What type of ozonator?

[Gary]

Mixing chambers are "supposedly" to give the ozone more time, or ability to be absorbed into the water........... or so it's claimed.

I still challenge anyone, manufacturer or other, to produce the results of a peer reviewed study showing the effectiveness of ozone in a residential spa....Anyone? Anyone at all?

You know you will never see such a study.

Personally on my spa I did a little experimenting, I ran the spa 1 month with and 1 month without an ozonator. Both were fresh fills and usage and chemicals maintenance was the same. Of course there are other factors I could not control but for the most part the month with ozone I did have better water. Can you take care of the water without one, absolutely.

[Jet Sitter]

I have read where many owners feel that ozone has been very helpful in reducing chemical usage in thier tubs - others report little or no benefit.  Dr Spa says that no one has yet produced a study that documents the benefits of ozone in a residential spa.

I think that I would be reluctant to add an ozonator to a tub that was not designed with a mixing or contact chamber to try to get more effective treatment and reduce the off gassing that is so hard on the pillow etc.  It seems that you could still have potential off gassig if the ozone output is high and your contamination is low.

I am still trying to decide whether we should get an ozonator in our new tub, but I have been thinking of going with the dichlor-ozone-nature2 approach that so many like.

[snoopydance]

Do folks have an opinion on the Clarathon Long-Life Ozonator Kit 240V? Here's a link at Spadepot. It sounds good, but I'm a total novice. http://www.spadepot.com/shop/Clarathon-Long-Life-Ozonator-Kit-240V-P9211C221.aspx

Also, should I have the electrician install that when he does the major install?

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Conspiracy does tend to carry a lessor sentence  

[Spatech_tuo]

I love BUBBA!!!!

FYI,  I did not scam them Just trying to help a fellow board member he said he was on a very tight budget so was trying to help.  Maybe I should have PM's him

but give me a break.

I don't think you deserve a break on this. OK, I can see that you had the issue for real and therefore discovered this by chance but what makes me shake my head is to post how to perpetuate this as a scam, which is what you advised to do. Del is a company trying to make a good product and good reputation with employees trying to make a living. Rather than justify it why not say "my bad" and move on?

As far as PMing goes, it would have hidden it so if that's what you mean then sure, I guess you should have PMed it but thats sad if that's your reaction to how this is perceived.

[benalexe]

I don't think you deserve a break on this. OK, I can see that you had the issue for real and therefore discovered this by chance but what makes me shake my head is to post how to perpetuate this as a scam, which is what you advised to do. Del is a company trying to make a good product and good reputation with employees trying to make a living. Rather than justify it why not say "my bad" and move on?

As far as PMing goes, it would have hidden it so if that's what you mean then sure, I guess you should have PMed it but thats sad if that's your reaction to how this is perceived.

I deleted my posts on this thread so I do not get beaten up too much more.   Spatech did you ever copy a friends music CD?   Did you ever download songs from limewire?   Did you ever go to the grocery store and they did not charge you for an extra item?  These too are all scams too.  Having said that if you did not do any of the above than your comments are 100% correct. I do see your point which is why I deleted the posts but I do think there is a little scam in all of us.

[Gary]

I do think there is a little scam in all of us.

If that makes you feel better then keep telling yourself that.

[Gary]

Do folks have an opinion on the Clarathon Long-Life Ozonator Kit 240V? Here's a link at Spadepot. It sounds good, but I'm a total novice. http://www.spadepot.com/shop/Clarathon-Long-Life-Ozonator-Kit-240V-P9211C221.aspx

Also, should I have the electrician install that when he does the major install?

It is an Solid State one so that is much better than a ballast fired type. The price has me skeptical of the quality but it has a three-year warranty.

My opinion on ozonator failures is for every one that the consumer notice there are three more than go unnoticed so keep and eye on it and ask then how to tell if not working.

[Steve]

If that makes you feel better then keep telling yourself that.

LOL... it's kinda like comparing taking an extra mint or toothpick at a restaurant or not waiting your turn at a 4-way stop with lighting your car on fire to get the payout from your insurance company...

