@ease affected by temp?

[tmaestas95]

Does anyone know if the @ease smartchlor floater is negatively affected by low (~92-94F) temps?  I just got my tub up and running, established an initial FC of ~3ppm then dropped the @ease floater in, but each morning when I test the water with the @ease strips my result is lighter than it says it should be - and the floater is cranked open all the way to 4 (i have a Bullfrog R8 - 524 gallons).  Since we're in the middle of a heat wave I've got the tub set at 92F and "rest" mode.  PH and AK were originally at fill time right on, but measured a little low the second day, so I added a tablespoon of PH/Alk increaser tonight.

Granted its only been 4 days and the water is still crystal clear (we've only used the spa twice) but I'm concerned that the floater isn't maintaining even the low .5-1ppm that it's supposed to be 9.  Measured with a regular test strip (not the @ease ones) the FC doesn't even register.  I don't have strips at the moment that measure TC.

Am I just over-thinking this since I'm a tub newbie?  Should I just keep letting the floater do its thing and only be concerned if the water starts to cloud up?

Thanks.
-Tim

[The Wizard of Spas]

"my result is lighter than it says it should be"-- What result is that?

Lots of stuff going on here so I'll take it in pieces. 

1.  The chlorine levels should be:  Free chlorine at 0.5-1.0ppm.  Total Chlorine at 10-15ppm.  That is the entire point of the system:  To keep a very low free chlorine but a huge reservoir of total chlorine to tap into whenever the need is there. 

2.  Temperature:   This is not in the literature anywhere but I have been chatting with the chemists at King Technology (the manufacturers of Spa Frog's @ease) and they have told me that the temperature of the spa should be at 98* or higher for best results.  I did a ton of research on this and had two separate tubs running in my showroom (one with a floater, one with in-line @ease) for a few months and I could not keep the tub crystal clear.  Upon calling them back I found out the aforementioned information about the temp.  Additional info relayed:

--The pH is to be kept between 7.2-7.4.  The literature/website says 7.2-7.8, but that is going to be changed in the future, per their chemists.

--The # on the monthly cartridge runs low.   2 is the setting most tubs should be on but I have found that you pretty much have to be at 3.  That is the only way I was able to keep enough chlorine in the tub just to keep it clear.  I have kept it at 3, have my new temperature setting applied, and reset the pH to be at 7.2 and so far I have done well.  But it has only been a week.

I hope this helps.  @ease is great if you can get it down.  pH and alk are essential in this system.  Good luck moving forward.

[Edit:  Spelling]

[tmaestas95]

"my result is lighter than it says it should be"-- What result is that?

Sorry - i meant the "Smartchlor out" indicator on the @ease strips. 

Thanks for the info, particularly about the temp.  I'll boost the tub up to 98* and see where that puts me.
-Tim

[htnj]

I'm ditching the @ease as soon as I run out of the year supply I got.
I have a 550 gallon Artesian spa with the in-line system.

- With the setting at 3, the chlorine levels are always over 1.5ppm; sometimes even higher.
- Drop it to 2, they will stay around 1ppm.
- Even with the cartridge set at 2, it will only maintain levels for about 2 weeks. Then at the 2 week mark I have to take it out and put it up to 3, and it will just (and I mean just) make it to the 3 week mark before it's empty.  With heavy tub usage its more like 2.5 weeks.

There's no way I'm going to spend $14 for 2.5 weeks of chlorine, when I can use the bleach method for pennies.

I also had a terribly difficult time maintaining pH with the system until I added about 50ppm borates.  It'd be nice if the manufacturer even mentioned it anywhere.  Even when I contacted them they had no clue.  For me, I have to keep the TA very low around 50ppm, then add 50ppm boric acid, and bump the CA up to around 175.  With that, I'm able to maintain the pH in the appropriate zone.