cynthia Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Does anyone know why the water temp of my spa climbs to 107? I have it set on summer mode. I would perfer the temp around 100. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The spa is a Dimension 1 Nautilus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Bubbles Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 What tub do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 What tub do you have? Since she mentions "Summer Mode" I bet it's a Watkins product. Lift the lid in the evening to let off some heat. They are amazing heat retainers, and if it is hot, they tend to get hot and stay that way. Be sure not to run the jets with the lid closed for any reason during the warm weather. Also - read the owners manual regarding the Summer Mode - it is important that you set it so that it shuts off the circ pump during the heat of the day, not at night. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New NW tub owner Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 What tub do you have? Since she mentions "Summer Mode" I bet it's a Watkins product. Lift the lid in the evening to let off some heat. They are amazing heat retainers, and if it is hot, they tend to get hot and stay that way. Be sure not to run the jets with the lid closed for any reason during the warm weather. Also - read the owners manual regarding the Summer Mode - it is important that you set it so that it shuts off the circ pump during the heat of the day, not at night. HTH Some basic facts are needed here. First, if the tub is at 107F, then something had to heat it up to that temperature. The likely culprits are the 1) heater or 2) pump(s). Second, if the tub is not cooling down, then something is continuing to put heat into the water. Again, the likely culprits are the 1) heater or 2) pump(s). This has nothing to do with being an 'amazing heat retainer.' If the outside temperature is less than 107F, then there is a temperature potential between tub water and the outside and heat will flow in that direction. If the tub is an 'amazing heat retainer,' then maybe the RATE of heat flow will be less but there WILL be heat flow and the temperature will drop. Without knowing anything about the tub in question, I suspect that the filtration pump is rather large and is putting more heat into the water than can flow out of the tub when ambient temperatures are warmer. In tubs with a circ pump, the circ pump motor is very small (only 1/15 hp in my tub) to prevent overheating the water. In tubs with no circ pump, the much larger jet pump (2 to 5 hp perhaps) has to run to provide filtration and the heat input from these much larger pumps is substantial. The workaround would be to run shorter filtration cycles and/or leave the top parly uncovered to allow heat to escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Umm the likely culprits are the tub being in the constant sun and the pump filtering during the day. I have seen many tubs that are open to the sun from morning to dusk and they do gain radiant heat from the sun and go up anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees and the temp does not drop. Sometimes its a combo of both the heat from the sun and the pumps running on filtration which will cause heat creep in the summer. You can put as much theory as you want into something but it doesnt compare to actual happenings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Without knowing anything about the tub in question, I suspect that the filtration pump is rather large and is putting more heat into the water than can flow out of the tub when ambient temperatures are warmer. In tubs with a circ pump, the circ pump motor is very small (only 1/15 hp in my tub) to prevent overheating the water. In tubs with no circ pump, the much larger jet pump (2 to 5 hp perhaps) has to run to provide filtration and the heat input from these much larger pumps is substantial. The workaround would be to run shorter filtration cycles and/or leave the top parly uncovered to allow heat to escape. Without knowing anything about the tub in question, I suspect we can not determine the filtration method. Those who have experience with both methods know that both a circ pump and a 2-speed pump method for filtration contribute a great deal of heat to the water and can cause overheating when it is very warm outside. Circ pumps transfer about 80 to 90% of the energy used to run the pump back into the water in the form of heat and can really raise the temp if they are running 24/7. This is why there are summer timer modes for circ pump spas. Two speed pumps certainly provide more heat but run for just a few hours per day so when you consider heat added/hour either method can be seen to cause this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brulan1 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Umm the likely culprits are the tub being in the constant sun and the pump filtering during the day. I have seen many tubs that are open to the sun from morning to dusk and they do gain radiant heat from the sun and go up anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees and the temp does not drop. Sometimes its a combo of both the heat from the sun and the pumps running on filtration which will cause heat creep in the summer. You can put as much theory as you want into something but it doesnt compare to actual happenings. Very true. I have a gentleman that has the same problem but it stays @ 109 and the reason being is circ pump and the tub is exposed to the sun all day long. during the winter he has a normal 104-105 and by the time he is done using it it is 102 even when the temperature is below 30 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad4sax Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Here is a web page with some quick info on summer heat http://bullfrogspas.com/pages/hottubs-june.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Bubble Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Here is a web page with some quick info on summer heat http://bullfrogspas.com/pages/hottubs-june.asp See, look at that....his first post and he's helpful and not condescending....we could learn from that. Welcome aboard New Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New NW tub owner Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Umm the likely culprits are the tub being in the constant sun and the pump filtering during the day. I have seen many tubs that are open to the sun from morning to dusk and they do gain radiant heat from the sun and go up anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees and the temp does not drop. Sometimes its a combo of both the heat from the sun and the pumps running on filtration which will cause heat creep in the summer. You can put as much theory as you want into something but it doesnt compare to actual happenings. Well, I suppose if the tub is in Phoenix and the top is open in full sun, the sun input could be significant. If the top is closed, the radiant heat input from the sun would be blocked, however, even in Phoenix. I would still consider the pumps and heater as the likely suspects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New NW tub owner Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Without knowing anything about the tub in question, I suspect we can not determine the filtration method. Those who have experience with both methods know that both a circ pump and a 2-speed pump method for filtration contribute a great deal of heat to the water and can cause overheating when it is very warm outside. Circ pumps transfer about 80 to 90% of the energy used to run the pump back into the water in the form of heat and can really raise the temp if they are running 24/7. This is why there are summer timer modes for circ pump spas. Two speed pumps certainly provide more heat but run for just a few hours per day so when you consider heat added/hour either method can be seen to cause this issue. The 1/15 hp circ pump would be 50 watts max while a 2 hp pump running on a filtration cycle would be 1500 watts. We don't know how long the filtration cycle is but if it's more than an hour per day (4 hours per day is the min on my tub), the bigger pump on the hypothetical tub would put a lot more heat into the water. My tub also has a dip switch option to turn the circ pump off except during the filtration cycle but I think that's more for energy saving than anything else. The circ pump would theoretically use 36 kwh per month which would only cost a few dollars in most areas. The water quality is better when the circ pump runs continuously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Simply put... it's all of the above. Hot tubs generally want to do anything but cool, pumps transfer heat, covers retain that heat and ambient temperture can add to that. Prop open the cover to let it cool, reduce filtration cycles (especially during the day) and if need be, drain a few inches of water and refill with cold water out of the garden hose! GAWD you people make things complicated!! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthia Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Does anyone know why the water temp of my spa climbs to 107? I have it set on summer mode. I would perfer the temp around 100. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthia Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Does anyone know why the water temp of my spa climbs to 107? I have it set on summer mode. I would perfer the temp around 100. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The spa is a Dimension 1 Nautilus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthia Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 What tub do you have? The spa is a Dimension 1 Nautilus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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