heater work like thermostat? inflatable lid deflating?

raeraeduke

Member
Oct 28, 2021
6
colorado
Hi all! new inflatable tub owner! 2 questions. 1. i have an inflatable lid that is brand new but after a day or two i need to add air. is that because as it sits on the warm water it expands, and then when i take it off and set it aside, it deflates some because of temperature? i cannot really tell if it is fluctuating because of outdoor temps or if i have a leak and what is really normal. question 2 - shouldnt the heater work like a thermostat? if i set it to 98 i feel like the digital reader will go down to like 90 so i have to reset the heater. shouldnt that be restarting on its own to keep the water ~98 when not in use? or am i jumping the gun because the water is sitting so the thermometer isnt showing a true temperature so it might be showing a lower temp that it actually is? i am completely new to this so not sure what is normal or if i have bigger problems. thank you in advance for any responses.
 
I don't have any advice on the cover but there should be a thermostat that kicks in at a preset temperature that is programmed into the control board. Like a 2 degree drop starts the heater. With inflatables, the heater will not usually kick in when running the pump during use. It also takes a 110V heater a lot longer to recover.
 
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hi! thank you for the reply! fair answer on the cover. i guess ill just need to stop filling it and see what it does.
for the heater - last night after i got out, i set the heater to 99. it flashed 3 times so i assume the pump recognizes this as the default temp to start the heater when it hits that lower temp. sure enough when i came out this am, the water temp said 80. i turned on the pump and ran it and the temp did go up and report at 86 after running for a few. however, this is obviously well below my set temp. i have a coleman saluspa if that helps. i leave the power on to the machine at all times, and when i turn the heat down the filter and the heater dont run. am i supposed to maybe turn on and run the pump continuously then maybe? i was hoping to not do that and save energy but maybe thats how these things work?!?! and would that kick on the heater appropriately? im totally clueless obviously lol but im thinking it shouldnt be this hard. the directions in the booklet are garbage and there are no videos online - just about setting the timer. thoughts? thank you!
 
Remember, this is a 110V spa. It takes a long time to heat up the water, about .5 to 1 degree an hour.
I honestly don't know anything specific on the saluspa. Just know how hot tubs work in general. I'm going to assume that you didn't buy this from a spa dealer but from Amazon, Home Depot or the like. If you did buy from a dealer, have you called them to ask questions? How about a call or email to Colman saluspa tech support?
 
I am not familiar with it but looking at the instruction you have to set the temp and then press the flame button to turn on the heat.
 
yes! you all have totally hit it on the head. i have a fair amount of pool experience but none with spas. i think more specially of what i am asking is - if i set the temp to lets say 98 when i get out - shouldnt the pump/heater self regulate and once it gets below ~98, shouldnt the pump/heater kick on to keep the tub temp closer to ~98 at all times or until i tell it to get warmer? (just like when a furnace kicks on - i dont want my furnace fan running all day and only want it to kick on when the heater kicks on - so i dont want to have the pump/filter running all the time - unless youre supposed to/its necessary?!?!?!) is it normal for the water temp to dip down and get super low? my experience this morning with the water temp being so low, makes me wonder if i have something wrong with the pump - or if i am supposed to keep the filter pump running 24/7 so that it can "read" such a low temp and then kick on the heater when applicable. so am i supposed to just run the filter 24/7? or maybe im just supposed to use the timer option everyday? hope that helps better explain what i am asking and thank you for any input : )
 
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yes! you all have totally hit it on the head. i have a fair amount of pool experience but none with spas. i think more specially of what i am asking is - if i set the temp to lets say 98 when i get out - shouldnt the pump/heater self regulate and once it gets below ~98, shouldnt the pump/heater kick on to keep the tub temp closer to ~98 at all times or until i tell it to get warmer? (just like when a furnace kicks on - i dont want my furnace fan running all day and only want it to kick on when the heater kicks on - so i dont want to have the pump/filter running all the time - unless youre supposed to/its necessary?!?!?!) is it normal for the water temp to dip down and get super low? my experience this morning with the water temp being so low, makes me wonder if i have something wrong with the pump - or if i am supposed to keep the filter pump running 24/7 so that it can "read" such a low temp and then kick on the heater when applicable. so am i supposed to just run the filter 24/7? or maybe im just supposed to use the timer option everyday? hope that helps better explain what i am asking and thank you for any input : )

I don't know how sophisticated the timer and controller is on a Coleman spa, but my hot tub has schedules on it. For example, nobody is using my tub on the weekdays between 8 AM and 5 PM. I can set my tub to whatever temperature I want, but between 8 - 5 on weekdays it will drift down to 20 degrees below the set point. The tub will fire during the weekends and evening to get up to whatever I set it to, but will not heat above 20 degrees under the set point during the non-use hours. There are a number of built in schedules with different time blocks - including weekend only (as well as custom schedules). Manually activating a jet will override the schedule and call for heat. I do not know if your tub has this feature, but maybe it does and you turned it on somehow.
 
Hey Duke !! Just a heads up, at some point, if not already, your Colorado temps will probably make the tub lose more heat overnight than it can produce. It would explain why it heats during the day but you’ve dropped to 80 the next day.

I had a much bigger ($5k) 120V tub and it could hold its temp fine no matter what, but the second I cracked the cover the temp started plummeting. I could only get 45 mins or so use before it was in the 80s. Then it would take almost a full day covered to catch up again.

I had a miserable time selling it for $1500 (1400+ views and 100 convos on Letgo) because I was upfront about what it could and couldn’t do. But everybody wanted $10k+ tub performance for $1500.
 
