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Will Jacuzzi stand up to a Canadian Winter?

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Snowjob:
Hi, great site, lots of good info here!!

We are about to buy our first tub, it will be located at a cottage near a lake in Ontario, Canada (3 hours north of Toronto), we will use it on weekends only.  Its possible we will be away from it for 2 to 3 weeks at a time.

I am curious what will happen when the outside temp is -30c and the power fails, obviously eventually the tub will freeze up and we will have a very nice tub shaped ice cube, it will probably look quite cool if the LEDs light up the ice cube.....

That said, while power outages longer than a few hours are rare, I am wondering how long a tub like a Jacuzzi J-470 will be safe before it will freeze up.  I am assuming that heat from the water will radiate down into the pump area and keep that space warm.  However there is not very much insulation on the door to the pumps.  So the big question is how long will the hot water keep the tub from freezing, and at what point do you need to come up with plan B, eg get in the car, drive 3 hours and start to drain the tub / connect a BIG generator or other........

Does anyone have any experience with Jacuzzi and the Canadian winters?

Artic Spa say they have tested their tub, and at -30c it will last 5 days before freezing.  That could be sales BS, but who knows

thanks!!

danthespaman316:
I'm in Kansas but I watch hockey which means I'm qualified to answer this. I've seen full foam insulated tubs like Jacuzzi last as long as 6 days at constant freezing temps. However, at 30C below I'd probably figure on closer to 3 days. That approximation is the amount of time before your lines starts to freeze and crack. If rigid plumbing parts like manifolds start bursting you'll be out at least $1500 to fix the unit, and that's assuming there is a spa repair guy close by who won't gouge you. Jacuzzi does offer an optional insulation wrap for the cabinet, similar to the one the Arctic guy raved about. That addition helps insulate the equipment area and may buy you an extra day. I'd also shell out for the thicker cover as that is the main point of heat loss and is just a sound investment that far north. 

I'm going to assume that a salesman would never flat out lie to your face and further assume that the guy meant 5 days before every last drop of water in your tub is frozen solid.   

Regardless of what you get, go full foam. Good luck. Go Blackhawks!

Tman122:
Yea, here in Northern Mn I always tell people they are pretty safe for 3 days. Leave the cover down tight. Any longer at below 0 and you need a drain and water evac strategy. A simple trouble light in the equipment bay can buy more time but this should be monitored.

bud16415:
My tub has a dual GFCI breaker one for the heater and one for the rest of the tub and is programed in the event of a heater failure to set the tub into survival mode running the pump sparingly to use the tub water to keep the equipment from freezing. Heater failure is another way a tub can get into trouble in cold climate. That system will do nothing for power outage though. For that you would need a backup generator.

We live right across Lake Erie and get those -30 periods and some power loss due to the weather. Your main problem is going to be early warning of an outage and getting there or having a plan with someone there to help you out if that happens. Friends or neighbor that can call if the outage is more than say half a day long. Not sure is there is any web based method of alert out there. You should also make sure the tub resets after an outage. Something to ask the dealer about. I’m pretty sure they all do.
 
Do you have a person up there that will monitor the sanitizer as well if you may not be there for a month?

Good luck and let us know what your plan will be. 

BullFrogSpasMN:
Keep a small space heater on hand to place inside the equipment compartment in case of emergency and also if you have a Fleet Farm or other farming related supply store nearby a 'cattle tank heater' which floats on the surface of the water and will just stay warm enough so the water doesn't freeze is also something we frequently use during Minnesota winters in emergency situations.

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