To Salt water or not??? that is the question

[bosco0633]

so I was talken to the service guy today when he was replacing the motor and pump.  He was telling me about arctics new saltwater system.  It has intrigued me and I am considering the purchase.  Are these good for hot tubs or better for pools.  

I guess there is a genesis model 1500.00 installed and a new one made by arctic for 2000.00 installed.  That seems a little high in price, but no more worries about forgetting to add my bromine would be nice while on vacation.  Plus no more smell or weard feeling skin after a soak.

I dont know though, 2000.00 seems a bit much, what do you all think???

[kervis]

Just chiming in because I have been swimming in a salt water/chlorine pool this summer with the kids....

When we get out of a chlorine pool, I call it clean.  Disinfected!   Pajamas and get to bed.  Same with our hot tub.

Did not do that after the saltwater pool--indeed, it felt like we were just a bit unclean.  Had to shower before the pajamas.

It did remind me of being at the ocean, however.  

With the chlorine pool we just hung our towels on the fence to dry and used them for a week like that.  Not with the saltwater towels--they felt yucky.

[bosco0633]

interesting,  from what I understand, it is more sanitary then bromine and that you dont taste salt like an ocean as it is more a chemical reaction.  

But if is the case, the I am more than likely going to save my 2000.00.   I really dont mind the bromine, but momma bear seems to hate it, as she always runs to the shower after.  Well she walks now as last time she started running wet on the slippery house tiles, she fell pretty good.
I giggled and was unable to assist as I could not compose myself.  

[Steelerpete]

Hi Bosco, I have the Onzen system in my new tub and it's great, no having to add chems to the tub, the system converts the salt to bromine and there isn't any smell, the suits don't fade and the skin feels great. All you have to do is set the time duration for it to produce bromine in hours and shock once a week, and the water stays crystal clear. Now I had the system included in the tub price so if I had to pay 1800 for it then I would really have to think about it.  You will never buy bromine again, but the salt is 45 dollars and is good for 2 fills, and the water should last close to 6 months. You should see if the dealer will give this to you at cost for all your troubles, talk to Trevor at the Upper James Arctic he is a great guy and he's the one that sold me my new tub and maybe he can pull some strings.

Pete

[bosco0633]

where are you located steelerplate??? Im on west mountain hamilton


i use to deal with Phil but he is now gone, i doubt that i will be able to get anything for cost after all the problems.  Im hated!!!!

[Vinny]

The problem with salt it is highly corrosive. Getting water anywhere it shouldn't be can lead to problems. Splash water out onto something metal and it'll be eaten by the salt. Also, even though you pay whatever for the system, the salt water generator electrodes needs to be replaced every so often.

A few years ago on a pool forum I asked about putting one on a above ground pool and the expert's advice (someone who sold these SW generators) told me don't even think about it because of the salt's corrosiveness.

I would think that splashing, dripping and emptying would play havok with a lot of things.

If bromine is not working - buy a 2 lb bottle of chlorine the next water change and try that. You know you got friends here that'll talk you through it!

[bosco0633]

vinny your a good guy, I may just do that!

[Steelerpete]

I'm the Steeler fan out in Paris, On who had the Coyote Renegade, but I've upgraded to the Summit LE.

It's worth going in and asking, here is some pic's and maybe you will remember.

Pete

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1217702422

[bosco0633]

sweet tubs  what did they do with the old one, how much did you get back or did you take a hit.  I originally bought the sumit, but changed my mind last second and bought the tundra.  

Good tubs those arctics, good good tubs not to mention sexy as hell!!!

[cpumodem]

Hi Bosco. Like SteelerPete I also just received an Arctic Glacier Signature with the Onzen salt sytem.  The salt that I use makes chlorine.  This arctic hot tub replaced a tub that I had for 9 years.  It took some getting used to and a couple of calls to Arctic's Onzen customer support line to get a few questions answered.

Both my wife and I love the tub.  And the only chemicals that I use now is shock and PH down.
Just last week my wife and I went for 4 days to Seattle and when we got back the Onzen system did its job keeping the free chlorine at an acceptable level.

There is nothing like getting out of a hot tub with your skin still soft. Not like the other tub that I had.

Chuck

[Steelerpete]

Hey they took the old tub in as a trade in and I took a bit of a hit but they also gave me a great price on the new tub.

Pete

[gowyn]

I'll wade in on this one I think.

We have a saltwater pool.  Love it.  No smell, no itchy red eyes.  Barely even notice the taste, feels softer.  Hate the smell of chlorine.  Years of racing in pools.

I read somewhere and now for the life of me can't remember where but it addressed a lot of myths about saltwater, disproved most of them too.  Level of salt is about the same as a tear drop.  If anything the grass around my pool is greener than everywhere else.

We just had a Arctic Frontier with Onzen put in so again we went with salt.  I know with the pool I do very little maintenance wise, just test and clean. I'm lucky I can do this, worked with pumps and water for years and kept saltwater fish tanks so I'm quick to notice subtle changes.  Haven't added chemicals all summer.

Because the spa runs hotter than a pool I expect to do a little more maintenance wise with it but no really too much.  Different temp range.

My advice Bosco would wait on the Onzen.  I know this contradicts everything I've said but the Onzen system is new.  The installer said it's a great system which I don't doubt and that most other manufacturers will end up copying it but the beauty of the Arctics is they can be upgraded at any time so I'd wait to see if any bugs develop and they can be worked out.  If others start copying the unit then also the price may come down too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I got the system but it was a package deal

[Renee]

I did research on salt water tubs when we were looking for a hot tub.  Find out what the warranty is on those systems.  The place that we were looking had little or no warranty on the tubs they were selling with the salt water system.  That right there says a lot. From what I've researched, the salt water does a number on your heater, and it won't last very long.  So if you don't mind replacing parts, then it's not a big deal.  We decided the cons outweighed the pros and stuck with a name brand product with a good warranty.   Now if Jacuzzi and Hot Springs and other big companies start coming out with these salt water systems backed by a good warranty, I'd think about it.   The Hot Springs dealer here said Hot Springs tried the salt water systems for a few years, and they were having so many problems with it that they scrapped it so not to give Hot Springs a bad name.  Not sure if that is true or not, but that's what they told us.  

[Gary]

I  The Hot Springs dealer here said Hot Springs tried the salt water systems for a few years, and they were having so many problems with it that they scrapped it .  

Them and a bunch of other manufactures also. These salt system seems to come up every few years and then they go away.

There is no questioning the salt systems are harder on heaters and SS jets but a bigger problem that I have seen with them is that most people will not follow the directions. The mind set is "if I am spending all this extra money for this it must make spa care easier" and so people will equate that to it will take care of everything, "all I need to do is add this bag of salt and I done". You spend just about the same amount of time maintaining your spa whether you are using salt, chlorine, bromine or biguanide which really is not that much time to begin with.

But no matter what you use I have seen people ruin a hot tub using all the methods.

[Renee]

But no matter what you use I have seen people ruin a hot tub using all the methods.

Good point Gary.  People that expect to get a hot tub with little or no maintenance have no business getting a hot tub.  They do require regular care and maintenance, no matter what chemical method you use.