I don't know how sophisticated the timer and controller is on a Coleman spa, but my hot tub has schedules on it. For example, nobody is using my tub on the weekdays between 8 AM and 5 PM. I can set my tub to whatever temperature I want, but between 8 - 5 on weekdays it will drift down to 20 degrees below the set point. The tub will fire during the weekends and evening to get up to whatever I set it to, but will not heat above 20 degrees under the set point during the non-use hours. There are a number of built in schedules with different time blocks - including weekend only (as well as custom schedules). Manually activating a jet will override the schedule and call for heat. I do not know if your tub has this feature, but maybe it does and you turned it on somehow.
ok thats good to know that it could drop that low before kicking on to keep it at my "set" temp. i guess i was thinking that it would always keep it ~98 if thats what i set it to. ill have that on my radar then and thank you for the info!
 
Hey Duke !! Just a heads up, at some point, if not already, your Colorado temps will probably make the tub lose more heat overnight than it can produce. It would explain why it heats during the day but you’ve dropped to 80 the next day.

I had a much bigger ($5k) 120V tub and it could hold its temp fine no matter what, but the second I cracked the cover the temp started plummeting. I could only get 45 mins or so use before it was in the 80s. Then it would take almost a full day covered to catch up again.

I had a miserable time selling it for $1500 (1400+ views and 100 convos on Letgo) because I was upfront about what it could and couldn’t do. But everybody wanted $10k+ tub performance for $1500.
yes thank you for the info - i guess it just hasnt been that cold yet. nights have been around 40 and days have been (so far) 60 ish. so actually ive been able to hop in at night and its been holding the temp quite well. last night when hopped out i set it to 97 at 10pm. got up at 0630 and the temp read 86. kicked on the pump for a few and it went up to 90. started the heater at 0630, up to 101 by 1100. but like now its at temp (its now 1215 and the filter pump has been running non stop), my heater button reads green but the filter pump never stops. so im not sure if the filter pump just runs 24/7 and i dont know that. i am thinking the filter pump would stop once at temp and thats what im trying to figure out lol. and then maybe ill have bigger temp drops/swings than i thought i would because in my mind, i am thinking its like a furnace. - where if i set it to 68 - then fan doesnt run all day and when i drop below 68, the fan and heater come on to keep the house ~68 all the time. so im trying to figure out if this heater/filter pump work more like a furnace. or if it hits temp and the filer pump just runs 24/7 and thats just how it is?!?!?! i would think once the spa reaches temp though, both the heater and pump would shut off until the temp drops and then kick on again.
 

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so im trying to figure out if this heater/filter pump work more like a furnace. or if it hits temp and the filer pump just runs 24/7 and thats just how it is?!?!?
Mine had a filter schedule separate from heating. So it would run on its own to filter and also anytime heat was called for. I’m not sure how the soft tubs go but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s tied in together.
i guess it just hasnt been that cold yet
Yeah. No idea when your time will come, but CO will be brutal eventually, just didn’t want it to be a surprise if the tub quit. I wish the dealers were upfront with the lesser models draw backs. They could have saved me a ton of heartbreak if I knew going in and decided from there. Instead I found out the hard way and it stung worse than if I had made the conscious choice.
 
Mine had a filter schedule separate from heating. So it would run on its own to filter and also anytime heat was called for. I’m not sure how the soft tubs go but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s tied in together.

Yeah. No idea when your time will come, but CO will be brutal eventually, just didn’t want it to be a surprise if the tub quit. I wish the dealers were upfront with the lesser models draw backs. They could have saved me a ton of heartbreak if I knew going in and decided from there. Instead I found out the hard way and it stung worse than if I had made the conscious choice.
hi! yeah thank you!!! so if i hit the heat, the filter kicks on with it. however, you can turn off the heat and run the filter separately. its just the darn filter pump wont stop once it reaches temp lol. and if i drop the temp, i feel like the thing wont kick on when its below what i set it for. dont know if thats normal. and my fingers are crossed - i had friends that had this same one and it was problem free for 5 yr. we will see : ) ive asked them about this heater/pump issue though and they have since upgraded to a full one so neither of them remember.
 
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hi! yeah thank you!!! so if i hit the heat, the filter kicks on with it. however, you can turn off the heat and run the filter separately. its just the darn filter pump wont stop once it reaches temp lol. and if i drop the temp, i feel like the thing wont kick on when its below what i set it for. dont know if thats normal. and my fingers are crossed - i had friends that had this same one and it was problem free for 5 yr. we will see : ) ive asked them about this heater/pump issue though and they have since upgraded to a full one so neither of them remember.
Your spa has a Power-Saving Timer Button

Power-Saving Timer Button This is a newly added function, designed to help avoid wasting power by setting the time and duration of the heating cycle for the spa. This way, you can enjoy your spa at the time you desire, without needing to leave the heater on at all times. STEP 1: Set the heating duration 1. Press the button unit the LED starts to flash. 2. Press the or button to adjust the heating duration (From 1-48 hours). 3. Press the button again to confirm the heating duration. STEP 2: Set the number of hours FROM NOW when the heater will activate 1. After setting the heating duration, the LED starts to flash. 2. Press the or button to adjust the hours until time of activation (From 0-99 hours). 3. Press button again or simply touch nothing for 10 seconds to confirm the setting. The LED will light steadily, and the countdown to heater activation will begin. To modify the timer settings: Press the button and use the or button to adjust. Cancel the setting: Press the button for 2 seconds

It sounds like this is what you need to set correctly

It also says not to use the spa if the air temperature is below 39 F
 
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