Vicki5112 Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Hi, we are having an issue with our Tiger River tub. Last week I was scrolling up the temp & I got to 104 and I may have clicked on it several times. Not sure if that would make any changes to the tub functions as I couldn't find anything in the manual that was any help. Since then the tub seems to be at 102 most of the time. We normally only keep the tub at 96 when we are using it & 80 when not in use in the summer now. We did see something about a summer mode so we set that but the tub has only dropped to 100 after 2 days. We had turned off the breaker to the heater 2 different times but the tub continues to heat up. We have 2 breakers assigned to the tub. One is power to the whole tub & other is heater. I'm a bit confused as to how the heater continued to heat when the breaker was off. Do you think I have a problem with a malfunctioning heater and/or breaker or did I do something on a setting that I can't seem to figure out? Some of you may remember my posts about the leak & adding the Fix a Leak. Well for the time being that is fixed but we still can't use the tub because it is too hot...and my hip & back really miss it 😉 not in use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 A spa has no cooling capacity. Once hot with high ambient temperatures it will remain hot. The pumps running will produce some heat as well. Summer mode in most spas will disable filter pump operation when actual temp exceeds set temp by a few degrees. I am not sure about Tiger River. @castletonia, any insight on summer mode? Freeze several gallon water jugs for reuseable spa ice cubes to lower temperature. Or partly drain and refill with fresh water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Thanks. I wondered if I did something to reset it inadvertently since the excessive heat just became a problem after that day. I have it set at 80 & have for the past few weeks. I have never had an issue with a tub being too warm. Our Nordic would stay at 82 where I kept it set then when we wanted to get in in the summer, we would set it to 92 then back down to 82 until the next time we were going to use it then we'd up the temp to 92 again. I knew it retained heat some since in the past few weeks when I would get ready to use the tub & I'd be turning it up, the temp light would come on at 90 or 92. I'm going to turn all the breakers off again & leave the cover off in the hopes that it will cool down. Yesterday early afternoon I temped it & it was at 97 then 3 hours later it was back up to 102 and the heater breaker was turned off. It seems to ramp up to 102 & stay there for quite a bit then it will go back down to the high 90's for a few hours then by evening it's back at 102. The temp here today is 84 outside. Last evening when I set the summer mode the circulator thingy in the floor stopped putting out bubbles but today all day it has been blowing the bubbles as usual. I'm so dumb about this stuff and can't figure out what half of the things mean in the manual...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 The circ pump will produce some heat. I am surprised it was running again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted June 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 I just went out & turned the whole spa off, both breakers. I am currently on hold with Watkins so we'll see if I can explain what's happening & if they can help. The local Watkins dealer hasn't returned my call from 2 weeks ago yet. I had called them about the leak prior to using the fix a leak & they said the work order was in & they would call me the beginning of last week. So I haven't bothered to call back about this issue. It just seemed to me that I had done something with a setting when I pushed the temp up several times after it had hit 104. I immediately turned it back down to 96 that day. It has been hot ever since I did that. I can't find anything in the manual to address this specific problem. I thought also early on it might be a problem with the heater but when I turned the heater breaker off & left it off & the tub still heated up to 102, I guessed it wasn't that then. I didn't think the circulation pump would generate as much heat so as to get it to 102. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 Put your hand on it after it's been running and see how hot it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted July 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 I'll do that in the morning after I turn it back on. I have it off for the night. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 15 hours ago, RDspaguy said: A spa has no cooling capacity. Once hot with high ambient temperatures it will remain hot. The pumps running will produce some heat as well. Summer mode in most spas will disable filter pump operation when actual temp exceeds set temp by a few degrees. I am not sure about Tiger River. @castletonia, any insight on summer mode? Freeze several gallon water jugs for reuseable spa ice cubes to lower temperature. Or partly drain and refill with fresh water. Summer mode turns the circulation pump and heater off for 8 hours each day. How hot is it around you? I’ve seen hot tubs creep well above their set temperatures in the summer. Do you have the daily clean cycle enabled? If so, that runs one jet pump ten minutes and that pump generates heat that is vented back into the hot tub. