Original > Hot Tub Forum
Questions for Hot Spring Freshwater (salt) Owners
billymac:
We've had our Hot Spring Grandee for a little over a month now and have been loving it.
I do have a couple of questions though for those who have one or know about care and feeding of their Freshwater salt system.
How often do you find yourselves adding chlorine granules? I understand this question is relative to use, but I find that even after fairly light use, say 2-3 people soaking for 20-30 minutes that with an output of say 5, the system doesn't always tend to keep up when testing with their freshwater test strips (test for both free and total). When I go to test it the next day close to 24 hours later, the test will show little to no color.
For example, even if I crank it up, or select the "boost" function (24 hour output of 10), after 5 or 6 soakers that even 24 hours+ later there will be no color change on the test strip.
All other water tests are showing in target range and the salt system status indicator is showing "ok" and always between the 9:45 - 12:00 green range on the dial. If we don't use it for a few days with all water properties in the target zone, the chlorine level holds, but as soon as we soak, it drops to a white color on the strip, even 1-2 days later.
I have no problem adding chlorine, but I want to make sure I don't maybe have something else going on.
Any general advice or guidance here is greatly appreciated.
billymac:
Hey, one other quick question! Any tips/tricks for water line cleaning while full? Nothing serious, but after a month of fairly heavy use I do have some buildup/hazing in certain areas that doesn't wipe off super easily.
Steph135:
We have had our Caldera Niagara since June, and it has the same Freshwater salt system.
When it is just the two of us, the system works just fine, but we do shower or wipe down before we get in.
We have concluded it does not work up to par when there are more people. My family visited it, and then we had a small gathering of people where we really tested it. We had seven in at one time for about one hour. We set it on boost, and that just seemed to be a joke. We had to add quite a lot of additional chlorine to get all the gunk out. The PH ended up very high too, so we had super cloudy water, for the first time, after this gathering.
The majority of the time, we have very clear and lovely water, but I think we have learned now, boost is not all the salesperson said it was nor is the salt system. I find myself checking on it weekly even though I'm only supposed to have to check on it every ten days. I told my husband let's give it a year and reassess whether we want to keep it or move to another water care system.
After our cloudy water last week, I was going to write in here and see if anyone had anything to say about this freshwater system, as I was ready to get rid of it then.
Steph135:
Also, for the two of us, we have been keeping it at a 7.
billymac:
Thanks Steph135,
Yeah, I'm just looking for some real world anecdotal advice. Smart enough to know there's a difference between sales/marketing and real world use, but wanted to make sure I didn't have something else going on with the system as I was hoping for a little better results. Love the feel of the water and we've had zero issues with the other water chemistry. Water is always crystal clear and inviting.
I do think it's kind of funny that in the "after each use" section of the laminated care guide they give you that it says, "Note-if you use your tub with a higher number of bathers than normal, add 1/4 scoop (scoop is 2 oz total) of Natural Chemistry Spa Chlorine and run your jets for at least 1/2 hour to activate extra sanitizing of your tub. Alternatively, you can opt to active the Boost function on the main control panel."
Like I said, I have no issue throwing a little chlorine in there after heavy use, but it sure does seem like the occasional 2-3 users shouldn't have to.
Thanks again for the replies.
Anybody else?
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