My New HS Glow Spa

[bobaloo]

Thanks to the help of others on this site, I was able to do all the wiring myself on my new spa.  I really enjoy being able to do most things myself.

Here are some pics of the delivery and installation of my new Hot Spring Glow spa.

Slideshow:  http://smg.photobucket.com/user/robertbick/slideshow/Spa

[dunecritter]

Looks GREAT... I just ordered the Tuscan Sun color myself... Patiently waiting for its arrival! Enjoy!  So now that you own this Glow model....Are you enjoying it and its features? Is it a comfortable seating arrangement? Again...Great color combo and nice job on doing the wiring yourself...Very sanitary!

[Topline Mike]

Dude, there's a bear in your tub!

I kinda like your shell color.  Very interesting. 

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Nice set up!    I like the color, when I first saw it with Jacuzzi I was a bit torn..   Tough thing is it seems to come in different shades, I have seen a few shells with way too much grey in it and well it doesn't look good.  I'd say you got a good mix..

[bobaloo]

Thanks everyone!  I really do like the colors... a little different than most others.  I am happy with it, the seats are comfortable and the jets are very powerful.  The foot jets actually hurt the bottoms of my feet if they are too close. LOL

[Topline Mike]

OK, bobaloo, now the important part.  Did you balance your water, or did the dealer do this for you?  What sanitizer are you using?  You need a good test kit to sample your water every day to make sure it's right.  Test strips don't cut the cheese. 

[dunecritter]

Babaloo...Did you go with the ACE salt system or are you using the everfresh/chlorine setup? Tho I agree that test strips are not as "Accurate" but they do in fact get you close and in range...Lets not turn this into a mad science project here...Its a hot tub and the test strips IMHO are just fine. Again its not rocket science and I personally own all the whistle and bells liquid test kits...But I always just refer to my simple use test strips. Test strips have never failed me and they have always worked just fine for me and my coworkers. Everyday??? I have a lot of better things to do than be at my spas beck and call everyday. Heck...I go a month sometimes without ever opening the lid on my spa....but then again I own the ACE system. Hot water science can be of interest more to some than others and you just might be one of those guys that wants to have a water science project with your tub. Keep it simple and maintain your levels and you'll get years and years of enjoyment from your Hot Spring Spa!

[Topline Mike]

To each his own, right.

I believe dunecritter is a hot springs dealer?? 

I know this is not the place to talk about maintenance, but I'm just trying to help a guy out.  I just bought my first spa a month ago.  I had no experience with hot tubs before that.  I educated myself with water maintenance by reading hours and hours on hot tub forums.  If this is your first tub, you probably have a lot of questions about water chemistry.  Your dealer said put this, this, and this in the tub and you're good.  If that's good enough for you, so be it.  I wanted to understand the process, so I knew if I added this, it would change that. 
A test strip pack will cost 10 or 20 bucks, a good test kit will cost around 50 bucks.  That's more than likely less than 1% of what you just invested in.  You do what makes you happy.  I treat my hot tub as if it's a pet.  It needs attention every day, just like a pet.  Now if you are an experienced user, no it doesn't need attention every day.  If 2 minutes a day is too much hassle for you, you might have made a bad decision in buying a hot tub. 
You should familiarize yourself with pH, TA, and CH.  Most of the things you need for your tub can be bought in a grocery store.  All the things you need can be bought as the spa store, for a slight markup. 
Hey, and if you're not using your tub for a month at a time, get rid of it!
Message me if you're interested in learning more about hot tub maintenance, and I'll send some good info your way. 

[dunecritter]

You are correct Mike...I sell Hot Springs Products. Don't get me wrong Mike...I'm not discrediting you or anyone else for wanting to fully understand water chemistry and know the most accurate readings and how often and so on and so on etc...This list goes on and on...I deal with this on a daily basis with first timers that come in and read posts that make spa care look so everwhelming it actually turns them off because all this over the top water science. Again I'm not discrediting you or anyone for that matter....Fact= Test strips are simple and accurate enough to be within specs to properly maintain a tub...I've been a spa owner for 20 plus years and have never added the wrong product because the test strip was wrong. I'm trying to keep it simple for the general spa owner and if they enjoy the science end of it and want to start tweaking it to be 100% and get off on it...Great...That's their choice at that time. But what I'm explaining is it doesn't have to be that intense...Simply put.
And as far as not using my spa in a month... yeah...I probably have a lot of things in my possession that havn't been used all that much and I could probably do without...But maybe I'm a toy hoarder and I might need to seek mental help! But my spa I will never be without....20 plus years and loving it always...I actually normally use my spa 3-4 times a week, I just got bzy with other projects is all.

[Topline Mike]

I can see where you are coming from, dunecritter.  Making the decision on which tub to buy is hard enough, and then load them with water chemistry to top it off.  Would make a man want to drink!  OK

[hottubdan]

Looks similar to my delivery truck and team!

[bobaloo]

Thanks everyone.  This is my first spa but I have owned pools for over 30 years so am familiar with chlorine, pH, TA, etc.  My pools were always crystal clear.  I use the test strips and also a liquid kit just for pH and Cl.  I have been testing every day and need to add Cl either every day or every other day depending on use.

I would be interested in additional hot tub maintenance if someone could send it to me or put up a link. Thanks!

I recently ordered additional dichlor, MPS shock, filter soak and another filter from SpaDepot.com.  I hope it is quality stuff.

[Topline Mike]

I'm assuming you are using the clearwater system from Hot Springs?  Watch your dichlor use.  For every 1 ounce you put in, you are adding 9ppm of CYA (cyanuric acid, also called "stabilizer").  You want to stay between 30 and 50 ppm CYA.  After you've reached your target level of CYA, you can use just Clorox bleach. 

Send me a private message with your email, and I'll send some info to you.

I was going to order some filters from the spadepot, but I couldn't find any reviews on their clarathon filters.  I know they were the cheapest I could find, so I was hesitant.  I ended up buying unicel filters.  I bought TSP from amazon for my filter cleaner.  I couldn't find it in WI, apparently it's banned in my state.   

[texasdfw]

 when adding di chlor it is 99% of the active ingredient , Clorox is around 6 percent of the active ingredient and the rest is "Mostly Water" . I personally don't want to soak in mostly water. As far as the CYA it is not a huge issue because we are supposed to drain our tubs every 4 months anyway.

[wmccall]

I especially like the photo showing the electrical hook up. The only bad thing I can say about my new Sundance is the hook up point was cumbersome.