Changing to chlorine

[Innocents Abroad]

Have had a spa/hot tub (not sure if there's difference) for a couple of months and have been trying out a non-chlorine system which was recommended to us.  Not had too much success so we're throwing in the (pool) towel and going chlorine.  Never had a pool of any description before so not sure what products to get - though we're going out today to have a look at what's available.  Anyone got any recommendations?

Poolguy: in a posting to someone last year (Oct I think) you said for them to PM you as you had useful information for water treatment of hot tubs.  Care to share it with us please?  Would have PM'd you myself but thought there may be others like us.

Thanks in anticipation

L & P

[Poolguy]

L&P

Thanks for the question.

As I sure you are aware, a hot tub is a very difficult body of water to control, as it needs constant attention. It is not sufficient to 'bung in' a bit of chlor and hope for the best. Mostly because of the heat, a hot tub will reproduce spores and bacteria many times faster than a pool which operates in the 18 - 25 degree range.

Hence far from being recommended, it is absolutely a necessity to use an automatic doser to control the pH and the chlorine balance in your hot tub water on a constant basis- that means a test and reaction EVERY 3 minutes or more. If you think that this is over the top then you should rethink owing a hot tub in my opinion.

The problem in Hot tubs is Legionella, which is well know to be a potential killer, and so it must be taken out of the system by good and constant sanitisation. There are a number of other methods on the market which work with varying success, but they all rely on regular maintenance - cleaning the filter more than once a week, cleaning the water line, sanitising the whole pipe system and keeping the water at the correct level and changing water about every other month or better. If these tasks are done manually then the cost of owning a tub is quite high (presuming that the owner employs someone to do it for him.)

These requirements can be automated to ensure that all is ready for a dip at any time. I am guessing that this is the reason anyone would share for owing a hot tub and it’s not for the work that it creates.

So I can assure anyone who owns one or is thinking of owning one, that you can get a great deal of enjoyment out of these hottubs without the problems provided that you invest sensibly in technology which will do this work for you. As for the sanitisation medium is concerned, I am still a fan of chlorine as it does a great job and the effects are very well known over a number of centuries. Whereas Bromine, peroxide, UV and other methods on the market, are less well known, are more expensive by and large, and do no better work and in some cases are less effective.

If you are interested in more information on these systems then you will need to PM me with your contact details and, if possible a pic of your Tub showing the pump heater and filtration arrangement.

I hope that this has been of some help.

Andrew