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Cedar hot tub sanitation


LucB

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Hello,

We've had a beautiful western red cedar hot tub for 4 years now, and the water is STILL turns a dark tea colour shortly after filling.  I can't believe tannins are still leaching out.  But whatever, that's not really a big deal.  The manufacturer said you could use chlorine or bromine to counter the effects of the tannin.

The tub has an ionizer (copper and silver) and an ozonator to help keep the water sanitized.  The manufacturer recommended a teaspoon of chlorine granules a day to supplement this and for tannin control, but when I did that I found the chlorine attacked and dissolved the organic tissue of the wood, resulting in wood pulp clogging up the filters.  So, then the manufacturer recommended using less chlorine.  Fine.  Now I only add a bit in every few days, and the wood is safe.

Of course, there is zero chlorine showing up on test strips.  Which makes me wonder, how clean is my water?  

Is there anyone else here who owns a cedar tub who can share some tips or recommendations as to what you do for water sanitation?  I absolutely love the natural cedar and wouldn't trade it for anything.  

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  • 3 months later...

I also have a cedar tub but mine has a vinyl liner in it. Probably not what you had in mind but it eliminates all the issues common to cedar tubs. Another nice feature is there is a layer of insulation under the liner which comes in handy in the great white North.

If you're interested these guys will sell you a liner for your tub:

https://www.canhottub.com

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  • 1 month later...

I just noticed your post. We have a year old tub from Roberts hot tubs. I spoke with their team at length about sanitation and they do not recommend ozone because it eats away the wood fiber particularly at the water line. Try to find the posts by Dr. Spa this forum, I think he was an owner of RHTUBS. I use the ionizer along with the dichlor/bleach method that you can find on this forum.  I use 1/2 to 1 tsp every day or two with no tub degradation. I use the Taylor drop test for chlorine. I keep it under 1ppm. I run the filter for 3 cycles / day  regardless of use and have an extra filter to swap out every week or two. You must keep a low residual of chlorine. You won’t even notice at low levels. No msp it also eats wood fibers and no bromine too. Use the Taylor drop test to measure low chlorine levels. Yes our tub is still leaching but it is slowing down. RHTUB used to recommend ozone but discovered that it can create the problems that you are experiencing like the excessive leaching. Another factor could be the quality of cedar. RHTUB uses very high quality 1/4 sawn cedar which has very dense growth rings. Second growth cedar will be softer With 4 to 6 rings / inchand much less durable. Let me know if you have any more questions. 

Michael

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  • 2 years later...
On 7/26/2018 at 12:51 AM, Aircooled said:

I also have a cedar tub but mine has a vinyl liner in it. Probably not what you had in mind but it eliminates all the issues common to cedar tubs. Another nice feature is there is a layer of insulation under the liner which comes in handy in the great white North.

If you're interested these guys will sell you a liner for your tub:

https://www.canhottub.com

No they won't,  I called them to ask.  The owner was not helpful at all.  They don't sell liners.  Basically said unless your buying one of there tubs, don't bother them. I made a fibre glass lining for mine with 2 inch insulation. Works awesome. 

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