Heat loss and upgrading heater

[argaudette]

I recently bought a home which had a hot tub included with the sale. We finally got it up and running and have noticed it loses heat more than we expected it to. We are in eastern Canada and have had some nights down to -4C already.

For example a night not long ago it was -3C and we had 4 bathers in the tub for approx 1 - 1.5 hours and the tub was down to 100 (from 104 set) when we got out. I left the cover off for another half hour after we got out to add chemical and the tub was then down to 98. One set of jets was running most of the time, 1 bather had the air turned on for most of the time.

The tub model is Legend by Platinum Hot Tubs. The spa pack is a Balboa HS200VS with a 4.0kW heater. I've noticed in researching tubs this is on the low end of heater ratings, with 5.5kW being more common.

 

So I have a few questions...

1. Is this amount of heat loss normal? I hope not because its only going to get colder here, often down to -15C or -20C.

2. Is a heater upgrade possible on this pack? I've seen some recommendations elsewhere saying its never a good idea to upgrade a heater but what makes me think its possible is that the circuit board (P/N 55098) used in this spa pack is the same as a VS510SZ by Balboa which has a 5.5kW heater. And would it make a difference as far as heat loss is concerned? My spa is wired up to a 60A breaker.

 

I've also noticed Balboa sells secondary auxillary heaters in various kW ratings, obviously one of these would require additional wiring but is it possible to retrofit these or are they only installed by spa manufacturers?

Any help would be great, thanks.

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

-3C with no cover - that's why you're losing heat.  If the air blower is on, you're going to lose even more because it sucks cold air in.  Close the cover and you'll do just fine.

4.0kW is fine for your tub.  If you had a Gecko pack, which is a Canadian made product, that's what they mainly sell. 

Off the top of my head, I don't know if it's the same circuit board in a HS200 as a VS501.  That being said, I've seen plenty of 5.5kW heaters in Balboa packs.  I don't think it will make a difference to the circuit board, but you might run that one by Balboa before you take a chance.

You could probably put a 5.5kW element if you have enough power to run it.  Add up the amperage for your pumps, blower and heater.  If you have a 60 AMP breaker, you want to pull no more than 48 AMPs in the tub, it's supposed to pull no more than 80% of available power.

Dave

[argaudette]

Thanks for the reply Dave. 

Do you think the 5.5kW heater would make a noticeable difference in being able to keep the temperature up? We have the room on the breaker to increase heater size. Also would the heater tube need replacing or just the element?

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

I think the 5.5 would heat it up faster, but for maintaining the set temperature I doubt you'll ever see the difference.

Same 15" heater can, regardless of the element wattage.  The elements look identical as well.

Dave