Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Jakeman on November 17, 2004, 07:58:59 pm
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Does the air blowers really affect water temp? I was told by Hotspring that when you use the air blower option on the Sundance, it will drop the water temp down. Is this true or does he just say this because they don't have a blower?
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If it were true, why would Watkins (company that makes Hot Spring) put an Air Blower on their caldera Line of spas?????
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Isn't the Caldera line Watkins' "cool water" tubs?
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Does the air blowers really affect water temp? I was told by Hotspring that when you use the air blower option on the Sundance, it will drop the water temp down. Is this true or does he just say this because they don't have a blower?
The answer is yes and no.
???
At some point after a blower is activated, the ambient air will be drawn into the spa water. If the air is cooler than the spa water the water will begin to lose temperature- If it is a 120v spa the temperature will drop dramatically in a short period of time--Because when youre operating the high speed jets, the heater will not activate (Which is one very good reason you wont find a blower installed on a HotSpring.).
If the spa is 240v, the heater will be activated as soon as the thermostat or temp sensor detects the cooler water temp.
In either event- the addition of a blower can make a spa consume more electricity while only giving the appearance of a lot of water action. In my opinon, its not a feature I would pursue. 8)
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I couldn't have said it better myself Spa (space) Tech
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excelent points Spa tech, but in the case of the "cool water" caldera's, a circ pump is used to run the heater, so you can run BOTH the jet pumps, the blower, and the heater at the same time. What this actually means in the grand scheme of things??? i haven't a clue, personally I don't see any purpose behind the air blowers other then they produce quite a turbulant effect to show customers in the showroom.
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I had a customer one time that told me a story. She said that she was visiting her friend and all the kids were in the hot tub. Suddenly they couldn't see any of the kids and she ran out to the spa and reached in and grab her son off the bottom. When he came up he screamed "What are you doing, Mom."
Turns out the kids were breathing the air coming out of the blower holes at the bottom to see who could stay down the longest.
I guess the blower does have a good purpose. ???
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The air blower will in general make the temperature go down, however if you are running the Sundance on a 60 Amp circuit you will not see a noticeable difference in the temperature because all of the electric pumps/motors/heaters can be used at one time. Also, the air blower in the Sundance is a heated air blower.
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Blowers do cool the water. They move a huge volume of air through the water, and you can't heat that air hot enough to keep it from cooling the water to some degree or other. There are those who claim that by drawing air throught the empty cabinets of their tubs they can keep the blower from cooling the tub - but that warm air in the cab will be depleated in a matter of seconds and then outside air will rush in to replace it.
Also, there are certain physical laws at work here: one states that when you release the pressure on a contained gas, it cools. Ever notice ice/frost forming on an LP tank as your berbeque reduces the pressure within? The cooling effect can be quite pronounced. This same thing happens as the air bubbles rise in the water. So even if they leave the air injection system slightly warm they will cool as they rise and expand. There are no systems which can get the air hot enough to cancel this - even if there were, the hot air would melt the plastic plumbing, or burn people who happen to be sitting on it. Or at the very least it would cost a fortune to run. Cal spa tried it for years - I made lots of money replacing the melted plastic around the 'hot air blowers,' and every one of those customers admitted that the system still cooled the water.
Caldera had blowers in them before Watkins purchased them. Some people like the blowers, but most do not use them for very long after the tub arrives in their home. I know there are several people on this board who do enjoy using the blowers on their tubs. That's the exception to the rule.
I have been called out to the home of people who's blowers have gotten flooded or had some related problem. Once I told them I could remove the blower and that would get their tub running again for $200 less than repairing the blower, they usually choose to go ahead without the blower. Common response is, "We never use the blower anyway." Or, "I only use it to mix chems, but I can do that with the jets."
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My friend owns a cameo and they use the blower sometimes.
When the blower *first* turns on there is a blast of cold, similar to when you first turn on the jets and cooler water has to be flushed out of the system. After that we really don't notice anything. He runs a 50 am installation and there are no problems with the tub getting too cold. It's possible that any temperature drop won't be noticed during the 1-3 hours people are in the tub?
