New Spa! Kinda...

[JVTrain]

Looking good! That Ahh-some really gets out the nasties that you don't even know are lurking in the plumbing. Looks like that aerator assembly was heavily insulated at the factory. Must have been a bit difficult to remove.

If the CH of your fill water is low, like the 90 ppm you measured earlier, don't worry about raising it up right away. CH doesn't matter much with fiberglass or vinyl surfaces so unless you experience excessive foaming after getting everything else in line chemically, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Kias]

Thanks about CH tip. The water will be exactly the same. It's been the same for years now. I always wonder why I do the initial measurements, because they're always the same!

Anyway, it was easy to get out, it was right before the mass insulation foam starts. Let me get a better photo.

Definitely not factory. You can actually see a crack in the plastic if you look down inside...

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[JVTrain]

Yeah now in that picture it looks like someone went wild with bondo, putty and silicone caulking to try to fix the leaking fitting. Can definitely see the crack in the back of the assembly.

 

[Kias]

I know the history of this tub, and the previous owners never worked on it themselves, always had a spa technician do any work. So... Guess who did that!?

I'm sure it wasn't leaking for them, cause they said it wasn't, and there's no reason not to believe them. I'm guessing the hour and a half transit to my house un-repaired the "repair".

Anyway, it's all good now. The water is well over that injector now. Not one drop of water!

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[Kias]

Six more inches of water to go!
I'm so excited and can't wait to get that first electric bill from heating the water up from brrrrrr cold. Twice in one week!

Woohoo!

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[Kias]

Guess I won't have to worry about the electric bill. I drank water from the garden hose and apparently sometime in the last ten years if you drink water from a garden hose, you die.

I always find this stuff out too late.

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[Kias]

Well well well...

Got the tub filled back up, it's in heat mode. I threw in 5 pounds of salt, the SWG is again happy with that amount, so I'll just leave it. Tossed in some CYA which doesn't dissolve like it does in hot water. Threw in a cup and a bit of bleach to bring it up to shock level, hit the boost button on the SWG and put the lid on it!

When it gets up to temp tomorrow, I'll check again for leaks. Just in case the heat does anything to the seals, then I'll put the panels back on, adjust the water readings, call it a done deal and wrap this thread up!

This went much much better than my hundred dollar pool thread! I will never ever ever do that again! But I did it once, and that's the rule I live by! Can't say I don't like something until I actually do it!

I would do this spa thing again though, so if I ever find a Sarena Bay Dimension One spa that we were originally getting ready to buy, for say a couple hundred bucks in good condition, I'll be all over that one!

 

[Isaac-1]

Congrats on getting it all up and going, I have been fighting my hot tub this week too, don't tell anyone but I did something very stupid. My circulation pump went out last weekend (tripping GFCI). Second pump this year at $170 a pop, the first one lasted a year and then ceramic bearing failed and tore the end out of the metal impeller mount. So I ordered a new one, started the tub draining (mine takes about 2.5 hours, but is much smaller than yours), new pump came in yesterday, identical to the old one so I just swapped out screw on motor ends so I did not have to unhook any plumbing. Midway through I realized I needed a stubby flat head screwdriver to reinstall the ground screw, and somehow while I was looking for the screw driver the just pulled GFCI tripping motor must have been mixed up with the new ready to install motor that had already been pulled off its wet end. I of course did not catch this until I had the tub refilled, and Salt, CYA, and dichlor added to the water. When I reconnected the power and the GFCI instantly tripped my first thought was defective new pump, and I was half way to the phone to call and complain about it when it occurred to me to test the other motor, and sure enough it did not trip GFCI. So 24 hours, another drain and refill along with a bit of kicking myself later my tub is heating back up.

 

[Kias]

Your secret is safe with me!

I proceeded to get a migraine shortly after my last post which lasted all day Friday, and woke up Saturday morning with it. Went out and checked for leaks and there were none, so I put the panels back on, adjusted the water some more and laid back down. The nurse finally got home around 8am where she gave me some pill concoction which knocked me out for most of the day but woke up without a headache and only a slight hangover feeling. We drove to Detroit to see Idina Menzel at the historic Fox Theater. Love that place! People look so outta place there wearing jeans and shorts... But whatever... Guess I've turned into an old fogey.

Got home around 1am and sat in the tub for about an hour and a half. Most excellent.

This morning PH was 8.2, so I dropped that to 7. I'll measure TA later. FC was 6, but I put a cup of bleach in and hit the boost mode on the SWG after we got out last night, and it's still in boost mode right now. CC was 1, so we're probably doing ok right now.

That's about it! I'll be tweaking the SWG over the next week or so.

 

[Kias]

Here's a couple pics I took with my cell phone last night of the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit. We'll probably be going back to see Straight No Chaser there in December. I'll be taking my real camera then, since they encourage it. Probably going to need a fisheye lens to get it all in. Always thought that was the greatest building in Detroit since I walked into it in 4th grade many many moons ago!

This is the ceiling. Sorry it's all crooked, but had to do a panorama shot with the phone to get it all in, and still couldn't get it all in!


This is the theater, again a pano shot with the phone.


The architectural detail is amazing in this place. Totally worth a dip in the hot tub after visiting here!

...like how I always stay on topic?

 

[Kias]

4 month report!

Nothing to report.

After the initial water adjustment, I did nothing but hit the boost button every few days after we got out of it. We use it about 5 days a week. Levels stayed put. It's been rather boring.

I drained it and cleaned it today. My well water hasn't changed in years. Ph 7.6, TA 300ish, Temp 57. I don't even bother testing the TA initially now. I just start taking the Ph down to 7 and let it aerate. Takes about 2.5 hours to get the TA down to an acceptable level.

I did find out that if you take the Ph meter from the winery lab, it makes that process go much faster!