At Spa Tech Services Inc. we know that proper care of your spa and hot tub equipment can dramatically increase the life and usefulness of your equipment. Below find some tips and advice we have collected for spa owners.
If you have any questions or need our professional opinion, please contact us. We would be happy to help.
Filling of a Hot Tub
It is recommended to fill your hot tub through the filter canister. This will help reduce the chance of an airlock occurring in the pumps. If you fill the lines first, air will be pushed out through the jets. However, if you fill the tub first, air becomes trapped at the pumps.
Bleeding Your System
Some hot tub models have a self bleeding pump; this is a small 3/8” hose connected to the face of the pump near the top. If your hot tub is not equipped with this, an air lock may occur, and you will need to manually bleed the pumps. To bleed the pumps, try the following:
- Ensure the power is turned off.
- Locate the pump plugs on the face of the pump (should be three of them, deal with the one on top). Loosen the pump plug, do not remove all the way, simply loosen by turning a few times. You should hear some air being released, once the air has stopped and it is only water coming out, tighten the pump plug back up. Remember this is a plastic screw, and it has an O Ring to help seal it, so it should be slightly tighter than hand tight.
- Turn the power back on and test the pump.
- This may have to be repeated if the pump is turning , but no water is coming out.
- If after several attempts at bleeding the pump, and no success, please call us at 403-370-8827 as there may be an issue with your system or pump.
Filter Maintenance
Filter life is approximately one year, and the filter should be removed every 2-3 weeks, and rinsed off with a garden hose. Every 3 months your filters should be cleaned thoroughly with a filter cleaner. You need to find a container where the filter can be completely submerged with the cleaner and water, and allow it to soak in the mixture for approximately 2 days. Rinse thoroughly and reinstall it in the hot tub. Please carefully follow the directions on your choice of filter cleaner, keeping in mind every cleaner is different.
Draining Your Spa
- You should drain your spa every 3-5 months, depending on how well you are with your water chemistry.
- A reminder: It is illegal to drain spa water into storm drains. It is illegal to drain regular water into storm drains because of the traces of chlorine in the city tap water.
- Proper drainage of your spa should be done through your home, either through yt bathtub or toilet.
Water Chemistry Tips
When starting off with new water in your hot tub, Spa Tech Services recommends that you treat the chemical levels in this order:
- Calcium/Hardness
- Alkalinity
- Ph
- Sanitizers (either chlorine or bromine)
If your alkalinity levels are too low, you will get what is called “Ph Bounce” when trying to balance the Ph with improper alkalinity levels. If levels are too high, you will get what is called “Ph Drift’.
If Ph levels are not balanced correctly before adding sanitizer, your sanitizer will not be effective and you will waste chemicals.
Your Ph, calcium, and alkalinity levels are important to balance for proper sanitizer and equipment life of your hot tub.
Low Ph and alkalinity makes you water have a tendency of being corrosive and will begin to destroy O ring, seals, silicone and glue joints.
High Ph and alkalinity levels in your water have a tendency of creating scale which will form on the inside of the lines.
Low calcium and hardness levels are harmful to plumbing lines, and the finish of your hot tub shell. The water will try to find other sources of calcium to reach its desired level. It will suck the calcium out of the plumbing lines and finish to help the calcium levels reach their desired level.
All these results of improper water chemistry do not occur overnight, however your hot tub will begin to show signs of neglectful water chemistry after a long period of time.
Chlorine vs. Bromine
Chlorine is still used in most commercial applications due to it being such a great disinfectant. Some people have the tendency to have skin irritations from chlorine because it is such a strong disinfectant. Chlorine can start to show signs of evaporation around 92-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Your Ph levels must always be perfect for chlorine to be effective.
Bromine was mostly designed for hot tubs due to the results some people were having with chlorine. Bromine is less irritating to the skin. Bromine does not evaporate at the temperatures at which chlorine does. Bromine is still effective in offset Ph levels. Some commercial pools and hot tubs are beginning to use bromine as their sanitizer choice.
