New Hot Tub Owner - Taylor Test Kit
- Thread starter mwhitney
- Start date
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
That is BOSS!!! And not a bad price!!!The local Canadian Tire has this:
General PDP Template
www.canadiantire.ca
The local Canadian Tire has this:
www.canadiantire.ca
Would this work?
We'll grab a jug of that for the re-fill. Is the DiChlor just spa-shock? We have the SpaBoss shock (and now a big bucket of the SpaBoss chlorine tabs that I guess we won't need)...
General PDP Template
www.canadiantire.ca
Excellent - finally some good news.
We'll grab a jug of that for the re-fill. Is the DiChlor just spa-shock? We have the SpaBoss shock (and now a big bucket of the SpaBoss chlorine tabs that I guess we won't need)...
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
As far as I can tell, SpaBoss is Pentapotassium bis(peroxymonosulphate) bis(sulphate) is a chemical compound used in water treatment, as an oxidizing agent, and in other industrial applications. It's also known as potassium hydrogen peroxymonosulfate. Which is an oxidizing agent, not a sanitizing agent. (You can search for "SpaBoss DSD" to find the chemical elements that are included in the product)
To follow the DiChlor startup process you need to find DiChlor,
With proper testing and chemistry control you can be able to reach 6 months without a water change.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Yes, but that seems really expensive. That product is $29 in CAD here. You might see if you can find DiChlor cheaper locally.
in a 1200L, 317G spa, .5 oz of DiChlor will raise your FC by 3.25 and CYA by 3. 2 lbs will last a long time as you are adding CYA. When your CYA hits about 30, then switch to chlorine. Re-read:
Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance A Basic Guide
Hot Tub Maintenance can be done easy with a few tricks. Hot tub chemicals, rashes, and schedules are all covered in this easy to grasp article.
www.troublefreepool.com
CYA breaks down over time, especially in a spa with high temps. Use liquid chlorine to maintain FC. Keep testing CYA weekly, when it drops, use DiChlor to raise FC and maintain 30 CYA.
Use the "Effects of Adding" function in PoolMath. Link-->PoolMath
The back label has the FC warning of 3 but that's not the way we do things here, as long as your CYA is 30 you can be a high as FC 12 and be perfectly safe. In fact FC of 12 with proper CYA is safer then 3 without the proper CYA level.
This is good info. Thank you. I just ordered a cheap sub pump on amazon and 100' of 1.5" hose to drain the tub. I'll purge with the 'Ahh-some' first - found a video on YT, then clean the tub and re-fill after testing the city tap water for a baseline. Sound like the right plan of attack? I'll check the local tub stores for dichlor as well.Yes, but that seems really expensive. That product is $29 in CAD here. You might see if you can find DiChlor cheaper locally.
in a 1200L, 317G spa, .5 oz of DiChlor will raise your FC by 3.25 and CYA by 3. 2 lbs will last a long time as you are adding CYA. When your CYA hits about 30, then switch to chlorine. Re-read:
Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance A Basic Guide
Hot Tub Maintenance can be done easy with a few tricks. Hot tub chemicals, rashes, and schedules are all covered in this easy to grasp article.
CYA breaks down over time, especially in a spa with high temps. Use liquid chlorine to maintain FC. Keep testing CYA weekly, when it drops, use DiChlor to raise FC and maintain 30 CYA.
Use the "Effects of Adding" function in PoolMath. Link-->PoolMath
Update: HomeHardware has this: https://www.homehardware.ca/en/18kg-dichloro-stabilized-spa-chlorine-tablets/p/7158076
Label reads: This product launches directly into the spa without using a floating chlorinator. It dissolves very quickly. I'm assuming one can just toss it into the tub...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
I am unfamiliar with that product. Dichlor also comes in granules...you might look for that.
Hey, @mwhitney , (just south of) Calgary here. Fwiw, I've had a rough time getting CYA dialed in - it's really easy to overshoot, esp. if I don't wait a couple of days between adding and testing, and having to replace any water when it's -30 sux pretty hard. This leads to a lot of CYA adding/testing cycles, and the Taylor CYA reagent (R-0013) supplied in the kit gets used up really fast (7ml/test, rather than a few drops/test) - and that was after buying the bigger kit with the 2oz bottles rather than the .75oz . This is all leading up to pointing out that poolsupplyhaus.ca only appears to carry the small-bottle kits; I bought my 2006C kit out of the States.
Mentioned previously, but the sump pump won't quite empty it - you need a wet shopvac for that. Also, Princess Auto carries (lay-flat) "discharge hose" in bulk in a range of diameters, and very nice (and cheap!) couplers to reduce wrestling and storage hassles.
We're running on supplies from Canadian Tire's "Aquarius" house brand. Here are their stabilized chlorine granules (i.e. faster dissolving) for about half the price of the Home Hardware you linked to: 7kg Aquarius CYA
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Well, I'm into the throes, now...
Step 1: Checked the water with the strips as a cursory measure (our chemicals are out-to-lunch as noted above), removed head-rests (will clean these later with Simply Green), put the filter single / main filter in the tub added .5 oz of Ahh-Some to our 1200 L tub, jets will run for 30 min.
