Not having success with BBB in my hot tub

[chem geek]

A P.S. to my last post above.

I have been told that many State health departments are now saying that no form of stabilized chlorine should be used in a hot tub, so that is probably where you heard this. Also, I heard that HTH has recently discontinued their Di-Chlor packaged for hot tub use and now only sells Cal-Hypo as a spa chlorinator and spa shock.

So the conservative approach would be not to use any CYA at all in the hot tub. I would say that if you find you can keep your chlorine levels stable so that you don't run out or get to low levels too quickly, then that would be OK. The very high disinfecting chlorine levels when no CYA is present will certainly kill off virtually everything including hot tub itch bacteria rather quickly, but will also fade (and degrade any rubber in) your swimsuits.

Personally, I think that the rule of using no CYA is a "black-and-white" "either/or" over-reaction to a real problem of having too much CYA. So I'm conflicted as to what to truly recommend. My gut feel (based on the information that I know) is that a small amount of CYA would be OK, but to keep it as low as possible such that it allows you to maintain chlorine levels (since running out of chlorine even with no CYA is obviously much, much worse). If your hot tub can maintain chlorine levels with an amount of CYA that barely clouds up in the CYA test and is therefore quite small (probably 10 ppm or so), then that might be a decent balance between chlorine disinfection and chlorine preservation, but I honestly don't know for sure.

Richard

[tphaggerty]

That was my plan. Use the DiChlor for the fill and maybe a couple more days to get a low CYA level, then switch back to bleach.

Canuckpool, I have the same tub! It is great, we use it all winter. NY isn't as cold as the Great White North, but all the kids love going out on a cold night and freezing their hair while staying warm in the tub! We have the cold package, which includes a 1" rigid foam board with reflecting layers that you put under the tub and a soft floating water cover that goes under the hard cover. Expensive, but it really helps keep the water warm and helps it heat up faster after being used. I just wish the tub would go 1 degree warmer.

The US warranty for Softub is very specific about using chlorine and only chlorine. Their product, called Chlor (cute), is DiChlor. I don't think they have a Cal-Hypo product. I have considered using bromine and damn the warranty, but decided to try BBB since I have all of the ingredients, thanks to POOLFORUM.

[CanuckPool]

Cool, yea we just got it this year, its the camel brown color (colour for us Canadians) with the blue water pattern and swirly tile top, it is actually the same liner as our pool, how coordinated! We only have the bi-fold top... should we look into getting all the winter stuff??? I guess I can find out this winter. It seems to stay pretty warm under the cover. I hear you about the heat level, after sitting in it for 5 minutes you get used to the heat and want it higher. Too bad there wasnt a 106 level! I guess since the method that it uses to heat the tub (via motor heat) it cant go above 104.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread a smidgen.

[tphaggerty]

Actually, it will go higher, but there is a thermocouple controlled cutoff. You can get it to go a bit higher by turning the motor on high about 5 minutes before you get in, but once you are in, agitating the water cools it down. There used to be a post on the web about using the adjustment for the thermocouple to "fool" the tub into heating up an extra degree or two, but I haven't been able to find it (and I'm not really sure I want to try).

Without the extra heat conserving stuff, it the tub would run for quite a while when trying to recover. What we got was a kit that had the insulating foam (for under the tub), a floating "heat blanket" (like a solar cover but stiffer AND a soft cover to go over the cover. Actually, in the US (again), if you don't have the soft cover, they won't warranty the vinyl hard cover!! The whole thing was about $300 (US), but it seems to have been a good investment.

[CanuckPool]

yea, sound like something you don't want to mess with, at least while it is still under warrenty. We are enjoying ours so far. I think its good enough to get heated up and relax, we really got ours to compliment our pool... so we dont have to keep the heater on the pool on too long. I think if we didnt have a pool we may have opted for a more permanent spa. I cant wait for the winter as it seems thats where most of the hot tub people use theirs.

The only other thing is the 6 person rating... I really think its a 4 man with plenty of room, but you could fit 6 in a pinch... not to mention if you do have 6 people in the amount of water that spills over the edge.

[DerekM]

I have the 4 passenger Canadian Softub 220. I used to run it on liquid bromine and non-chlorinated shock (monopersulfate). It worked well, but for one reason or another, we decided to convert to Chlorine, and I started with cal-hypo. After a few weeks, though, the calcium precipitated out, clogging the filter and putting white chalky stuff everywhere. I then switched to bleach, and have had nothing but clear water since. I do find that I have to add bleach frequently, but it is not difficult to splash in a cup or so everytime I use it. Our spa supplier recommends lithium hypochlorite, so that is another possibility, but is much more expensive than bleach.

Re the "winter" kit: I have never heard of it in Canada. Our Softubs are made in the Sudbury area, known for cold temperatures, so I would guess that our models come with better insulation than the American ones. Softub Canada seems to have an interesting franchise - their models are often quite different than the ones build south of the border.

[CanuckPool]

Maybe you're right about the Canadian models. I know for 2006 they had some updates... Ozonator/New Colours/Colour LED light and spa seat for the 6 man version. I was also told that there was no need to get any extra covers for the winter and it would still be under warranty. Underneath does have some sort of foam pad that is built into the unit, not sure if this is the option for the stateside models.

Derek, have you thought of going to a bromine floater, its great that on the days you dont use it you dont have to worry about it, just keep the floater filled.