Infrequent use... is only monthly service OK for a while?

[poolhatch]

I have a Caldera Makena Salt Spa being delivered for a home that I won't be at very much for the next year. It will be outdoors and covered. We might visit and use the spa every other month or so for a few days at a time. Once we are living there full time I plan to take care of it myself but until then I was thinking of hiring a company to perform maintenance.

I'm a spa newb and don't want to get talked into "over-servicing" it for the minimal use it will get but I also don't want to be too cheap about it.

What can I get away with as far as maintenance visits go if we are only using it a couple times a month? Can I get away with having them service it monthly and maybe I throw some shock in it before I leave each time or is monthly not enough?

For what it's worth it will have the Caldera "Spa Connect Kit" monitoring system connected to wifi so I can at least see current temperature, salt levels and run basic tests remotely.

 

[Mdragger88]

Here’s how we recommend caring for your spa

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Obviously having a swg helps cover the standby chlorine needs but you will still need to keep ph under control.
I don’t have to do much to my spa to maintain these things while I’m away for a week or so having a swcg myself. My ph doesn’t get out of hand really. Ymmv.
The only thing for the maintenance people to do would be to add acid if needed once you have the standby fc dialed in with the swcg. & confirm your fc is good
FC/CYA Levels
Anyone could do that. Maintenance people like to throw unnecessary things in so I would be wary.
I leave my swcg set up for covering the standby chlorine needs & dose with liquid chlorine to account for bather load before/after soaks. Occasionally I need to use a little dichlor instead to also replenish cya (as heat degrades it).
Be sure you purge your new spa with Ahhsome so you start out clean.
All I add to my spa is:
Ahhsome to purge then drain & refill —>
Salt for fresh fill, Muriatic acid, liquid chlorine, small amounts of dichlor (to maintain 30ppm cya) , & sometimes 50ppm boric acid at startup (depends if i have any).

 

[poolhatch]

This is great information. I will go through the links and learn. It sounds like getting someone to maintain it while I'm not there (and more importantly until I'm more versed in spa maintenance) is a no-brainer. I'll see what they say but having some of this info before I make the call is very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Mdragger88]

2 main things:
#1 - chlorine is king - always keep fc above minimum for your cya lest nasties will grow quickly
FC/CYA Levels
#2 - keep Ph in the 7’s
Every thing else is a bit less important to tinker with although you do need to know the numbers. A proper test kit is very important for this Test Kits Compared.
Once my tub startup is complete after fresh fill I only ever need to use liquid chlorine (occasionally dichlor) & muriatic acid on a regular basis until it is time to purge, drain, & refill. Purge, drain, & refill should be done every 3-6 months or sooner if things go south on you.