[Jet Sitter]

More thoughts on ozonators.  I am probably in the wrong here so please feel free to set me straight.

The convential wisdom is that the higher output CD ozonaotrs are better because the UV models output mcuh less O3 and therefore provide less effective treatment.  It seems to me that with the high out put ozonaotrs you have a much greater chance of having excess ozone that makes its way to the surface and then is available to oxidize pillows and covers.  This seems especially more likely in retrofit situations where the ozone is released to the water soon before it enters the main tub volume.

I think that I would rather have a lower volume UV ozonator running 24/7 with a circ pump than a higher output ozonator running in occassional cycles to reduce the likleihood of off-gassing.  I suppose you could still have a problem with off-gassing if your contamination levels are low.  Some might argue that the treatment levels with UV are too low to be effective.  Do any of you experienced users of UV ozonoators running 24/7 with a circ pump / mixing chamber /contact area arrangment find it to be worthwhile?

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

The convential wisdom is that the higher output CD ozonaotrs are better because the UV models output mcuh less O3 and therefore provide less effective treatment.  

Not necessarily. CD ozonators put out a constant amount of ozone over their life span, while the UV ozonators tend to put out less and less ozone as time goes by. Get a big enough UV unit and it will out perform a smaller output CD unit

It seems to me that with the high out put ozonaotrs you have a much greater chance of having excess ozone that makes its way to the surface and then is available to oxidize pillows and covers.  This seems especially more likely in retrofit situations where the ozone is released to the water soon before it enters the main tub volume.

Interesting assumption. Probably some truth to it, BUT, it really all comes down to how much of the ozone is actually being absorbed into the water (if it's not absorbed into the water it has very little, if any effect).

I think that I would rather have a lower volume UV ozonator running 24/7 with a circ pump than a higher output ozonator running in occassional cycles to reduce the likleihood of off-gassing.

Again, it's all relitive to how much of the ozone is actually being absorbed into the water

Do any of you experienced users of UV ozonoators running 24/7 with a circ pump / mixing chamber /contact area arrangment find it to be worthwhile?

I don't think this is a truly answerable question (though there may be some experienced pros here that can in fact answer it). Unless you have 2 of the same spas, side by side, each being used the same amount, you don't really have anything to compare one against the other. Most of us long timers have all come across the person that absolutely swears by his ozone, only to find out they have a UV ozonator, that has a life span of 2 years, and it's 10 years old.

[Vinny]

I am on the side that ozone in a spa is no big deal. There are people here that have gotten better results than I have and who knows how come. I truely believe that each person's water is totally different then the next.

I experimented with my spa and with ozone I did get 1 extra day of clear water from it running it 24/7. It is a Del UV ozonator that was about a year old at the time with it running 8 hours a day previous to my test.

Directly from Del - their UV and CD ozonators put out the same output. What I remember from them is that they both put out minimal ozone.

I was going to be buying a new ozonator this year to experiment with a higher output one but I think I will skip it.

Personally I am trying to figure out how to have my tub perpetually in a chlorine lock situation so that it remains free from bacteria forever with only a little bit of chlorine ... that's where I would head if I were you!

[Jet Sitter]

Good points Dr. Spa - I guess if I am concerned about off-gassing I should focus more on the output of the unit rather than on UV vs CD technology.

It seems the benefits of ozone in a spa are more theoretical than proven, but many seem to think that there is a marginal benefit.  I think I may may go ahead with a low output ozonator when we purchase our tub and use it for the first two or three years while our teenagers will be frequent users.  Hopefully we'll get some benefit from it and we will need all the help we can get.  After that, our use will be more predicatable and I'll be more experienced dealing with spa chemistry, and we can try going without.

Vinnie - let us know when you get that chlorine lock situation figured out - I'll follow in your footsteps!

Snnopydance - sorry if I hijacked your post a bit, but hopefully some of the discussion was relvant to your consideration of an ozonator...