ELS/Hot tub

Maintenance schedule

For reference:

• 2oz is roughly the most inside circle within the cap of one of the chemical bottles. If going for less (like 1oz) eyeballing is typically fine.
• It's a good idea to check the chemical levels using a test strip more than just once every Saturday—at least while the ACE systems is broken (see below). I try to check sometime mid-week (Wednesday) and to adjust accordingly.

After Each Use

Go ahead and use your spa as you like:

1. [Touchscreen] Press the power button to turn off the jets and lights
2. [Touchscreen] Press the clean button (a water droplet with a circular set of arrows within it) and press the button to confirm and start it
3. Place half a teaspoon of "spa sanitizer" or chlorine. (sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate) into the tub
4. Close the lid carefully (with the jets on)
5. Verify that you turned the light by looking at the downward facing lights in the corners of the frame.

If the last time you tested the water with a strip it was high, you might be able to skip adding chlorine. Basically, if it's too high, you don't need to keep adding to it. If you had a very long soak or a soak with many people, you want to add a little more. If one person had a very short soak and/or didn't turn the jets on, it might not need much at all.

Each week (every Saturday)

1. Open the top fully and turn on the jets. Set a timer for 30 minutes. You want it to aerate for about 30 minutes with the shock inside.
2. Check the levels using one of the 4/5-way test strips. There are instructions for using them on the bottle but it's pretty easy. Submerge for a 5-10 seconds and then check against the key on the bottle. Make sure to close the bottle before you get your hand all wet so you don't get the water into the tube. The main thing you are looking for is: (a) is the top one purple at all? If so, that's good! If it's just pure white, let Mako know. Also check the PH.
3. Add 1/4 cups of "Spa Shock" or "Oxidizing Shock" to the tub (with the jets on). It's in the big tub and the scoop is in there. I typically add them into the right corner slowly. This will kill/destroy anything in the tub.
4. Pull out that floating plastic thing and turn it upside down and unscrew the bottom. There will be a bunch of smaller chunks. Just save those by putting them aside or piling them in the cap. Add a few "brominating tablets" into the tube (probably 2-3 max). I find that dropping those in is kind of a pain so I typically screw the the length extending tube down so it becomes all the way retracted and then sort of stack things up and then extend it (you'll see what I mean). I usually want it be unscrewed to about the 4 or 5 mark. Make sure to leave room for all the chunks. Put the floater back into the tub when you're done.

Based on the results from the test strips, you might need to adjust the PH or maybe the alkalinity. In every case, add no more than 1oz at a time to the running jets and then give things five minutes to mix and settle. Then retest with a new test strip.

Adjust by adding whatever the strips suggest is necessary in order in which they are listed on the test strip bottle (top-to-bottom):

1. Alkaline increaser [almost certainly not necessary; if it looks close, skip it]
2. PH increaser or decreaser (depend on whether it needs to go up or down)

Typically once you've done this (or maybe even before) there might be some scum that has collected along the edges of the water. The shocks sort of "releases" organic material into the water in this way. Use the magic eraser style sponge to clean that up. It comes right off.

Once you're done, you can out any leaves and/or gross looking foam with the little mesh collinder.

Each month (last weekend of the month)

Clean filters (TBA)

Every 4-6 months

Drain and refill... (TBA)

• Last time was last July.

Things to know

Flashing lights

On the front of the tub, there are two lights. The solid blue light means that it's on. The green light will be solid if the tub is functioning well and green if it needs intervention.

Because of the current issues with the ACE system (described below) the green light is always flashing. This is OK.

Salt Water Tub & ACE system

We have a salt water tub but the salterwater system is currently broken.

There is a system called ACE built into the hot tub. It includes a module with a series of chips that is placed down the intake tube that runs inside the filter farthest to the left. It includes both a salt sensor and hardware to do electrolysis which converts the salt in the tube into chlorine. You can control the amount of electrolysis (and the amount of chlorine) through the digital display when you click the water droplet button.

The ACE module costs $1100 to replace so we have opted not to do that right away. What this means that we have add chlorine regularly. If we do this, the tub will work fine.

Manual and facts

• Manual from Hot Spring
• Capacity is 210 gallons (800 liters)