The bubbler doesn't help with the bead scents, but I would imagine that the liquid scents you pour in the tub would be more potent with water agitation.
Not sure what the operating parameters of a "heated" blower are. I know a hair dryer pulls plenty of juice, and all it does is heat air and blow it.
-Ed
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You simply can't run a blower and not cool the water. Simple laws of physics. But - If the spa has a large enough heater to keep up with it, you may not notice it, unless the noise from your electric meter bothers you...
If the tub is at a high temp, you have time before the water gets to a cool enough temp to be uncomfortable. The strange thing is, and I think any of us who own tubs will attest to this: if the water is still, it feels cooler. When the water is in motion, it feels warmer. This was the reason behind the "whirlpool jet" on some older tubs. Well, the blower tends to make the water move - hence it doesn't feel like it is cooling as fast. But watch a thermometer, and you'll see the temp changing.
Also, newer tubs are designed well enough, insulated well enough and have good enough heaters that some actually might be able to cool very little, very slowly. One of the design features on those tubs is a smaller blower.
I wanted to add that the people who enjoy their blowers do in fact enjoy them. You couldn't talk some of them out of it if you tried, and I usually try. Even when I was selling brands which had the blower as an option, I just didn't think it was worth any extra money. There were people who ordered them anyway.
Some people like to be able to cool the water quickly so grandpa can get in or so they can enjoy the hotter temps and then cool the tub for the kids. Fine - I usually set the temp where I want it and keep it there, but we'll see what happens when my folks move in with us in a couple of months...
I'm not disparaging you fine blower-embracing folks. Much. No wait - really, I do hear from people who are shopping for a second spa who really liked the blower system on their previous tub.
I try to get them in for a wet test, and I set a couple of large jets near the bottom of the tub to hit each other near the center of the tub. It produces a small 'volcano' action which tends to give you a massage action very much like a blower: gentle, overall, but without direct jetting action. Also without the high-volume air and it's attendant cooling effects.
When I remind them of the noise of many blower systems, and the fact that they tend to raise a cloud of sanitizer right to eye level - and tell them that they will no longer be oxidizing their sanitizer out of the water - suddenly they remember the bad that went along with the good, and they don't seem to want one any more...
I know that most blowers on newer tubs are not as noisy as the older systems. But the bubbles hitting the surface still create quite a bit of noise all by themselves.
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OH! I thought this thread was about us spa sales guys!
Oh well ::)
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OH! I thought this thread was about us spa sales guys!
Oh well ::)
No - we CAN produce enough hot air to not cool the water! ;)
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Not that anyone would want a salesman blowing bubbles in their tub. :o
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Chas,
Everything you say is correct, but I have to take your comments with a grain of salt because the product you sell doesn’t have it. Also, I don’t think the air blower should be a deciding factor in the purchase, but what Hotspring tells its sales people is somewhat misleading. I’m actually more on your side on this debate, but I want to be the devils advocate.
It will cool the water, but not as drastically as you make it out to be. I can say with great certainty if you went to the local Sundance dealer and turned on the air blower and the two therapy pumps, you would not see the temperature go down in a half hour of use. This is going be the case because of the insulation and heater that Sundance is using.
Let’s look at this from a different perspective.
If you induce air using the therapy pumps in both the Hotspring and Sundance the spa can’t have air and not reduce the temperature in the spa. Just by inducing air you will reduce the temperature. Please don’t even respond, well, Hotspring uses a pump shroud. It minimizes the reduction in temperature. The shroud does not stop the spa from cooling.
Sundance offers an air blower, a feature that Hotspring does not offer. It is air and you can’t have air and not reduce the temperature of the spa. The air blower will lower the temperature of the spa.
How come Hotspring is able to keep the temperature of the spa the same when inducing the air? Mainly because of the heater and insulation. This is also the case in the Sundance even if it has an extra pump that just emits air.
