Super clorinate for vacation, or not?

[vangoghsear]

I going away for 9 days and I have been researching the best way to leave the hot tub for that length of time.  Here is my plan:

1.  Lower the temp to 80 deg.
2.  Super chlorinate by adding about a cup of Clorox.
3.  Cover the tub UNDER the lid with a plastic tarp to protect the lid from the high chlorine level.
4.  Lock the lid.

Now here is my question, my TDS level is high and the tub is due for a change  I am stretching the change for when I return (we leave Friday the 19th and will be back on the 28th).  I am super chlorinating to protect the pipes and the tub, not the water, but I have an Ozone generator and a few weeks left on a Nature2 stick. 

Do I need to super chlorinate or should I just add a few ounces and let the Nature2 and Ozone cover while the chlorine level drops so I can dump the water when I return?

[wmccall]

If your going to change anyway, I wouldn't risk cover damage from high chlorine, I'd put minimal in and turn the temp down.  With no usage it shouldn't go disgustingly bad.

[vangoghsear]

Thanks for the quick response wmccall!

That's what I was hoping would be the answer.  I was worried about the corrosive effects of the chlorine on the cover, the pipes, and equipment systems.

[Chas]

Where do you live? We offer a free service to our customers: if they are going away, we will come and use there spa for them, free of charge!

Especially if they live right on the beach, or in a nice home with a view.

 

[vangoghsear]

Where do you live? We offer a free service to our customers: if they are going away, we will come and use there spa for them, free of charge!

Especially if they live right on the beach, or in a nice home with a view.

 

Now that's what I call service! 

Actually, that was one of my other thoughts.  I was going to ask a couple of friends who have used the tub with us to come over a couple of times to use the tub then throw in some Dichlor when they get out, but I think I just want to keep the top locked when we aren't there.

[Chas]

I was going to ask a couple of friends who have used the tub with us to come over a couple of times to use the tub then throw in some Dichlor when they get out, but I think I just want to keep the top locked when we aren't there.

This is NOT a job for amateurs - I am fully qualified as a "hot tub user" and carry all the necessary credentials. 

I like your plan - will your spa stay at 80? Most HotSpring tubs, and other tubs with full-time circ pumps will run into the nineties just from the small amount of heat the circ pump adds. No big deal, your plan should still work fine. But if you do own a HS tub, you might also switch on the "summer timer" to kill the circ pump eight hours per day.

HTH

 

[vangoghsear]

I was going to ask a couple of friends who have used the tub with us to come over a couple of times to use the tub then throw in some Dichlor when they get out, but I think I just want to keep the top locked when we aren't there.

This is NOT a job for amateurs - I am fully qualified as a "hot tub user" and carry all the necessary credentials. 

True, there really is no real substitute for credentialed, highly qualified, service professionals if you want the job done well.

I like your plan - will your spa stay at 80? Most HotSpring tubs, and other tubs with full-time circ pumps will run into the nineties just from the small amount of heat the circ pump adds. No big deal, your plan should still work fine. But if you do own a HS tub, you might also switch on the "summer timer" to kill the circ pump eight hours per day.

HTH

 

I have a Bullfrog Sportx model 151R.  It has one pump that runs two speeds.  Currently, it is set up to run for a couple of hours, a couple of times a day.  It's only 280 gallons so it seems to get filtered pretty well during that short a run (I may have to change that in the Winter to avoid freezing, but it seems to hold its heat pretty well). 

So my latest evolution of the plan is to

1. set the tub to 80 (I think it will stay close to there, it may rise up a bit when the pumps run, but it is pretty infrequent)
2. put in a few ounces of Clorox,
3. lock down the lid
4. let the remaining Nature2 and Ozone take care of the rest of the sanitation til I get home and change the water.

[Bonibelle]

I left my tub for 18 days and returned to crystal clear water..but I use the spa frog and bromine. I am only adding to this conversation because if you plan to leave your tub often, you may consider the switch to bromine.  Lowering the temp is one way to reduce the need for sanitizers, but will there be any danger of freezing temperatures and the possiblity of power outages? I know we have discussed this before but just a thought. 

[vangoghsear]

I left my tub for 18 days and returned to crystal clear water..but I use the spa frog and bromine. I am only adding to this conversation because if you plan to leave your tub often, you may consider the switch to bromine.  Lowering the temp is one way to reduce the need for sanitizers, but will there be any danger of freezing temperatures and the possiblity of power outages? I know we have discussed this before but just a thought.

It's rare that I get away for more than a week.  That's one of the reasons I wanted a hot tub:  make staying home a bit more 'vacation-like'. 

[wmccall]

In my neighborhood I would consider putting some kind of CDC Quarantine sign and maybe a couple of hazardous waste signs up to keep neighbors out.

[Chas]

I left my tub for 18 days...

Bonibelle: have you and your tub patched things up? Did you apologize to your tub?

Bill: Where do I get such signs? And will anyone report me if I DO find them and buy them? Brilliant idea, though.

 

[vangoghsear]

Thought I'd pop back in here to let you all know what I did and how it made out.

I ended up putting in 8 ounces of Clorox, set the temp down to 80, and locked the top.  When I got back there was still a 3 ppm chlorine rating showing on the dip stick.

[deld]

This is good to know.  A friend an I have been trying to do a 2 week road trip once a year.  If I can just lower the temp, add some extra bleach and then about halfway through the trip have the cat sitter add some more bleach, that'd be great.  Then we we get back, just raise the temp again. 

We usually travel in the summer, so I wonder if leaving the cover off in the over 100* air would help it heat faster.  Anyone know?

[chem geek]

I ended up putting in 8 ounces of Clorox, set the temp down to 80, and locked the top.  When I got back there was still a 3 ppm chlorine rating showing on the dip stick.

Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.  Was this the older 6% Clorox regular bleach or was it the newer Clorox which is now 8.25%?  If it was 6%, then 8 ounces in 280 gallons would be 13.8 ppm FC.  Ending up with 3 ppm FC after 9 days is a loss of 15.6% per day at 80ºF.  That's actually pretty good considering that you have an ozonator since ozone breaks down chlorine so having it run a couple of hours twice a day must have been low enough to not be a problem..  In the future, if there were a way to keep the circulation but to turn off the ozonator, then the chlorine would probably last even longer losing less than 10% per day.  I assume that since you used Dichlor previously that you had some CYA in the water so that helped to moderate chlorine's strength.

[chem geek]

We usually travel in the summer, so I wonder if leaving the cover off in the over 100* air would help it heat faster.  Anyone know?

That depends on whether the air is dry and/or windy and whether the tub is exposed to sun.  Low humidity and wind increase evaporation which would cool the spa.  If the tub is exposed to sun then it can heat up.  Exposure to just hot air without sun won't heat it up very quickly, but if the air is humid and calm then it might be OK.