Author Topic: Two Maintenance Questions (Read 5594 times)

cdcooper · « **on:** July 30, 2004, 11:14:01 am »

Hi All,

I live in upstate NY and have a year old Caldera Utopia Spa that has two maintenance issues that have been bugging me

First, I smell a funky odor when I open my cover. In fact I think the inside (bottom) of my cover may be the problem. I treat my water on a regular basis, always leave the spa open for 10 - 20 minutes after and it always seems to be in the idea chemical balance.

The second problem is a bit more vexing. Two of the seats have these rotating jets Caldera calls VersaJets. They are basically nozzles that sit on a ring of ball bearings. The problem is they seem to get stuck quite often :-/. Sometimes if you just give them a nudge they rotate again on their own. But several of them won't rotate unless you crank the water volume up to max output

The local rep (back when their was one) once told me to soak the ball bearing rings in vinegar, I guess to dissolve any mineral build up. Caldera even sent me a complete set of replacement rings but the problem still persists

. Oh yeah I should mention getting the ball bearing rings unseated is no small task either

So that's it. If any of you have run into a similar situation and have a solution I'd love to hear it

I appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks
Coop

Hot Tub Forum · « **on:** July 30, 2004, 11:14:01 am »

Snuggles · « **Reply #1 on:** July 30, 2004, 01:53:01 pm »

HI CD, I can't help with the jet problem but I'm sure there are plenty of people on this board who can. As far as the funky smell when you remove the cover. If it's mildew see if you can buy some clorox wipes and wipe down the inside of your cover. If you can't get the wipes a sponge with a little diluted bleach will do the same thing. That's of course if it is indeed the cover you mentioned. I think if you list your sanitizer regimen, last water change, etc. more people on the boards can give you better instructions. Good Luck.

SerjicalStrike · « **Reply #2 on:** July 30, 2004, 03:33:33 pm »

I have found that the Baqua-spa cover cleaner works the best. We start people out on chlorine, but if their cover gets smelly, we have them use the Baqua cover cleaner.

Oskar · « **Reply #3 on:** July 30, 2004, 04:36:23 pm »

:(Clorox wipes contain no bleach so I don't think that they will help if the problem is mildew, they may have some other ingredient in them that does fight mildew so check what is in them before you buy.

autoplay · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2004, 06:12:01 pm »

As far as the cover smell,possibly you're smelling the vinyl heated? No clue,as I don't have any smell other than the smell of warm vinyl.

As far as the jets,I too had a similar problem with mine. After removing the jets and bearings,it turned out to be very small pebbles caught between the ball bearings and the outer casing ring of the bearing. I haven't had that problem with my jets in over a year. we have a polly pebble deck surrounding our pool......and after figuring out where the little pebbles were coming from,everyone using the spa is careful not to bring em into the tub via feet.

Snuggles · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2004, 06:36:58 pm »

Thanks Oskar for clarifying that, I just checked their web site and your right clorox wipes don't have bleach. They do say they kill 99% of germs and bacteria but don't say what chemicals they use. I'd say break out the bleach if that's what's causing the odor. Mildew can usually be seen if the smell is prevalent so it should be easy to diagnose. I have a hunch that CD is using Bromine. I always got this funky smell using it, one of the reasons I only use Dichlor now. Well gtg time for a cold one and a soak.

cdcooper · « **Reply #6 on:** July 31, 2004, 10:25:30 am »

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I am currently using two products in my water maintenance routine.

1. Fresh'n Clear Spa Shock (85% DuPount Monopersulfate 15% "Other Ingredients)

2. Spa Perfect

I usually us a 1/2 scoop of the spa shock after each use and then once a week a full scoop and a cap full of the spa perfect.

Does that shed any additional light on the problem

autoplay · « **Reply #7 on:** July 31, 2004, 11:01:19 am »

What are you using as a sanitizer?

cdcooper · « **Reply #8 on:** July 31, 2004, 12:03:29 pm »

I'm only using the two products I listed, so I guess nothing

HotTubMan · « **Reply #9 on:** July 31, 2004, 02:04:15 pm »

Spa Perect, if it what I am thinking of (Spa Perfect form XXX is not the same as from manufacturer XXXX) is an enzyme cleaner that might just clear up the odor if applied directly to the surface. BTW have you ever used any cleaner or condition on the inside part of your cover?

You likely wont get those jets spinning well on low speed. The jets spin well on high! Perhaps a Caldera dealer or user may disagree, but I have sold 3 brands and the jets dont spin as well on low speed compared to high speed.

HotTubMan · « **Reply #10 on:** July 31, 2004, 02:06:34 pm »

Oh yeah, the odor may be chloramines too. Sounds like you are using "spa shock" as your sanitizer, you may not be oxidizing very well. Shocking does require leaving the cover off longer than 20 minutes and you may be trapping the nitrogen gas that is coming off the water and returning it to the tub. Nitrogen gas/chloramines stink alot more than chlorine/bromine on their own.

cdcooper · « **Reply #11 on:** August 01, 2004, 10:11:46 am »

Thanks for the insight HTMan. To answer your question. No I have never used any type of cleaner or conditioner on the inside of the hot tob cover. Should I?

I'll talk with the local dealer about the chemicals I am currently using and see what they suggest. I think I'll also bring a water sample along for testing.

Chas · « **Reply #12 on:** August 01, 2004, 02:57:24 pm »

Quote

I'm only using the two products I listed, so I guess nothing

You should not count on oxidizers to do the job of sanitizing your tub. Toss in a couple of ounces of Dichlor, run the jets with the cover closed for an hour, and I bet your smell will be gone.

Hot Tub Forum · « **Reply #12 on:** August 01, 2004, 02:57:24 pm »

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