About raising the sanitizer to eye level, most consumers use MPS before each use. MPS has no noticeable affects to the consumer during use. Your reference is a sales scare tactic. It is true, yes, but does it really have an affect on the user, absolutely not.
Also, in regards to the removal of the air blower or the flooding of the lines, the manufacturers that use an air blower have an automatic setting that the air blower will turn on every 12 hours to un-flood the lines.
Chris
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Ed is correct in that when we activate the Blower in the Optima, there is an initial rush in of cool air- you can feel it out of the bubbler jets. If neither of the pumps are running, then the water temperature will decrease by a few degrees over time. I think the heater kicks on when the water temp. drops 2 degrees from the temerature setting. If we turn on the bubbler when both pumps are cranking, the cooling affect of the blower is less noticible.
This is what I've observed from using our blower.
The blower does add an interesting dimension to the soak, often we don't use it, but Mrs. Brewman likes it, so every so ofter we fire it up. The aroma bead thing doesn't work very well at all. Not sure if it's to do with the quality of the scent beads or what. Our dealer seems to be not carrying the beads, they only have a scant selection left. They seem to be pushing the Baqua/Brillinace scents instead.
Brewman
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I have never experienced the heater not keeping up with the air blower.
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I guess I have always looked at it from the ambient air temperature prospective. To me, if you have a spa sitting outside in zero degree air and you turn on the blower you will have a pretty decent rate of cool down. Even with the air coming from the motor area that is heated and heated air blower the air that is hitting the main spa area cannot be close to the 104 water temp therefore it would cool it rapidly. By rapidly I mean much faster than if the same spa were used without the blower on.
But I could be wrong. Afterall it was Hot Spring that told me this. ;D
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It will cool the water, but not as drastically as you make it out to be. I can say with great certainty if you went to the local Sundance dealer and turned on the air blower and the two therapy pumps, you would not see the temperature go down in a half hour of use. This is going be the case because of the insulation and heater that Sundance is using.
Ok, but turn off the heater and see what happens. The blower moves a much higher volume of air than the jets. And yes, the pump shroud does help because the pump motor creates a good amount of hot air, which would not work for a blower but does work for the smaller amount of air going into the jets. Let’s look at this from a different perspective.
If you induce air using the therapy pumps in both the Hotspring and Sundance the spa can’t have air and not reduce the temperature in the spa. Just by inducing air you will reduce the temperature.
Perhaps, but not by much - keep in mind that the air volume going into the jets is tiny compared to the amount from a blower. Please don’t even respond, well, Hotspring uses a pump shroud. It minimizes the reduction in temperature. The shroud does not stop the spa from cooling.
No - but it does greatly reduce the amount of cooling, and in warm climates yes it can stop the cooling. The point is not does air in a spa cool it, the point is that a blower pushes a huge amount of air while the jets draw a small amount of air. And the shrould IS able to make a big difference. Now, turn on the heaters in both spas, and you may still have a problem: if your Sundance is running less than 60 amp service, the heater is programmed to go off when all the pumps and blower are on. So it's not even part of the picture. The HS system can run all pumps and heat at the same time.
The air blower will lower the temperature of the spa.
True. How come Hotspring is able to keep the temperature of the spa the same when inducing the air? Mainly because of the heater and insulation. This is also the case in the Sundance even if it has an extra pump that just emits air.
Yes these spas have an excellant heater, and are well insulated. But the reason the HS can keep it's heat while running is more than that. The pump shroud helps a lot. The fact that the circ pump is tied into all the other systems to keep a little water moving in all the areas of the spa including the plumbing so you don't turn on the jets and get a blast of cold water also helps. Insulated motor compartment, insulated plumbing which is kept away from the outside of the tub and other design features all help. And of course, no blower. About raising the sanitizer to eye level, most consumers use MPS before each use. MPS has no noticeable affects to the consumer during use. Your reference is a sales scare tactic. It is true, yes, but does it really have an affect on the user, absolutely not.
