bugster7 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Dear All, Another strange thing I got on my way to buy a spa. The HS dealer indicates me that the 24h circulation pump will also flow the water through the jetpumps to the jets into the spa all the time. Therefore HS will not operate the jetpumps for circulation several times a day. Most of my tested spa´s will run the jetpumps at minimum once a day for filtration and to get the water out of the hoses for desinfection with O³. HS dealer promised me to save money with theire circulation pump and it looks ok for me. But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. Mystery, isn´it? What is true? Thx for your answeres, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Dear All, Another strange thing I got on my way to buy a spa. The HS dealer indicates me that the 24h circulation pump will also flow the water through the jetpumps to the jets into the spa all the time. Therefore HS will not operate the jetpumps for circulation several times a day. Most of my tested spa´s will run the jetpumps at minimum once a day for filtration and to get the water out of the hoses for desinfection with O³. HS dealer promised me to save money with theire circulation pump and it looks ok for me. But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. Mystery, isn´it? What is true? Thx for your answeres, Chris There are lines that do circulate stagnent water from the jet pump lines. However your dealer may have embelished a bit. Not all the water is circulated and the jets are not used for the circ pump. But HS can be programmed to circulate using the jet pumps. Or theres a clean up cycle that will do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDfromTN Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Dear All, Another strange thing I got on my way to buy a spa. The HS dealer indicates me that the 24h circulation pump will also flow the water through the jetpumps to the jets into the spa all the time. Therefore HS will not operate the jetpumps for circulation several times a day. Most of my tested spa´s will run the jetpumps at minimum once a day for filtration and to get the water out of the hoses for desinfection with O³. HS dealer promised me to save money with theire circulation pump and it looks ok for me. But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. Mystery, isn´it? What is true? Thx for your answeres, Chris My Caldera has a circulation pump. It has its own "jet" that is low in the tub. This is where the heated and Ozoned (if that is a word???) Water is returned to the tub on a 24/7 basis. This water is alway drawn through the filter. It also has a clean cycle that will run once per day (at least thats all I have ever noticed it). In that cycle the air blower kicks on, then pump one, then pump two. I like this setup as it keeps the water filtered and ozonated (maybe a better word) all the time. It also exchanges the water in the air and jet lines to keep it purged and sanitized to avoid anything nasty growing in the lines. Mine is an older model with a new control board, so yours may do different. BUT they are both built by Watkins Mfg and are sister products. Happy soaking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. It trickles a bit of water through the pumps and jets. Its not much but its really not meant to be. The idea is if the pump is off for days/weeks on end that little bit of trickle will keep water moving through and while it's minimal that's all that is needed since the flow is 24/7. It also gives a bit of protection if the heater turns off (for whatever reason) as you want a little water flowing though the pumps/jets during extreme low outside temps. I grew up on a farm in frigid upstate NY. When I was a kid I remember my father explaining to me why he kept the faucet in the barn on a very slow drip in the dead of winter to stop it from freezing over. I remember questioning whether that little drip/drizzle would be enough to ward off the line freezing over and he assured me it would and sure enough it always did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. It trickles a bit of water through the pumps and jets. Its not much but its really not meant to be. The idea is if the pump is off for days/weeks on end that little bit of trickle will keep water moving through and while it's minimal that's all that is needed since the flow is 24/7. It also gives a bit of protection if the heater turns off (for whatever reason) as you want a little water flowing though the pumps/jets during extreme low outside temps. I grew up on a farm in frigid upstate NY. When I was a kid I remember my father explaining to me why he kept the faucet in the barn on a very slow drip in the dead of winter to stop it from freezing over. I remember questioning whether that little drip/drizzle would be enough to ward off the line freezing over and he assured me it would and sure enough it always did. It was enough because you were in Balmy upstate NY. Remember the photo of the frozen 50 foot waterfall I sent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerimiahR Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Chris, Your dealer is mostly correct. I sell the Hot Spring line here in Montana (where we've had many -20F days/evenings) and they are fantastic for our climate. There really are several reasons for why the 24/7 circulation pump is the best way to go in my opinion. It will indeed cut down on your electric bill since you're not cycling a larger, higher amperage jet pump on and off. The new circulation pump Hot Spring uses only consumes like 39W (so it's cheaper than your porch light chances are). You'll save quite a bit of wear and tear on the jet pump over the years since it doesn't start/stop multiple times a day. That ultimately may save you money in the future. As someone else mentioned, the circulation pump can very well protect the hot tub should you ever have a heater fail during cold months. I've personally seen it happen. We have lots of customers who live quite a ways from our service center, and we can't always get out to them same day. But sure enough, those whose circulation pump is running (yet the spa isn't heating) are fine until we can get to them. That difference of slow