybe it is the ozonator working.

[B0Darc]

The reason this all came up is that when the water gets a little lower than usual, the circ pump starts emitting lots of bubbles. At first I thought it was air being sucked into the filters and causing bubbles to be ejected through the jet. Then I thought, hey maybe it is the ozonator working.

Where the filter retainer screws on the top over the filters you can get a little suction, especially if the filters are getting "chunky" Time to clean those filters!). There's a "Minimum Fill" line but that's actually a little low for me. What you are seeing is air. The ozone won't really look like that. Again check this link that shows a *generalized* description of an ozonator installation <click me> I am not positive but it may likely be already setup to just attach an ozonator.

Look for a "Hartford loop" as described on that web page, which should be T-ed into the water jet line. The ozone bubbles are apparent but not obvious, meaning you can see them if you look closely but otherwise they don't appear like the (almost carbonated water look) air bubbles you see when air gets sucked in the filter (involves more pressure!) They are fewer and farther between, slightly larger and slower moving, and you won't hear any slurping sound. That's because the ozone is getting siphoned into the weaker circ pump stream without much force. If you disconnect the ozone line (small tubing) at the device you are only supposed to feel a slight suction. Since they are not standard I would have to ~guess~ it is NOT under the sprayed on foam. Also it is supposed to be mounted as near to the top of the shell (underneath) as possible, so water does not back up into that Hartford loop into the ozonator. At night the blue glowing light should give it away (access panel off)

[Tom]

We have...an ozonator, but I can't tell when- or if- it is operating. Are there any visible noises or visuals when the ozonator is running?

This is in our FAQ and some of the information there may be of use to you.

I will update the FAQ with information from this thread if appropriate. For example, those strips look interesting and worth including if they test out.

[B0Darc]

Wow Tom! Very nice Web content from Arctic Spas... and a very precise answer online. I hope your salespeople are using that as a selling point... hell a training tool! Nothing compares to real answers to questions... a rarity. Nice work, but couldn't ya put some dancing polar bears on there or something?

[slash]

Contact your dealer a have them prove to you that it is in there. Have them show you. Any good dealer will take care of the problem. How are you supposed to know. BoDarc good info, its nice to see that some people acutually read their owners manuals.

[Tom]

I saw in this link ozone detector cards at $40 for 10 cards. That's a lot cheaper than the regular detectors that are several hundred dollars. I have no idea if this will detect the normal ozone levels one would expect to be wafting in a spa with a working ozonator.

I checked this out and the company says the detector cards are 1) Not waterproof and 2) Designed for higher levels of ozone than might be found in spa water. So it looks as though expensive sniffers are still the only option and these are not appropriate for the average consumer because of the cost of purchase and frequent calibration.

Turns out the fellow I talked to has ozone in his hot tub and loves it. But our discussion did indicate a market for such a device and maybe something will turn up in the future.

[chem geek]

I saw in this link ozone detector cards at $40 for 10 cards. That's a lot cheaper than the regular detectors that are several hundred dollars. I have no idea if this will detect the normal ozone levels one would expect to be wafting in a spa with a working ozonator.

I checked this out and the company says the detector cards are 1) Not waterproof and 2) Designed for higher levels of ozone than might be found in spa water. So it looks as though expensive sniffers are still the only option and these are not appropriate for the average consumer because of the cost of purchase and frequent calibration.

Turns out the fellow I talked to has ozone in his hot tub and loves it. But our discussion did indicate a market for such a device and maybe something will turn up in the future.

Thanks for following up on this! I was thinking of the card detecting the airborne ozone above the spa, not dipping it in, but nevertheless the cards are apparently not sensitive enough.

I wonder if there is some sort of simple dye one could add that would normally take a while to dissipate, but with ozone would break down much faster. I've used GLB Party Blue in my pool before and it took a couple of days to fade. I know there are other colored dyes available as well. The idea is to add something that ozone would break down quickly if it were present and one would test with the ozonator turned on vs. turned off to see if there is a difference. Of course, this could just be another hair-brained idea of mine that ends up staining fiberglass shells instead of detecting whether the ozonator is working!