Hotspring/ace -Can I Wait To Replace The Cell?

[Tubber McGee]

Hello,

I have a 2010 Hotspring Vanguard. I recently had to get a replacement Cell for my Salt/Ace System.

Because we do not use the tub in the hot summer months much and the fact that the Cell that produces the chlorine only has so much life, I was thinking of replacing the Cell in the fall, prior to heavy use in order to get more life out of the cell. What this means - For the next 3 summer months we would have a working tub with a failed Cell (which means no chlorine is being produced). I do shock the tub ever so often.

Question - would this hurt my tub at all? pipes - motors - pumps??? I am OK to wait or should I just go ahead a replace now?

Thanks

[PreservedSwine]

Won't hurt it at all. ACE is an option, simply take care of the tub as though it doesn't have ACE

[Tubber McGee]

Thanks for the reply - so am I fine to NOT add chemicals and just shock once in a while due to no use or are you saying I should be balancing my water by purchasing other chemicals? which I would rather not do!!

[PreservedSwine]

I'm not really following. Ace isn't a replacement for PH, Alkalinity, etc, it's simply a mechanism that constantly produces chlorine out of salt. Think of it as a little guy who's always adding a pre-determined amount of chlorine that you have programmed via your ACE menu.

You still need to balance your PH and Alkalinity with, or without ACE.

Now, you'll need to add a small amount of chlorine, or non-chlorine shock, since the ACE system is not working. Read your owners manual, or, just look on the inside of your filter lid for the cliffnotes version.

[Tubber McGee]

Thanks again - I was thinking of putting NO chemicals in the tub and not worrying about balancing PH and Alkalinity since we will not be using the tub - My concern was if this could cause any damage to the tub or part inside?

I guess I could just drain the tub for the summer and replace the cell in the fall when we use the tub on a regular basis!!!

[PreservedSwine]

Imbalanced PH and Alkalinity will can be very harmful. Ensure they're balanced, then once a week, drop in a teaspoon of sodium dichlor granular chlorine- no need to shock if no one is using the spa. The PH and Alkalinity will remain balanced once you get them balanced.

[Loopcity]

If you aren't going to use it, just drain it. Wouldn't be a bad idea to do a system flush while you are at it. During times of no use, people tend to not take care of it and that's when bad things happen.

[chem geek]

We now recommend Ahh-Some® rather than Spa System Flush or Swirl Away because it seems to do a more thorough cleaning.