Ozone Bubbles Not Working

[clerk1]

:(The ozone bubbles in my 1996 Hot Springs Landmark Spa are not working. I have replaced all the filters and cleaned the tub completely. In the past year we have replaced the heater, control board and circulating pump. Now this. Please help!

[PostalDave]

:(The ozone bubbles in my 1996 Hot Springs Landmark Spa are not working. I have replaced all the filters and cleaned the tub completely. In the past year we have replaced the heater, control board and circulating pump. Now this. Please help!

clerk1,

Well, as a newbie owner myself, and facing an ozonator issue myself, my thoughts are that you may need a new ozonator. You'll have to determine whether or not it's a UV lamp or CD (Corona Discharge) system, and act accordingly. From my research over the past couple of days, it appears that older CD types will last somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/4/5000 hours, and the UV bulbs I've heard a year or two (effective for less than that though). Depending on the layout of your ozonator, it could also be that you have a buildup around the ozonator blocking the ozone from entering your sytem. Apparently it's common to see a nitric acid buildup around the hose from the ozone generation (something to do with the way the ozone is generated, the temperature of air it generates it from, and the water content of that air).

For instance, my Coast Spa seems to have had it's ozonator go out in the past couple of weeks. Mine is a CD type, and I can buy a replacement chip for it for about $50, or buy a new one (perhaps delivering the ozone more efficiently) for about $130. I'm just trying to sift through the available evidence to determine whether or not to replace it in my bromine system. In particular a gentleman by the name of 'Vermonter' and his older posts (some in 2003, others in 2005 on different spa/pool forums) have have broadend my understanding of ozone immensly.

Good luck with the problem,

Dave

[Chas]

You specifically said the bubbles are not working. The first thing to check is the filter. Now, I read your post and saw that you have replaced the filters already, but it is free to check this, and expensive if it turns out to be just this.

So - pull the cap off the circ pump filter. If you don't know which one that is, pull off all of the caps. Leave the filters in place. If they float, you know they are clean, if they don't, then they are not, even if they look fine. If the bubbles return while the cap or caps are off, then there is nothing wrong except the filter needs to be cleaned. BTW -there is a difference between cleaning a filter and just rinsing a filter. And, a filter can get coated in oil which will slow the water flow enough to do this, and that can happen very fast. One greasy relative can do it in one soak.

If there are still not bubbles with the caps off, then you need to simply clean out the injector. It looks like this

And you need to clean out the center part. With the circ pump running, screw off the nipple with the smaller tube on it. Put a tootpick or other non-metal item in and work it around until you get all the white calcium buildup out. It is ok if it drops down into the injector and goes into the spa.

HTH

[TinyBubbles]

Well, that's interesting. If your filters float they are clean, if the sink you should clean them? Thanks.

[clerk1]

You specifically said the bubbles are not working. The first thing to check is the filter. Now, I read your post and saw that you have replaced the filters already, but it is free to check this, and expensive if it turns out to be just this.

So - pull the cap off the circ pump filter. If you don't know which one that is, pull off all of the caps. Leave the filters in place. If they float, you know they are clean, if they don't, then they are not, even if they look fine. If the bubbles return while the cap or caps are off, then there is nothing wrong except the filter needs to be cleaned. BTW -there is a difference between cleaning a filter and just rinsing a filter. And, a filter can get coated in oil which will slow the water flow enough to do this, and that can happen very fast. One greasy relative can do it in one soak.

If there are still not bubbles with the caps off, then you need to simply clean out the injector. It looks like this

And you need to clean out the center part. With the circ pump running, screw off the nipple with the smaller tube on it. Put a tootpick or other non-metal item in and work it around until you get all the white calcium buildup out. It is ok if it drops down into the injector and goes into the spa.

HTH

[clerk1]

You specifically said the bubbles are not working. The first thing to check is the filter. Now, I read your post and saw that you have replaced the filters already, but it is free to check this, and expensive if it turns out to be just this.

So - pull the cap off the circ pump filter. If you don't know which one that is, pull off all of the caps. Leave the filters in place. If they float, you know they are clean, if they don't, then they are not, even if they look fine. If the bubbles return while the cap or caps are off, then there is nothing wrong except the filter needs to be cleaned. BTW -there is a difference between cleaning a filter and just rinsing a filter. And, a filter can get coated in oil which will slow the water flow enough to do this, and that can happen very fast. One greasy relative can do it in one soak.

If there are still not bubbles with the caps off, then you need to simply clean out the injector. It looks like this

And you need to clean out the center part. With the circ pump running, screw off the nipple with the smaller tube on it. Put a tootpick or other non-metal item in and work it around until you get all the white calcium buildup out. It is ok if it drops down into the injector and goes into the spa.

HTH

Chas,

Thanks so much. If I am thinking of the right part, there is a small ball and spring under this cap. I will try this as soon as possible. Thank again.

clerk1

[Chas]

If there is a ball and spring, you can get rid of them. There should be a check valve in the air line from the Ozone generator to the injector, and that does the trick. The ball and spring perform the same function, but are prone to clogging. The factory dropped them years ago.