Best practices for spa refresh/spillover?

[wgillette]

I'm curious as to what is considered best practice for refreshing a spa? I've seen two methods described:

• Spillway mode/circuit - 100% pool intake/ 100% spa return. Typically this is scheduled to run a couple of times a day.
• Passive or continuous refresh - set the spa return valve to always send some flow to the spa when in pool mode.

If the spa is pool level, is there any reason not to do a continuous refresh?

 

[Toxophilite]

Tried it both ways. Like some continuous flow better. But, it adds aeration and adds to pH rise, which makes the first method best practices I guess. If it was level and didn't add aeration, then why not bypass some to circulate with the pool as one unit.

 

[DrewLG]

Why not both?

Continuous flow through the bypass valve refreshes the water in the spa, but in my case it doesn't generate enough flow to push leaves over the edge, let alone to dislodge any dirt that may have settled to the bottom of the spa. So every day -- early in the evening, before the spa is typically used -- the spa runs for five minutes to lift debris into the water and circulate some of it through the filter, then the spillover runs for another five minutes to push any floating leaves into the pool.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

My spa is pool level and has a "make-up" return which sends water to the spa in pool mode. A valve on the line lets me adjust the return volume. There's no aeration because it's level. This was how they did it in the 1980s, with no automation, when my pool was built and it still works perfectly.