I would disagree. Keep in mind that I have sold hundreds of spas from other makers with blowers. As a side note, Caldera spas do come with blowers. And blowers do raise a cloud of sanitizer to eye level. It even happens in in-ground tubs. Go to a hotel/motel and try it. Now, I don't know if I agree that 'most people' use MPS - but it doesn't matter. If its MPS, then it dissipates almost instantly, and since it is oderless, you don't smell it anyway. But you are still breathing it. If its chlorine, you smell it and breate it. etc. Scare tactic? Its a simple fact. Are you saying that somehow a certain brand of tub has found a way to pass a large volume of air through a body of water and NOT do this? Sorry, but the spas I sold with blowers did the exact same thing. I told the customers to be sure to add chlroine after use, and not to use the blower when the chlorine levels were high - as they might be right after a shock treatment. Also, in regards to the removal of the air blower or the flooding of the lines, the manufacturers that use an air blower have an automatic setting that the air blower will turn on every 12 hours to un-flood the lines.
That's true Chris, but that's not what I'm talking about - I simply mentioned that to illustrate that many of our customers, when faced with a large repair bill to replace a blower, tell us not to bother because they don't use it enough to warrant the expense. That's all - I find that most of our customers with blower just don't end up using them . Yes, I know there are some folks who love them, some of the folks here on this forum have said so. But I think that is a small percentage of the spa-buyers out there.
You accused me of using a sales scare tactic - let me offer this: I find that the biggest reason spa makers put blowers on tubs is to sell tubs. When you walk into a store and the sales person hits the blower button - it is impressive. Even a tub with garbage jets and crummy pumps can look awesome while the blower is running. And hook the blower to the air system on the jets (a la Cal and others) and you get "turbocharged" jets. Wow - that would make just about any jets sytem look real good.
And many makers have found ways to quiet the blowers down, so the air hitting the water is the noisiest part.
But I stand by my statement that most users simply don't enjoy the blower long term.
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I did not buy a Caldera because it has air jets which during the wet test did exactly what Chas says, causing discomfort to my eyes and breathing in sanitizer fumes. I did buy a spa with a blower using the turbocharged jets methodology and really like it. I can keep the whirlpool and volcano jets open half way and still get plenty of pressure in the seat jets. The volcano provides wonderful thigh and leg massage, by the way.
My next spa will also have a turbocharge blower.
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PART I
Chas,
Chas Quote: “Ok, but turn off the heater and see what happens. The blower moves a much higher volume of air than the jets. And yes, the pump shroud does help because the pump motor creates a good amount of hot air, which would not work for a blower but does work for the smaller amount of air going into the jets.”
I was stating if you did all of those things (turn therapy pump and air blower on) you would not see a noticeable difference in the temperature. I think with the posts that have been stated by Sundance owners in this thread you can pretty much see that the temperature will not be drastically be reduced.
Chas Quote: “Perhaps, but not by much - keep in mind that the air volume going into the jets is tiny compared to the amount from a blower.”
Just curious, can you prove to me that there is more air created from the air blower than the therapy pumps? I ask because when I sit in a Grandee with no air on, I feel nothing coming from the moto-massage precision jets, and I cannot feel the moto-massage going up and down. After adding air, I feel them. I think Hotspring adds a lot of air to their spas.
You are saying that the air blower cools the water drastically, I ask you to go to your local Sundance dealer and run everything for 30 minutes. Tell me if you see a difference. The blower does not lower the temperature as drastically as you make it out to be. This is my main and only point because I agree with the majority of everything else that you say in regards to air blowers. I think you are exaggerating the temperature loss of the air blower.
Chas Quote: “No - but it does greatly reduce the amount of cooling, and in warm climates yes it can stop the cooling. The point is not does air in a spa cool it, the point is that a blower pushes a huge amount of air while the jets draw a small amount of air. And the shrould IS able to make a big difference. Now, turn on the heaters in both spas, and you may still have a problem: if your Sundance is running less than 60 amp service, the heater is programmed to go off when all the pumps and blower are on. So it's not even part of the picture. The HS system can run all pumps and heat at the same time.”