moving water can be pretty substantial. The other thing I personally like about the 24/7 circulation method, is that you can also produce and inject ozone into the water 24/7 as well (rather than only when the spa is circulating). To me, this means more effective use of ozone to oxidize and purify the water. We have a lot of customers in our area who are seasonal, and 90% of the year aren't at their local residence. Many of them have their spas up and running for whenever they decide to come out and ski, hike, fish, etc. They typically have someone come out once a week, or once every other week to maintain their spas for them (chlorine, etc). These are spas that are filled, heated, and circulating 24/7 but the jets are not run with any regularity. And as a general rule we don't have any problems with them freezing up. Those that have any problems, are usually due to lack of maintenance (dirty/clogged filter shutting down the spa is the most common). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ps558 Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Dear All, Another strange thing I got on my way to buy a spa. The HS dealer indicates me that the 24h circulation pump will also flow the water through the jetpumps to the jets into the spa all the time. Therefore HS will not operate the jetpumps for circulation several times a day. Most of my tested spa´s will run the jetpumps at minimum once a day for filtration and to get the water out of the hoses for desinfection with O³. HS dealer promised me to save money with theire circulation pump and it looks ok for me. But today, i saw a video stream which prooves that the circulation pump is not pumping the water trough the jetpumps. Mystery, isn´it? What is true? Thx for your answeres, Chris Them tubes are strictly for keeping the jet pumps from freezing in cold weather, because they control bay is not insulated from the outside and there controls don't have any kind of auto freeze protection. This practice has been used for years and works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zroger73 Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 But HS can be programmed to circulate using the jet pumps. Is this done through jumpers? If so, which jumper? Is the scheduling preset or customizable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 But HS can be programmed to circulate using the jet pumps. Is this done through jumpers? If so, which jumper? Is the scheduling preset or customizable? I will defer to one of the HS guys cause I am not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteyboy Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 But HS can be programmed to circulate using the jet pumps. Is this done through jumpers? If so, which jumper? Is the scheduling preset or customizable? I will defer to one of the HS guys cause I am not sure. It only circulates with the Jet pump by the Clean Button - a ten minute jet button. BUT the circulation pump does push close to 5000 gallons a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerimiahR Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 But HS can be programmed to circulate using the jet pumps. Is this done through jumpers? If so, which jumper? Is the scheduling preset or customizable? Really no reason to have jet pumps cycle on/off in a Hot Spring. We have HUNDREDS (have 5-6k customers) of Hot Spring spas in our market. We're talking Montana, where it has been below zero at night for quite a while now, and there's frankly no need for jet pump cycling. The circulation pump and the heater function perfectly. With constant water flow from the circulation pump, and the heater cycling on/off as needed, we don't have issues. Just keep your filters clean so the circ pump can keep moving water efficiently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint350 Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 ...Just keep your filters clean so the circ pump can keep moving water efficiently. The manual suggests cleaning filters approximately monthly. I use my spa by myself almost daily for therapy/relaxation and never when sweaty, etc. Is there a good way to know when to clean the filters in such usage (i.e. tub is NOT used by groups as is normally anticipated by manual writers when making cleaning suggestions)? Since I soak solo, I imagine the filters would go longer, but I don't want to have a problem down the road either. Bottom line, is there any way to tell or do you just decide on a schedule and stick with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteyboy Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 ...Just keep your filters clean so the circ pump can keep moving water efficiently. The manual suggests cleaning filters approximately monthly. I use my spa by myself almost daily for therapy/relaxation and never when sweaty, etc. Is there a good way to know when to clean the filters in such usage (i.e. tub is NOT used by groups as is normally anticipated by manual writers when making cleaning suggestions)? Since I soak solo, I imagine the filters would go longer, but I don't want to have a problem down the road either. Bottom line, is there any way to tell or do you just decide on a schedule and stick with it? rinse your filters every 2 weeks with your hose. soak the filters overnight in a filter cleaner solution when you drain & refill and rinse well before putting back in. make sure you have no junk in the spa that could suck into the circulation pump, if so turn off power to the spa - best case is to have 2 sets of filters and rotate and soak. You should drain & refill at least twice per year. Happy Soaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine hot tub moving Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 rotate your filters weekly you will have 3 or 4 or 5 then clean them when you get back to #1 the one that goes to the circ pump has the grey cap on the filter! it turns the water over all day long unless you put it in summer time mode- dont use this in cold climates no need to have jets come on unless your adding chemicals or using the spa the lines go to the pumps- heater- back by the motomassage hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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