These days, more hot tub owners close or hibernate their hot tub during the winter months. This can be due to lack of use or to save on heating costs typically. If this relates to you, then it's important to start thinking about firing the hot tub or swim spa back into action for the summer.
It is not uncommon to experience issues when a hot tub has been hibernating, especially if the proper precautions or winterising procedures were not applied before shut-down. This can result in water quality problems upon re-fill, pumps seizing, seals shrinking resulting in leaks, issues with your hot tub cover....the list goes on.
As a service company, we receive a spike in service demand as we head into Spring and on the lead up to bank holidays. This isn't unique to us, but to the hot tub service industry as a whole, so it's beneficial to get ahead.
Setting up your Hot Tub or Swim Spa
Filling your hot tub - Make sure your hot tub is as clean as possible. Small bits of media can be filtered and small amounts of remaining water will be diluted down, but also can pose a risk. Most family sized hot tubs typically take 1:30 - 3:00 hours approx to fill (depending on water pressure and size of spa). It may sound obvious, but check the drain is closed whilst filling! Keep an eye on the level whilst filling, it's never good to overfill the spa and can result in damage. If you wish to fill the spa with warm water, which can be a cheaper option than heating the water, then ensure the water doesn't exceed 40 degrees when full, otherwise you'll experience errors and/or damage to the hot tub. We recommend to fill the bottom 20-30% with cold water before adding hot. Hot water typically can be 60 degrees+ out of the tap. Be aware, hot water filling will also slow down the filling time in majority of cases, due to less pressure.
Powering ON your hot tub - Once full, turn on the power to your hot tub. Always make sure you are starting with a clean or new filter, and make sure the filter lid is on, if you have a pressurised filtration system for example, like Hydropool or Coast Spas hot tubs.
Check and Test - Make sure you don't have an Air Lock. Press all the jet buttons, to power up each jet pump individually. Make sure you can hear the pump, and see the water flowing out of the corresponding jets in the hot tub/swimspa. If you can hear the pump, but the water isn't flowing, then press the jets back off, then on again after a few seconds....you may need to repeat this a few times to clear an airlock, but eventually you should see the odd bubble starting to release from the jets. This means it's starting to work, though can be slow. Repeat until the pump kicks the jets into life. Sometimes, removing the filter can help with this to better improve the flow, just be aware nothing in the spa water can be pulled down the filter housing causing a blockage. Proceed to test the rest of your features, Blower if you have one, Lights, Audio.
Adjust the Temperature - Raise the temperature and see if you can see a small indicator light or symbol on the control panel, to confirm its heating. Visually check on the spa after 1 hour (2-3 hours for a swim spa) and make sure the temp has increased by a degree at least
Check your Settings - Most modern hot tubs have a menu where you can check and change settings. These should have only changed, if you have changed them, though fast tapping can accidentally change settings if not paying attention. You should have a manual for your hot tub controls, but please get in touch if unsure. Balboa for example - widely used controls, You'll have MODE Settings READY/REST, TEMP RANGE Settings High or Low and FILTER Settings. You'll probably want READY mode, High Temp and 1-2 hours FILTER in a 24 hours period. This is fairly standard for normal operation.
Adding Chemicals - You can either add chemicals once you initially fill the spa, though they wont really dissolve until the water starts getting warmer. Otherwise, once the spa is at temp, then balance your chemicals. In most circumstances, we would recommend a stronger dose of sanitiser than normal, especially if the spa was left empty for a period. Maybe double your initial dose, so 20 grams of Chlorine becomes 40 grams. Alternatively, you could dose with Rapid Shock, Chlorine Shock or Non-Chlorine Shock and Bromine. Leave the lid off or half open for the initial 15 mins whilst doing this, and test the water before you close the lid to check your Chlorine/Bromine is holding. If it's a little high, it will naturally start to come down, if it bleaches out, you may have a bacteria in the water eating your sanitiser. Please make contact if this is the case as you may require biofilm flushing the spa, if adding more sanitiser still fails to register.
Experiencing Issues with your Hot Tub or Swim Spa?
For common issues you may experience, check out our Troubleshooting and Fault Finding Tips, at the bottom of our service page here.
To better manage an expectation, we have added some general info on the below parts, if you identify a problem that needs sorting. This is industry average pricing, not our own.
Hot Tub Replacement Covers - from £299 - £1000
Swim Spa Replacement Covers - from £899 - £3000
Cover-Lifter Systems - from £120 - £400
Hot Tub/Swim Spa Circulation Pumps - from £100 - £400
Hot Tub/Swim Spa Jet Pumps - from £200 - £800
Hot Tub/Swim Spa Jet Blower - from £150 - £300
Hot Tub/Swim Spa Heaters - from £60 - £600
Hot Tub/Swim Spa PCB/Control Board - from £250 - £1500
Hot Tub/Swim Spa Topside Controller/Keypad - from £60 - £600
Leaking Hot Tub & Plumbing Parts - from £3 - £400
Audio Systems/Speakers - from £30 - £1200
Not inclusive of labour
Should you require our assistance, then contact us today at service@spasimple.co.uk, WhatsApp us on 07508199945 or call us on 01275 401140. You can book online, but if you require a faster appointment due to breakdown, then please call or email us.
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