I disagree by adding air of any kind, in any spa, you will cool the spa using a shroud or not. If the shroud reduces the cooling that is great, but any type of air still cools the spa.
You then discuss in your post how Hotspring can heat and run the jets at once. I think I would prefer to have options in my electrical than not have any at all. Running at 60 amps everything stays on for the Sundance. As I stated before, the temperature does not reduce as drastically as you make it out.
It is not my Sundance. I don’t own a Sundance. Please do not accuse me of being Sundance. That would be inappropriate.
Chas Quote: “Yes these spas have an excellant heater, and are well insulated. But the reason the HS can keep it's heat while running is more than that. The pump shroud helps a lot. The fact that the circ pump is tied into all the other systems to keep a little water moving in all the areas of the spa including the plumbing so you don't turn on the jets and get a blast of cold water also helps. Insulated motor compartment insulated plumbing which is kept away from the outside of the tub and other design features all help. And of course, no blower.”
You spelled excellent wrong. There are 12 year olds reading this. Come on Chas.
Everything you just said is also true with the Sundance except it has a blower and doesn’t have an insulated motor compartment. Now I am not saying your product is bad, but I disagree with the insulated motor compartment, especially with the Hotspring. My main reason is for service reasons, I personally don’t like how in many of the Hotspring spas, the repairman has to remove the entire IQ2020 control box to replace a pump seal or to install the SpAudio the technician has remove many of the spa components.
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Chas Quote: “I would disagree. Keep in mind that I have sold hundreds of spas from other makers with blowers. As a side note, Caldera spas do come with blowers. And blowers do raise a cloud of sanitizer to eye level. It even happens in in-ground tubs. Go to a hotel/motel and try it. Now, I don't know if I agree that 'most people' use MPS - but it doesn't matter. If its MPS, then it dissipates almost instantly, and since it is oderless, you don't smell it anyway. But you are still breathing it. If its chlorine, you smell it and breate it. etc. Scare tactic? Its a simple fact. Are you saying that somehow a certain brand of tub has found a way to pass a large volume of air through a body of water and NOT do this? Sorry, but the spas I sold with blowers did the exact same thing. I told the customers to be sure to add chlroine after use, and not to use the blower when the chlorine levels were high - as they might be right after a shock treatment.”
On a side note, ever have to replace an air injector in an old Coleman? What a pain in the butt.
All air still dissipates at eye level. Is there more of it with a blower? Yes, but it air is still air and all spas use a lot of it. The consumer still has to smell and breathe it, with or without an air blower.
My main reason for this discussion is that you make air blower out to be one of the worse things in spas. What would you do if Hotspring suddenly started offering an air blower? Would you still say how bad they are? Remember when the Hotspring were against colors and two pump systems…
In closing, if you decide to respond to this post, I will not post another response to you because there is no reason to keep beating dead horses. We are both professionals and allowed to have our own opinions even if my opinion is the correct one. :)
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Just curious, can you prove to me that there is more air created from the air blower than the therapy pumps? I ask because when I sit in a Grandee with no air on, I feel nothing coming from the moto-massage precision jets, and I cannot feel the moto-massage going up and down. After adding air, I feel them. I think Hotspring adds a lot of air to their spas.
Sorry, someone said grandee so I had to post. ;D
I don't understand your use of air in this regard. In the grandee there is a button to turn on the jet pump, and then the controls next to the moto-massage (I have always assumed) act like mini-diverters putting water into, or away from, the individual jets.
How are you controlling an air mixture in the grandee? It seems to me you are saying "if I turn the jets off, I don't feel them, but if I turn them on, I feel them".
I'm confused!
-Ed
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You spelled excellent wrong. There are 12 year olds reading this. Come on Chas.
Well we were having a civil discussion until this. I can't believe it. Once your argument runs out, it turns into personal attack.
I guess that means I "win."
;)
You know what I miss? The spell check I used to have built into my browser before I switched to Mozilla Firefox. Anyone know of a place to go get one that will work?
