Hey. Just joined the forum after lurking for a while. This place is great. It is amazing how much conflicting info there is out there. I've learned a ton from you guys about maintaining my 6 month old Marquis Hot Tub, and am appalled at how clueless my dealer was (not to mention the dozens of commercial sites that just want to sell you chemicals). I have found Nitro's guide to be incredibly useful and informative and have really enjoyed learning about all the chemistry.
That said, my tub is in a vacation house in Tahoe and I am often not there for 2-3 weeks at a time! While I am really drawn to the dichlor/bleach method, I simply can't provide the maintenance required to keep FC at the right levels and, frankly, I don't trust the local dealer to do it for me.
My tub came with the Frog @ease SmartChlor/Mineral system which delivers FC when needed while keeping Total Chlorine in reserve. I know this group dislikes Frog and I get it (it's pretty dang expensive), but I find that I can leave the tub for 3 weeks and when I return everything is sparkling and everything tests out. I shock it with MPS when I leave and when I return, and thats it. I did notice the water getting a bit cloudy after 4 months so I changed it, which is the recommended interval anyway.
Other than the cost, the biggest issue with the @ease system is that it requires a fairly narrow ph range (7.2-7.4) which can be hard to maintain, although Borates have helped. And it works best above 98 degrees so I can't really turn heat down that much (although I don't want to anyway because reheating in the often very cold Tahoe region will be costly). Also, the SmartChlor cartridge barely lasts 3 weeks, so if I am gone for a month (which doesn't usually happen) I assume I will have a problem, but that hasn't happened yet.
Anyway I am just offering this to add to the conversation because there isn't a lot of clear info posted for people who have vacation tubs. I am very open to alternative ideas or even comments that I am making a big mistake! Still very much in learning mode.
That said, my tub is in a vacation house in Tahoe and I am often not there for 2-3 weeks at a time! While I am really drawn to the dichlor/bleach method, I simply can't provide the maintenance required to keep FC at the right levels and, frankly, I don't trust the local dealer to do it for me.
My tub came with the Frog @ease SmartChlor/Mineral system which delivers FC when needed while keeping Total Chlorine in reserve. I know this group dislikes Frog and I get it (it's pretty dang expensive), but I find that I can leave the tub for 3 weeks and when I return everything is sparkling and everything tests out. I shock it with MPS when I leave and when I return, and thats it. I did notice the water getting a bit cloudy after 4 months so I changed it, which is the recommended interval anyway.
Other than the cost, the biggest issue with the @ease system is that it requires a fairly narrow ph range (7.2-7.4) which can be hard to maintain, although Borates have helped. And it works best above 98 degrees so I can't really turn heat down that much (although I don't want to anyway because reheating in the often very cold Tahoe region will be costly). Also, the SmartChlor cartridge barely lasts 3 weeks, so if I am gone for a month (which doesn't usually happen) I assume I will have a problem, but that hasn't happened yet.
Anyway I am just offering this to add to the conversation because there isn't a lot of clear info posted for people who have vacation tubs. I am very open to alternative ideas or even comments that I am making a big mistake! Still very much in learning mode.