NOTE: I'm 15 minutes in as I type this and there is no film build-up at all. We purchased the liquid type and the Ahhsome website recommended 1 teaspoon of gel for every 125 gallons. Maybe the tub isn't old enough to have built up any film / gunk.
Step 2: Clean the heavy biofilm out, if any (tub is only 2 months old) UPDATE: No biofilm or foam (can only conclude the tub is still super clean).
Step 3: Kill the breaker
Step 4: Picked up a 1 HP 'Foting' SubPump and 100' hose to drain. UPDATE: This worked amazingly well. Tub was drained in under ten minutes. Used a wet-vac to get the rest. Easy-peasy.
Step 5: Picked up some 'Simply Green' spray to hit the hard surfaces.
Step 6: Refill tub (and get a test on our tap water).
Not sure if the filter floating in the Ahhsome is enough or if that should soak in a bucket with filter cleaner as well.. we were rinsing it under hot water once per week while using the tub.
That's my goal for this morning... after that it's chemical time. I picked up some Dichlor, some liquid chlorine and the Taylor Kit K1515 came in as well.
I also have a 'no fly zone' shelf in the shed reserved for the AquaFinesse, Spa-Shock, and Prevent... looks like we won't need those.
Hopefully I'm on track. I'll chime back in later in case this helps someone else out down the road.
UPDATE:
Tub is full and heating.
Tested water hardness and it took 8 drops to turn the solution from red to blue (so 80 PPM).
PoolMath app suggests adding 492g of CalRise (.5kg) using a target of 450 ppm.
However, the instructions in the Taylor kit read as 150-250 ppm as a target for hot tubs. Not sure which to go by. For now I'm going to shoot for 200 PPM (adding 160g of Cal-Rise).
Thanks again @PoolStored and @wirestorm for the tips along the way.
Step 1: Checked the water with the strips as a cursory measure (our chemicals are out-to-lunch as noted above), removed head-rests (will clean these later with Simply Green), put the filter single / main filter in the tub added .5 oz of Ahh-Some to our 1200 L tub, jets will run for 30 min.
NOTE: I'm 15 minutes in as I type this and there is no film build-up at all. We purchased the liquid type and the Ahhsome website recommended 1 teaspoon of gel for every 125 gallons. Maybe the tub isn't old enough to have built up any film / gunk.
Step 2: Clean the heavy biofilm out, if any (tub is only 2 months old) UPDATE: No biofilm or foam (can only conclude the tub is still super clean).
Step 3: Kill the breaker
Step 4: Picked up a 1 HP 'Foting' SubPump and 100' hose to drain. UPDATE: This worked amazingly well. Tub was drained in under ten minutes. Used a wet-vac to get the rest. Easy-peasy.
Step 5: Picked up some 'Simply Green' spray to hit the hard surfaces.
Step 6: Refill tub (and get a test on our tap water).
Not sure if the filter floating in the Ahhsome is enough or if that should soak in a bucket with filter cleaner as well.. we were rinsing it under hot water once per week while using the tub.
That's my goal for this morning... after that it's chemical time. I picked up some Dichlor, some liquid chlorine and the Taylor Kit K1515 came in as well.
I also have a 'no fly zone' shelf in the shed reserved for the AquaFinesse, Spa-Shock, and Prevent... looks like we won't need those.
Hopefully I'm on track. I'll chime back in later in case this helps someone else out down the road.
UPDATE:
Tub is full and heating.
Tested water hardness and it took 8 drops to turn the solution from red to blue (so 80 PPM).
PoolMath app suggests adding 492g of CalRise (.5kg) using a target of 450 ppm.
However, the instructions in the Taylor kit read as 150-250 ppm as a target for hot tubs. Not sure which to go by. For now I'm going to shoot for 200 PPM (adding 160g of Cal-Rise).
Thanks again @PoolStored and @wirestorm for the tips along the way.
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Good to meet you. Thanks for the additional tips. I ran one CYA test and noticed how much solution it took. These small bottles definitely won't last long. I'll look for the 2oz bottles... I may have to get them out of the US as you've done. Starting to look like a chemistry lab over here!
Good to know - I must have missed that point Re the pump. I ended up getting 100' of lay-flat discharge hose from Amazon. Cheers.
Is the Aquarius CYA you linked to the Dichlor? We ended up getting the liquid chlorine for CT (super cheap) but could only find Dichlor granules at another spa place - 30 bones for about a litre. The HH stuff I linked to read as 'Dichlor' but came in pucks and each puck exceeded the recommendation that @PoolStored had made for the volume of our tub. I didn't want to get into breaking tabs, etc. We'll be looking for a cheaper option for Dichlor granules moving forward... just wanted to get everything in place to address this today (Saturday).... too busy during the week.
Yes, the CT/Aquarius stuff I linked to is dichlor. Mos def what you want. I expect that bucket to last forever.
The Taylor kit reads:
"Step 5: Multiply drops in step 4 by 10. Record as parts per million (ppm) calcium hardness."
Is this inaccurate?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