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 I did have it set to the summer mode but the temp was still 102 so I turned it off & just let it sit with nothing on at all. I wanted to get in it so I put a bit of cold water in it, left the cover off & it finally cooled down to 96. I couldn't add very much water though since the Fix A Leak is still working for us 🙂 I turned it back on so I could use it but I left the heater off. Heater is still off but I have it on its regular cycle. It is 87 here today & the tub is 95 so I can get in it again tonight. If my brother comes up to use it this evening, he likes it hotter so I will have to turn the heater breaker back on for him. But I plan on keeping the heater off off right now (after my bro uses it that is...lol). It's supposed to be in the mid to high 80's the rest of this week as well as next week. I guess I won't revisit the heater issue while this run of hot weather is still going on. I like to use it as often as I can because of back & hip issues. Thanks for the help & once I get back to this issue, I'll be posting for more advice 😉 I just re-read your message & no I do not have the daily clean cycle activated? SHould I be doing that? This tub is a lot different than our Nordic & we don't find the manual very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted July 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2020 Just an update...I still have the heater breaker turned off & have been using it once the sun goes down most days. I guess y'all were right about the sun heating it up. We didn't have this issue with our other tub as it sat under a gazebo & got very little sun. We are in the process of putting a roof over the tub now & I expect then that it will be less hot since it will no longer be in the direct sunlight all day. It has been around & under 100 most days & I find if I leave the cover open after the sun starts going down it seems to take it down a degree or 2. The leak fix is still holding & I'm so glad of that. I did take some buckets of water out of the tub one day so I had room to add some cold water since I had company coming & the temp outside was still in the low 80's that day. Thanks for all your replies. This is a really great & helpful group & I'm so glad I found it 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2020 Thought I'd add an update. Now that the days are not so warm, we have turned the heater breaker back on & it is heating properly so it must have indeed been the sun that was heating it up. I'd have never thought that. As far as the leak goes, the Fix a Leak is still holding. I am debating on giving it another dose of the stuff prior to the cold PA weather, kind of being proactive rather than reactive. Not sure if that is something I should do yet but we will be draining & cleaning it soon anyway and refilling it for the winter. It was quite easy to clean the Fix a leak out of the tub. We usually do a mid winter drain & refill too if we have a warm day in Jan or Feb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted October 7, 2020 Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 As I understand it, Fix-a-leak works by building up inside the leak path as water leaks out. With no leak, it's just a mess to clean up. I suppose it could also be leaving a layer in the pipes, which might help in the right scenario, but is a different problem in itself. There are some who use it "proactively", but I don't recommend it. But then, I don't recommend that you use it at all, so...😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2020 Thanks for your response RD. We either had to try the Fix a Leak or trash/get rid of the tub. The person we bought it from had previously tried to fix it by digging out all the insulation. Once he got done doing that & refilling it, he found he hadn't fixed it at all which was why he sold it to us for $100. We tried to get our local Watkins dealer out to fix the leak but they never showed up even after several calls. We had pretty much decided to either sell it to our neighbor who was interested in it for the same price with the leak. As a last ditch effort, I googled fixing a leak & saw that stuff. We figured it was worth a last try & so far it has worked for us. It was either that or get rid of the tub. Being retired & on a fixed income, we most likely would not have gotten another tub. We couldn't afford a new one & were hesitant to buy a used one in the event that the seller might not disclose any issues. Our first used tub was bought from a dealer in Pittsburgh & the move was included in the price of the tub. Having moved from the city & living in a rural area now, it's hard to find used tubs & then to find a moving company willing to move it, not to mention the expense. It cost us $438 to get this one moved about 30 miles. Earlier this summer we were looking at a used one & I called the moving company that moved this one & the one we were looking at was too big for them to consider doing. It was 7X7. So I guess we'll continue to muddle through with this one & if we have to start adding water again every week, we'll do it cause we do get relief for all those senior aches & pains...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted October 11, 2020 Report Share Posted October 11, 2020 I know all about those aches and pains. 🤨 Like my father says, "It's h*** getting old, but it beats the alternative." I'm glad it's working for you, as that is often not the case. I hope it continues to do so.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2020 Yep, my dad always said any day above ground is a good day 🙂 Thanks for your help. This is a great site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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