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Thoughts on Hot Springs ACE system
JimB:
I am in the same boat - I am looking at getting an Envoy, which has the ACE system as an option - but the online reviews are hit-or-miss on the system. One Hot Springs dealer was neutral when I asked "do you recommend the system?". The other (150 miles away) advocated not getting it, noting how much each person sweat in a hot tub and basically made the argument that you *want to* change the water out quarterly for that reason. While I am not sure how true that is, the visceral impact coupled with the challenges people report in dealing with the system has me strongly leaning towards traditional water care. As I understand it you could easily retrofit the ACE system on at a later date, so perhaps in the future if it becomes more reliable I'd consider switching over.
TwinCitiesHotSpring:
--- Quote from: JimB on September 05, 2013, 02:33:33 pm ---I am in the same boat - I am looking at getting an Envoy, which has the ACE system as an option - but the online reviews are hit-or-miss on the system. One Hot Springs dealer was neutral when I asked "do you recommend the system?". The other (150 miles away) advocated not getting it, noting how much each person sweat in a hot tub and basically made the argument that you *want to* change the water out quarterly for that reason. While I am not sure how true that is, the visceral impact coupled with the challenges people report in dealing with the system has me strongly leaning towards traditional water care. As I understand it you could easily retrofit the ACE system on at a later date, so perhaps in the future if it becomes more reliable I'd consider switching over.
--- End quote ---
Adding at a later date is also an option to consider....either way assuming you keep up with regular maintenance on the spa, they are not as hard to take care of as a lot of posts on here indicate. Keep the water in balance (pH, alk, CH) keep your filters clean, and also maintain a sanitizer level in the spa...pretty easy
chem geek:
The basic Water Replacement Interval (WRI) formula used for commercial/public spas is the following:
WRI (days) = (1/3) x (Spa Size in Gallons) / (# of people per day)
The presumption is a 20 minute soak so in person-hours it's (1/9) x (Spa Size in Gallons) / (# of person-hours per day) and this assumes a hot (104ºF) spa during the soak. So two people soaking for 20 minutes every day in a 350 gallon spa would be (1/9) x (350) / (2*(20/60)) = 58 days. That rule works when using Dichlor-only. If you use Dichlor-then-bleach, you can usually get around double the time so around 120 days (4 months) and the water won't be in as bad shape when you do change it. With Dichlor-only, the CYA level builds up making chlorine less effective so the water builds up more unoxidized organics and gets dull faster. This all assumes there is no ozonator.
The ACE formula of (Volume in liters) / (10 * # of people per day) = (1/2.64) *(Volume in Gallons) / (# of people per day) so is roughly similar to the commercial/public spa formula where the ACE interval is a little longer.
hottubdan:
Those are suggested formulas. In the real world, I know of no home owner who follows them.
Using ACE has nothing to do with saving money. It is about the quality of the water.
If you want silky, non skin drying water, consider the ACE system.
It is performing far better now than 1st gen. Much easier for customers to understand.
chem geek:
The ACE™ Salt Water Sanitizing System Manual under water guidelines says 3 ppm for chlorine, but if one does that with no Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in the water then the chlorine will be far too strong and will oxidize swimsuits, skin and hair much faster. If one wants to not have the chlorine effects on one's body, then one should add CYA to the spa, probably around 30-40 ppm. This is similar to why using bleach in a spa without first using Dichlor to raise the CYA level is too harsh and also worse on spa covers.
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