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Air induction can and will also cool the water but typically not as much as forced air. Sometimes however I believe that it is an illusion as to how much. The evaporative cooling feel of air in water will instantly feel like the water is getting cooler.
Here is a test for you, dip your hand in hot water and then blow on your hand it will instantly feel cooler even though your breath is coming out over 90 degrees, that’s evaporative cooling.
Another thing that has been a factor in adding blowers in the last several years is the practice of injecting the forced air into the jets much like a turbo charger as opposed to just having little “salt and pepper shaker” type jets in the seats that are air only. A example of this would be like when your pouring gas from a gas can you open the little cap on the back of the can for “air induction” and the flow instantly increases, now imagine putting an air compressor fitting over the hole and turning it on, the gas now “shoots” out as opposed to just flowing.
There are things that I like about an air blower in a turbo jet system and I like the feel of the cool air in the hot water. I also like the ability to cool the water when I want, the negatives are that the seat “blower only” jets are usually kind of harsh, I don’t like the water bubbling on the surface splashing me and yes sometimes it does cool the water when I don’t want it to.
Overall, my philosophy is if you can make it work without it as effectively then don’t add it. Chas is right, over the years blowers have had a high fail rate but so have Circ pumps and many people add them still. The reason I bring this up is because it falls within that same philosophy, if you can eliminate systems with more components and pluming while accomplishing similar results why wouldn’t you?
Making those things an option that the customer can choose to pay for or not pay for may be a better solution....
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All right you guys, if I remember this weekend, I will conduct a short experiment. I'll turn down the temp setting to the Optma to as low as it will go to keep the heater off, then fire up the blower for 20 minutes with the cover off, and see how far the water temp drops. The ambient temperature for this weekend is somewhere in the low 40 degree range.
Brewman
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All right you guys, if I remember this weekend, I will conduct a short experiment. I'll turn down the temp setting to the Optma to as low as it will go to keep the heater off, then fire up the blower for 20 minutes with the cover off, and see how far the water temp drops. The ambient temperature for this weekend is somewhere in the low 40 degree range.
Brewman
Cool! Or , uh, it will be soon....
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..............I'll let ya know!
Mrs. Brewman may question my sanity, but sometimes you gotta take one for the team.
Brewman
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What is wrong with an air blower during summer time? Seems like a good way to cool down the water if it is getting over heated by sun?
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What is wrong with an air blower during summer time? Seems like a good way to cool down the water if it is getting over heated by sun?
The dry ice injectors do a good job at that too.
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The dry ice injectors do a good job at that too.
Can I borrow yours?
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What is wrong with an air blower during summer time? Seems like a good way to cool down the water if it is getting over heated by sun?
My idea would be to set the temp where you like it in the first place. During a heat wave, I turn my spa down to about 97 to 98 - it feels very cool and refreshing. Cooler than that actually feels cold if you stay in very long.
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Ok, I did the test this morning. Air temperature was just under 40 degrees. Starting water temperature was 100. Ran the blower for one 20 minute cycle, and ended with a 97 degree reading.
Heater was off the entire time, as was the cover.
Brewman
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OK, a possibly good "control" test would be to start at 100, leave the cover off, and don't start up the spa. Check temp in 20 minutes.
Other tests might be to start at 100, set the thermostat so low that the heater will not come on and leave the blower off:
Run the spa on the primary pump at low speed for 20 minutes.
Then at high speed for the third test.
I have done these tests on my TP spa and will provide the results if anyone cares.
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Ok, I did the test this morning. Air temperature was just under 40 degrees. Starting water temperature was 100. Ran the blower for one 20 minute cycle, and ended with a 97 degree reading.
Heater was off the entire time, as was the cover.
Brewman
Thanks! You didn't mention: were you able to enjoy your tub during this experiment?
Well, that's not as bad as I expected. But three degrees in 20 minutes would equal 9 degrees an hour - I know that is a very rough extension on a single test with many unknown variables. That much would make me want to get out at about 15 minutes.
BTW, that is about the rate at which most 220 spas heat: roughly nine or ten degrees an hour. So your tub could most likely keep at the set temp if the heater was allowed to cycle as needed.
