Circulation Pump or Not

[Fireman]

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether a circulation pump is going to save money when it comes to the cost to operate a hot tub.  Eliminating the possibility that it will break somewhere down the road will a circulation pump save money on a monthly electric bill?  I'm sure there are a lot of other variables that need considered but in general I'm just wondering if there are any fact based results that exist related to using a circulation pump.   For my particular situation I'm considering the jacuzzi j-245 and bullfrog x7 and live in the north east and operating costs in the winter months are a concern for me.   - Thanks 

[av8r]

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether a circulation pump is going to save money when it comes to the cost to operate a hot tub.  Eliminating the possibility that it will break somewhere down the road will a circulation pump save money on a monthly electric bill?  I'm sure there are a lot of other variables that need considered but in general I'm just wondering if there are any fact based results that exist related to using a circulation pump.   For my particular situation I'm considering the jacuzzi j-245 and bullfrog x7 and live in the north east and operating costs in the winter months are a concern for me.   - Thanks

I worried about this a bit, too.  I found several posts where someone had gone through the gyrations regarding this.  Running a small, 110 pump 24/7 vs a larger pump a few hours a day at low speed should work out to about the same cost. 

We have friends who have had tubs for decades (outside in upstate NY) and when I asked about operating costs they suggested that a new tub (with circ pumps) didn't seem to have a lot of effect on their energy bills.

Good luck.  For us, I gave up on the idea of ozone, UV and circ pumps and kept with the KISS method.

[Racenut]

I insisted on a circ pump.  Our tub sits right outside the door and almost right below my neighbor's bedroom window.  I didn't want to hear the big pump kicking on whenever it wanted heat. Both for myself and courtesy to my neighbor. Though newer tubs are quieter these days. My old tub has a circ pump, it's never given a single problem. 15+ years old.

We also prefer bromine w/ozone, and ozone works better with a circ pump, otherwise it can only work during filter cycles.

I've heard that it's more economical to run, but can't imagine it's a lot.  Probably several years to get back the cost of the circ pump option in savings.

[darin.brown]

thread bump but we're facing a similar situation with our Bullfrog spa. it'll be immediately outside our master bedroom window so noise is our primary concern. We've added the ozone as part of the Bullfrog package if that impacts the recommendation in any way. haven't decided on bromine/chlorine but were leaning towards bromine. the Bullfrog has 2 pumps iirc without the circ pump added and I could easily scheduled those to run like 2-4 hours a day outside of sleeping hours but wanted to elicit feedback on that approach vs just going with the circ pump for around $275.

[Hottubguy]

I would skip it buts that's just my opinion. First thing to break usually

[The Wizard of Spas]

Pros and cons with each way.  I stock and sell brands that have them and brands that don't.  Some circ pumps are tied into the heater and other motors so if it dies on you it makes a small problem a larger one.  But in my view- The circ pump/no circ pump debate should be way down on the list.  Quality of the brand, quality of the dealer, is the tub comfortable, so on, so forth should be where you focus your attention.  Water chemistry is way more important than ozone, filters and filtration.  Yes you need filtration and decent filters but balanced water does the overwhelming majority of the work.  Stay up on your chemistry and you wont have issues.  Hence, I feel the circ pump vs no circ pump is more an exercise in salesmanship vs an actual pressing issue, and why i prioritize it so low.

And nowadays most quality tubs have rubber-mounted motors for noise reduction so I haven't seen a real issue with noise, especially since the cover will also muffle the sound.

Not to be a contrarian, and not to marginalize your concerns, but I believe this is way less of an issue than what is actually important long-term.  However, as I seem to be of a minority point of view on this specific thread, the others have noted some things that you may consider.  Yes circ pumps have overall savings on a monthly level.  But they tend to last shorter than regular motors so its probably a wash financially.  Just depends on the brand and what motors/motherboards they carry. 

Good luck moving forward.   

[Vinny]

I have a circ pump on my almost 11 YO spa. I like the idea of not having a larger pump kick in for filtering and heating. I also like the idea that the water is constantly filtering but on my tub, Artesian Grand Cayman, it is a rather large circ pump and it moves a lot of water and doesn't require additional help from any of the other pumps.

Will it break down eventually - I guess so. I have issues with one of the other pumps so I am suspecting eventually it will become problematic.

If you want quiet - nothing is quieter than a tub just sitting there without a circ pump running; there is a slight hum of the pump but nothing like the sound of when the other pumps kick on (forget about the noise if you leave the air on!). If you time the filtering/heating to happen when you're not home most of the time, then theoretically you won't hear the noise it makes most of the time.

[Sam]

Pros and cons with each way.  I stock and sell brands that have them and brands that don't.  Some circ pumps are tied into the heater and other motors so if it dies on you it makes a small problem a larger one.  But in my view- The circ pump/no circ pump debate should be way down on the list.  Quality of the brand, quality of the dealer, is the tub comfortable, so on, so forth should be where you focus your attention.  Water chemistry is way more important than ozone, filters and filtration.  Yes you need filtration and decent filters but balanced water does the overwhelming majority of the work.  Stay up on your chemistry and you wont have issues.  Hence, I feel the circ pump vs no circ pump is more an exercise in salesmanship vs an actual pressing issue, and why i prioritize it so low.

And nowadays most quality tubs have rubber-mounted motors for noise reduction so I haven't seen a real issue with noise, especially since the cover will also muffle the sound.

Not to be a contrarian, and not to marginalize your concerns, but I believe this is way less of an issue than what is actually important long-term.  However, as I seem to be of a minority point of view on this specific thread, the others have noted some things that you may consider.  Yes circ pumps have overall savings on a monthly level.  But they tend to last shorter than regular motors so its probably a wash financially.  Just depends on the brand and what motors/motherboards they carry. 

Good luck moving forward.

This is a really good post and I concur.

[d00nut]

My personal opinion.  Go with the circ pump.  I sell Bullfrog, and the one thing I notice is that the pH in the Bullfrogs without circ pumps is always high.  Why?  Because Bullfrog doesn't have diverters or air valves.  You are always putting air in a Bullfrog Spa without a circ pump.  Other spas without circ pumps can turn off the air, which means it's easier to keep the pH down.  Just my opinion.  Just seeing real life use out of the customers that have Bullfrogs in the field. 

Not bashing the brand by any means.  They are amazing hot tubs!