Chemicals

[mowgli]

Just filled my new Hot Springs Envoy last night!  I can not wait to try it out but I do have a concern---all of the chemicals that came in the "strter kit,"...are they really necessary?  (so much for eating organic foods)!

[Mark_Vee]

What chemicals did you get in your starter kit?

[Chas]

You will need:

Test strips
Spa up or down (most people need only one or the other)
Dichlor
MPS if you got chlorine.

Get used to those, and you'll be fine. Most of the other stuff is helpful for speicial things.

[tubin]

mowgli,
i wasn't to fond of dumping the chemistry set into my tub....i imagined it would smell like a public pool.

but in the right amounts, they should be unnoticed.  it should feel, smell, and look clear.   chas listed exactly what i have been using, the other stuff is like add ons (foam killer, spa scents, etc)

chas,
what is your take on a ph balancer like "perfect ph" that basically adds the whole bottle at fill and stabilizes the ph?  (sorry this is a repeat question in my other thread too about water chemistry)  i have the bottle but haven't used it yet.

[Chas]

I don't sell the pH locking chems - like pH perfect, pH magic, pH perphect, etc. - because they have a very narrow set of parameters in which they will work correctly. Outside of those parameters, or if you don't shut off the heater correctly, they will clog your heater as if you had poured it full of concrete.

I have had to go clean out and replace a few heaters - and a filter or two - and I took the time to read the label: water hardness must be in a certain range, etc. etc.

So - I fall back on my simpler-is-better approach: learn what your water normally does, and adjust it accordingly. In my spa, I can count on adding 4 or 6 ounces of spa down at start up, and a couple of ounces every couple of weeks. I almost don't have to test it any more. And I add a tablespoon of dichlor every time I climb out of it, and two ounces every time my brother-in-law climbs out  

[wmccall]

I don't sell the pH locking chems -

Besides the points that Chas went on to make, the sheer amount required of this product (2 pounds in my case) must add tremendously to the TDS levels making you change your water more often. (At least that is what I would imagine)   I think too many people try to get thier PH dead in the middle of the range.  Depending on alkalinity, I just try to get mine in the lower end of acceptable so I can add the minimal amounts of chemicals.

[tubin]

(and two ounces every time my brother-in-law climbs out  )

ha ha ha, i know the feeling, got some buddies that i "haven't" invited over for a soak for that very purpose.

wmccall,
yep, it says to add the entire bottle at fill (around 32 oz)  i just hate having paid for it and not use it, but i really dont see huge swings in ph without it here.

definitly on board with the minimalistic approach.