Hot Tub Forum

Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: rosewoodsteel on January 10, 2014, 02:10:59 pm

Title: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 10, 2014, 02:10:59 pm
How many are using WiFi or Bluetooth with their hot tub to raise or lower water temperatures, etc. ?
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Ryan VSO on January 10, 2014, 03:23:17 pm
You mean an apps that allow you to control your spa from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access on your device?
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Hottubguy on January 10, 2014, 04:06:08 pm
I have just started noticing people asking about this.  I personally have only sold a couple of ttubs with that feature
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Tman122 on January 10, 2014, 04:15:39 pm
I use Insteon to control my house and know they have components to retrofit anything.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Ryan VSO on January 10, 2014, 05:03:41 pm
Every gecko in.xe  can add the in.touch feature that allow to control your spa on your i-phone or  Android , I personally think that its a great feature and its not too expensive to buy
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 11, 2014, 08:28:09 am
My Artic Klondiker will have this feature and I am looking forward to putting it to use.   
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Mudheadsports on January 11, 2014, 09:39:20 am
Ours has that feature.....waiting on delivery so once we are up and running will lyk ,the dealer said we didn't need to spend the $400.00 for a unit in the house to control it that the phone would work
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 11, 2014, 10:50:15 am
The WiFi is something I will be using a lot.    My tub is on a pad away from the house, so it will be nice to make temp adjustments, etc, in the comfort of my living room.    Let us know how this feature works out for you.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Mudheadsports on January 11, 2014, 11:07:16 am
We should be up and running 7 days from now.....will lyk how it works for us.....here's a question....does it make sense to lover the tem a bit...maybe 94ish until your wanting to use the tub?  Or better to have it always sting the temp you are wanting to use it at.....
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 11, 2014, 11:45:37 am
With my old Coleman, I would drop the temperature down a little when not in use.   Before using, I would raise it up about 15 minutes or so getting into the tub.    My electric bill was never impacted a lot by the tub, so I guess it helped with power usage. I plan to do the same type of thing when I am set up with the Artic.  Hopefully, I will have the same results.

Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Mudheadsports on January 11, 2014, 03:43:00 pm
Great!!!!!  Will be trying that when we get it here!!!!
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Tman122 on January 11, 2014, 08:09:43 pm
It does make a difference. The lower the temp the less heat loss during times of non use. However if you think it's a magic pill you would be wrong. There will be a very small saving that quite frankly I though I was worth having the tub ready at all times for the nickles difference it would make. I wanted my tub ready at a moments notice and figured the few bucks a month wasn't enough to not have what I wanted. During your honeymoon you may want to just leave it at temp. But if you plan on not using it for a week or so then yea by all means. Disinfecting chems last longer in cooler water also.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: brillskill on January 11, 2014, 10:42:49 pm
Yea..Tman is right on..chemicals last longer in cooler water..think of a pool..in the blazing summer any pool owner will tell you you'll be using more chlorine.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Mudheadsports on January 12, 2014, 04:02:52 pm
First time for any of this...no tub or pool before!!!!  I'm sure we will have lots of questions for awhile.  When we went back to finish paying for the tub, I asked our salesman to show us how to change filters and fill the tub thru the filter area.  That seems pretty simple....the chemical balancing may be a little more difficult
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: TwinCitiesHotSpring on January 12, 2014, 04:11:39 pm
Moving forward a lot of the major brands will have this feature as an option, I know these devices were ready months ago for many major manufactures but I believe the FCC or some other government run organization (shocker I know) has been holding up the "final approval"
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 14, 2014, 06:44:22 pm
I believe it is set up and ready to roll in my new tub.
I'll let you know after it is delivered and I get it set up.. :)
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Tman122 on January 14, 2014, 07:26:33 pm
We should be up and running 7 days from now.....will lyk how it works for us.....here's a question....does it make sense to lover the tem a bit...maybe 94ish until your wanting to use the tub?  Or better to have it always sting the temp you are wanting to use it at.....

I'm kinda of a different thought on this, who's surprised? For the little savings there is (nickles maybe dimes a day) I was worth the 3-4 bucks a month savings to have it ready at the drop of the my suit, I mean hat. But then again this is a colder climate and what ever you dropped it to it would get there fast and run to maintain it anyway. And 6-8 degrees can take over an hour.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Pers Onal on January 14, 2014, 08:39:21 pm
There will be a very small saving that quite frankly I though I was worth having the tub ready at all times for the nickles difference it would make. I wanted my tub ready at a moments notice.... But if you plan on not using it for a week or so then yea by all means.

Also depends on the time of year. In winter I want it at normal temp so that if we have a power outage I will have as much heat retention as possible to prevent a freezeup. In summer, if the high is in the 90's or higher, I leave the spa a 98 or so anyhow, and figure there isn't that much energy loss compared to being able to jump into the spa after a long drive and immediately unwind.

In spring and fall if we're going to be gone for a week or so and there's no danger of freezing, I just pull the shut off and kill the power completely.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 15, 2014, 12:19:07 pm
With my old tub, it didn’t take long to raise the temperature 10 degrees or so.  In a while, I’ll find out if this will be true with the Artic.    For the most part, I have set hours that I am home.   If I want to hop in the tub on a particular night, I’ll pull out my phone and raise the temperature on my train ride home.  By the time I get home, the tub will be ready.    It will also be great, at home, to raise the temperature without having to walk down the path to the hot tub- especially if the weather conditions are bad. 
 
Hey, I pay the freekin power company enough already.   I am not going to compensate them for having a poor infrastructure.   If/When the power goes out, if the hot tub temp is 90 degrees, no problem.    I’ll wait it out a few days.   If it’s clear the outage will be a long one, I’ll drop a light or space heater into the interior of the cabinet and run a line to my generator. 
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Water Boy on January 15, 2014, 12:22:33 pm
One of the things I like the most about the Arctic Spas wifi app is the power management portion of the app. This gives you the ability to tell the spa exactly what hours of the day you want it to heat or filter the spa. So, if you have peak rates, you can program your spa to not run during those times if you so desire.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: soak-king on January 15, 2014, 12:40:57 pm
Most of the In-Ground pools we have built in the last few years have that feature
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Water Boy on January 15, 2014, 12:54:13 pm
Ya, a lot of that stuff has been available on the pool market for a while now. It's good to hear that lots of spas are offering these features now as well.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: brillskill on January 15, 2014, 01:49:37 pm
my pool pump and heater works off an app on my iphone..
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: Tman122 on January 15, 2014, 05:03:07 pm
I am about 1/2 of the way done with all my lights, outlets, switches, doors, thermostats and other stuff running from an app on my phone. Got one camera and another soon. Need some motion sensors and a few other things. Insteon guys, check it out. Like the old X10 home automation but better.
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: brillskill on January 15, 2014, 05:20:49 pm
My entire house runs off my iPhone..even my thermostats ..check out the "nest"
Title: Re: Hot Tub WiFi
Post by: rosewoodsteel on January 15, 2014, 06:32:26 pm
I'm way behind you guys, but at least my hot tub will be covered. :)     I figure I'll do the rest after I am retired (and won't need it any more).