Sailfish Bret Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Good afternoon, I've been lurking around the site for a little while now. I bought a new Hot Spot Tempo about a year ago and the wife and I really are enjoying it. We use to have a 20,000 gal pool but get much more use out of this spa than we ever did the pool. I do have a question however: I've noticed with my Tempo that even with all 4 of the Venturi air valves turned completely off, air is still being injected into some, but not all of my larger 4" dial-controlled jets. In other words, on my spa, the only way to stop air from being injected into my tub is to turn each individual 4" jet off. It's been like this since it's first fill. Have any of you Tempo or Relay owners also experienced this? Is this normal for these spas? and finally, I read somewhere that excessive use of injected air into a spa can cause water quality issues. Can anyone provide some information about that? Thanks in advance, Sailfish Bret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Bret Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Guess I thought the Hot Spot spas from Watkins were a little more popular. So let me open it up and ask the question this way; in any brand spa, is aeration (air) being introduced continously or only when specific aeration control valves are turned on? I'm just trying to determine if there is something specifically wrong with the plumbing on mine. I have learned that agressive aeration will quickly cause the PH to rise which I assume will also reak havoc with TA at some point. Thank you again, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Bret Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Come on, someone has to have an opinion about this? Surly you can say whether or not your spa is aerated with injected air even with the air injecter dials shut off. I know I'm new on this board but I really could use some help understanding this. Bret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan.The.Spa.Man Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Yes, the only way to turn the air in the larger diameter jets all the way off is to rotate the jet bezel itself. Those jets are not connected to the air valves in any way. It is described in the owners manual under 'heating and hydro massage'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spawn Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I'll respond Sailfish, although I don't know if it will be of much help. My tub does not have a control for the air injection so i guess it is always on. Air is not so much injected as it is "pulled" into the jet. It is noticeable when the pump is on high, but not when the pump is on low. Maybe your dealer could explain or eventually, one of the guys who knows Hot Spots will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Bret Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks for the replies, so Dan The Spa Man, what you're saying is, air is supposed to be getting pushed through the larger dialed jets eventhough they are not connected to any air supply or air valves? Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan.The.Spa.Man Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks for the replies, so Dan The Spa Man, what you're saying is, air is supposed to be getting pushed through the larger dialed jets eventhough they are not connected to any air supply or air valves? Thanks again There is an air/Venturi valve built into the jet. When the jet is letting air in, there is an open "window" built into the jet that is connected to an air line with a check valve on the end of it. When you turn the bezel it closes that "window" and cuts off the air supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Bret Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Got it, thank you. I guess I was just finding it hard to believe that the only way to stop continious aeration was to turn off the flow of water to the jets. Are all spas that way or just a poor design by Watkins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Got it, thank you. I guess I was just finding it hard to believe that the only way to stop continious aeration was to turn off the flow of water to the jets. Are all spas that way or just a poor design by Watkins? This product line is very popular due to price. There are many ways a spa maker can offer spas at a lower price and one of them is removing some things you see on the more expensive spas such as a couple air valves among other things, it all adds up. There is nothing wrong with that as it gets you to a more desirable price point so its not a poor design but rather a design/marketing choice. It is what it is. My wife's car is loaded with everything while I dive a car with roll down windows and push button type locks. Her car new cost twice what mine did new and when I think of that I don't miss the power windows/locks as much. FYI, that spa uses a two speed pump for filtering as opposed to using a 24/7 circ pump (another way they cut cost though both work fine). When you exit the spa turn off the air flow to the jets. That way, when the spa turns on later for filtering it won’t draw cold air from the outside into the water (especially important in winter in cold climates). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Bret Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Actually, this spa has air control valves, 4 of them that, when turned on, inject air (areation) through the smaller directional jets. This is why I am so confused as to why any air would be introduced into the other, larger jets. If you're going to control air to some, why not have controls on all? Today, I've been able to check on a few other spas including the Relay and I have found that they do not, in fact, have any air introduced through any of the jets with the air control valves in the off position, including the larger jets with the dials fully open, which leads me to believe there's a plummbing issue with mine. I do appreciate all the information folks. The wife and I are enjoying our first spa. It gets much more use than our pool ever did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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