Best methods for long-term tub powered off storage without creating a yucky "pond"

[kevink5516]

We hardly use our tub in the winter and with electrical rates going through the roof I finally decided just to completely shut the power to my Sundance tub off a little over a week ago. My topside panel is currently non-functional so the tub has been permanently stuck at 102F temp and in Standard operating mode. If I could drop the temp at all and put it in ECO mode I would've tried that first to save on electricity but as of right now the tub was nearing 1/3 of the total electrical usage for my house and we couldn't justify keeping it running all the time. 

My question for everyone is, now that it's shut off, what is the best method to try and keep it from getting gross and yucky so that it could hopefully just be switched back on in the future without needing to perform any major "refresh" of the tub. This tub is at my primary home, not a vacation house or anything like that, so I have the ability to maintain it still in it's off state. Should I power it up 1 day a week to get some circulation going and maintain the chlorine levels? Anything else I need to do to keep it ready to go once we want it hot again?

[cranbiz]

Are you subject to freezing temperatures? If not, your best bet is to drain the tub.

Other than that, you could monitor the levels like normal and run the tub occasionally. I'll let the other experts chime in but I'm not sure that circulating it once a week is enough.

[kevink5516]

10 hours ago, cranbiz said:

Are you subject to freezing temperatures? If not, your best bet is to drain the tub.

Other than that, you could monitor the levels like normal and run the tub occasionally. I'll let the other experts chime in but I'm not sure that circulating it once a week is enough.

Nope. I'm in Northern CA near the coast. We occasionally get below freezing at night during a few cold spells but typically stay above 40 through the winter. 

My concern with draining it is that I don't want seals to dry up and leak. It's an older tub (2004) and when I had the tub drained for 3-4 back during the summer it created a leak at a jet body seal that was a pain to fix. I realize that in the winter the seals would be much less prone to drying up and cracking but I don't want to risk it. 

If I run it once or twice a week I'd be fine to still have to drain and refill it in the spring when we want to use it again. I just don't want all the plumbing to get gross from sitting stagnant.

[CanadianSpaTech]

If freezing is not an issue you could disconnect the heater from the circuit board and then just run circulation. Important to maintain chemicals and cycle the main pumps a couple of times a week to clear out the lines. While the cabinet is open you could tuck a small tip proof thermostatically controlled space heater set on 750W med low inside with the cord hanging out so you can plug it in for a few hours when temps go low. Being temp controlled you can set it at a very low setting and it won't cost a lot. Just to keep the chill out. I have had a flip spa not running while waiting for parts with just a space heater inside on low without issue and it has been -20C here for the past 2 weeks. The water will have to maintain above a certain temp so it won't go into freeze protection and run the pumps non stop. 

Clod plunge spas are all the rage... I dare ya...lol

In the Spring run a plumbing purge using Ahh-Some or similar product to remove any organics from the pipes.