But the amount of energy used would be:
6000 watt heater+circ pump+blower motor+jets if running X the length of time used. Also, if there was an extra degree lost per 20 minutes, perhpas due to more users, a bit of breeze, or even colder temps than you mentioned, you would have to allow for the heater to run a bit after the blower stops to catch up. I'm going to do the same thing on my Vista: lid open, all jets on (with air injection) and I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm curious - is your spa capable of heating when the blower is on or does the control system lock it out?
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Sorry, ran out of time, and I can't find my real acurrate thermometer anyway. I just got things going and I have to run.
I'll try again tonight, or early tomorrow.
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No, I didn't get to use the spa this morning during the test. I was on my way to work (%$@*#@!!) and only had about 30 minutes to spare.
But we did get to enjoy the tub last night; thanks for asking!
I believe the heater will kick in when both pumps are running and the blower is on. I have the Optima running with the 60 amp breaker. We don't often run the blower at the same time the 2 pumps are cranking at full speed, but I'm thinking the heat would stay on.
I'll have to try that this evening if we can get some soak time in.
Dr. Eclat has some good suggestions. It would have been interesting to know what the heat loss would have been using those suggested control tests for comparison purposes.
The wind was a bit nippy during the test, I'm sure that affected the heat loss as well.
Brewman
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I've owned tubs with and without blowers (optima being one of them). the question should not be about cooling the water but wether or not it offers any hydrotheraputic(sp?) benefit. IMO the blower offers absolutely no , none, zero, zilch therapy benefit. it looks impressive but that's it.
The optima would be just as good a tub without the blower, the only time I used mine was to blow out the blower lines just in case something was growing in there.
Oh, wet test too... ;D
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My old Coleman had a blower and air injectors, My new Coleman doesn't. We don't miss it.
I do however have the ability to add air pressure to the jets on both speeds, on all three pumps. We enjoy the therapy options this gives us.
Spahappy :D
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I've owned tubs with and without blowers (optima being one of them). the question should not be about cooling the water but wether or not it offers any hydrotheraputic(sp?) benefit. IMO the blower offers absolutely no , none, zero, zilch therapy benefit. it looks impressive but that's it.
The optima would be just as good a tub without the blower, the only time I used mine was to blow out the blower lines just in case something was growing in there.
Oh, wet test too... ;D
The original poster's question was concerning the blower's affect on water temperature.
Blowers, waterfalls, color switching lites, stereos, TV's, and the like all do not add any theraputic value to the spa, but they can add enjoyment. Which from a certain point of view can be theraputic, as well as adding a little fun to the experience.
no right or wrong here, just personal preference.
Brewman
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I agree with brewman. I don't believe the air blower on an Optima is meant for therapy just as a waterfall does not give real therapy, but many people like and enjoy them. The air blower is just another way to enjoy the spa. I use mine when there are a lot of people in the tub at the same time, generally sipping on refreshments and enjoying each others company. I usually run the whirlpool jets on low along with it. It gives relaxing water movement and adds to the social atmosphere. I do not use the blower if I am in the tub alone for therapy. I also enjoy using the scents with the blower. Though not very strong, it does add fragrance to the air. To answer another question, the heater runs with all the pumps on and the air blower with 60 amps and with one of the therapy pumps and the air blower with 50 amps.
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Blowers, waterfalls, color switching lites, stereos, TV's, and the like all do not add any theraputic value to the spa, but they can add enjoyment.
I disagree, blowers can add to the theraputic benefit. Depends on the set up. I find a blower plumbed into the massage jets, not pepper jets, increases the power of massage.
The same goes for venturi injectors.
You cant say that venturi injector increases power of jets and not blowers. That would not be logical.
HTM
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Interesting. I was only answering from my spa, which has a blower which is not plumbed into the therapy jets, but with the pepper jets, using your term.
My spa has the venturi type air controls that allow air into the therapy jets, and I agree that these definately change the massage.
Brewman