Hottub Wifi?

[bikeguy]

I know I can get a Balboa module to interface to my hottub (Artesian Spa) and home network but its quite (+$300) expensive and the reviews I've read are not flattering to say the least (network is only 2.4G b/g, poor range, etc)

Is there another alternative? Wifi or Bluetooth? I read somewhere of someone talking about a Raspberry Pi controller and I was wondering if there are alternatives? It can't be rocket science.

Thanks

 

[Hot6]

I use an Ecoxgear blue tooth waterproof speaker. It sounds very good and the price was around $50USD on sale from Costco. Looks like its now around $90USD.

 

[mpkelley20]

What are you trying to accomplish? Controlling your hot tub via wifi? Streaming music/video? The ONLY thing I could ever see myself using a wifi based control system for my hot tub is if I wanted to keep my water temp lower when I am not going to be in it and then using the app to turn it up a few hours before I plan on going in. Other than that, the main controls on the hot tub should be enough for standard programming.

If looking for streaming music/video and your wifi signal isn't overly strong, a repeater might help.

 

[bikeguy]

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

It's not a question for music as I added a Sonos system outside.

It's more for temperature control during the winter with the "time of use" electricity system here in Ontario.

I can probably program a couple is settings in the tub but it doesn't differentiate between weekdays/weekends which makes it a little useless.

 

[mpkelley20]

Ahh...got it. I'm in Boston so we are getting ready for winter here as well. I haven't decided what I am doing with regards to water temp yet. I will probably leave it around 100 to 102 and just deal with the electric costs. I have solar so it helps offset some of the costs.

I also have Sonos. I have it throughout my house with their speakers and I run their Connect (for my pool area) which is hooked up to a receiver in my garage. I ran underground speaker wires to a series of TIC GS3 speakers that I buried in my flower gardens in my pool area. I was contemplating adding some additional speakers at the corner of my patio where the tub is that would go right onto my fence. But I decided to grab a small waterproof Bluetooth speaker which I use with my Kindle to stream my home TV when I am in the tub. The kindle is in a waterproof case and it sits on the back of the tub with the speaker. Sunday's are great with football and a hot tub!

Good luck with your wifi search. If you find something worthwhile, please let us know!

 

[Brian VT]

Last winter I tried turning the thermostat down to 85F (essentially "off") for 3 days to see if it would save much electricity. It only dropped from 100 to 96.
4 degrees over three days? Not worth messing with, imho.

 

[bikeguy]

Thanks Brian. Good to know.

I did do a bunch of energy calculations assuming various R ratings for the tub and cover and the volume of water in my tub and got similar numbers (average drop about 1C per day) but I've yet to look at the "real" drop.

4F over 3 days is quite good. How thick is your cover?

Still digging on the WiFi angle. I might look at trying to borrow/buy a balboa module to try to capture the interaction with the main box to try to build something. I'll have to see how time goes.

 

[Brian VT]

Sounds like you've got lots of spare time on your hands. lol
My cover isn't extra thick. I'd guess it's the OEM type.
It's in rough shape so I was looking at replacements and saw that they make/sell thicker ones (for additional co$t).
Again, after realizing I only have to heat @ 1 deg. per day with my current setup, why bother?
The main co$t/heat loss comes from bathing (although I haven't done any calculations to prove that. lol).
I would suggest...
grab a beverage, turn on some music, enter tub, and forget about it. (mho)