Over-Thinking now: Sundance Chelsee or Bullfrog R7

[mjdieth]

Well I finally did it.  Went back to the dealer yesterday and go in the X7, done deal.  Platinum shell with gray cabinet, ozone, circ pump, full foam insulation, backlit jets, cover lift, steps, delivery and install.  All for a grand total of $6818 out the door.  Now I just have to wait about a month to get it in.

[bradleyabell]

Well I finally did it.  Went back to the dealer yesterday and go in the X7, done deal.  Platinum shell with gray cabinet, ozone, circ pump, full foam insulation, backlit jets, cover lift, steps, delivery and install.  All for a grand total of $6818 out the door.  Now I just have to wait about a month to get it in.

Congratulations!  We couldn't decide between the grey or redwood cabinets because they both looked so nice, but we ended up going with the redwood.  We did go with the platinum shell as well though.  Will look very nice!  Nice choice!

[mjdieth]

Congratulations!  We couldn't decide between the grey or redwood cabinets because they both looked so nice, but we ended up going with the redwood.  We did go with the platinum shell as well though.  Will look very nice!  Nice choice!

Did you go with the circ pump and ozone?  I can save $500 more if I don't get these, I hear both sides of it but cannot figure out if this is a good choice.  Dealer is telling me it is fantastic.

[d00nut]

Did you go with the circ pump and ozone?  I can save $500 more if I don't get these, I hear both sides of it but cannot figure out if this is a good choice.  Dealer is telling me it is fantastic.

Get at least the circ.  Especially on the X Series.  I've been hounding Bullfrog about the inability to shut off Air on their non-circ pump spas and how it drives up pH when it's just circulating.  The Circ solves that issue.  Get it, and thank me later!

Plus, if you just like soaking without the jets, it will be 100% quiet versus having the jet pump run on low speed to maintain heat.

[bradleyabell]

Congratulations!  We couldn't decide between the grey or redwood cabinets because they both looked so nice, but we ended up going with the redwood.  We did go with the platinum shell as well though.  Will look very nice!  Nice choice!

Did you go with the circ pump and ozone?  I can save $500 more if I don't get these, I hear both sides of it but cannot figure out if this is a good choice.  Dealer is telling me it is fantastic.

The X8 I'm getting is a little bigger, but besides that I think it's nearly identical to the X7.  I thought the circ. pump and ozone was standard and is included with my tub.  I ended up getting everything you mentioned for $6800 (pretax) for the X8 if that helps you at all.

[mjdieth]

Get at least the circ.  Especially on the X Series.  I've been hounding Bullfrog about the inability to shut off Air on their non-circ pump spas and how it drives up pH when it's just circulating.  The Circ solves that issue.  Get it, and thank me later!

Plus, if you just like soaking without the jets, it will be 100% quiet versus having the jet pump run on low speed to maintain heat.

Sorry for all the questions, but the manual is terrible.  I have also read that I should not run the circ pump 24/7 or it will burn out.  What is the point of it if I'm not doing this?  How often should I run it?  Also, does the ozone only generate when the circ pump is running, and if I do run it 24/7 does that mean that ozone is being dispensed constantly?

[bradleyabell]

Get at least the circ.  Especially on the X Series.  I've been hounding Bullfrog about the inability to shut off Air on their non-circ pump spas and how it drives up pH when it's just circulating.  The Circ solves that issue.  Get it, and thank me later!

Plus, if you just like soaking without the jets, it will be 100% quiet versus having the jet pump run on low speed to maintain heat.

Sorry for all the questions, but the manual is terrible.  I have also read that I should not run the circ pump 24/7 or it will burn out.  What is the point of it if I'm not doing this?  How often should I run it?  Also, does the ozone only generate when the circ pump is running, and if I do run it 24/7 does that mean that ozone is being dispensed constantly?

I'm also really curious about this...I have no idea how to turn the circ pump off/on.  I thought the whole idea of the circ pump was that it would in fact run 24/7 and thus you don't need to run the jets as often to cycle/heat the water.

[bradleyabell]

@mjdieth - Where did you read that about the circ pump?

[mjdieth]

@mjdieth - Where did you read that about the circ pump?

Not sure how to link so here is what I saw:


Ok...  I have the Circ Pump. and Ozone.  Conflicting information -

- Dealer said Circ will run 24/7 and filter cycles will run the pump 1 at low speed. 

- BullFrog Tech Support says that the Circulation Pump should NOT be set to run 24/7  (it would overheat if allowed to run like this).  The Circulation pump will be the only pump that runs per the FILTER 1 & 2 times that I've set except at the 1st 5 minutes it will run the pumps to purge the lines.  Circ Pump will also run every 1/2 hour to check for temp and determine heat requirements.

He said the BF Circ Pump moves 3 times the water of the smaller HS type pumps and dedicates the line thru the filters w/ a 1/2" (?)  pipe.  I'll set my cycles to run 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the evening and see how that goes for now.  Maybe 4 per cycle....

Response to this:

If you have the circ + ozone than it will operate as Bullfrog Tech Support described...3 hours per cycle is a great starting point....here in Minnesota I recommend 4 hours during the winter months and I haven't had any customer concerns...Bullfrog does use a good high density insulation and a lot of it due to the lack of plumbing "underneath the hood" so they are a good efficient spa.

I have no clue what to make of this.  So if you have both circ and ozone you don't want to run 24/7???

[Sam]

I disagree with Bullfrog on this.  There are other companies that use that exact same circ pump and run it 24/7.  Maybe just set it for 2x 8 hour cycles.

[mjdieth]

I disagree with Bullfrog on this.  There are other companies that use that exact same circ pump and run it 24/7.  Maybe just set it for 2x 8 hour cycles.

I would like to run it 24/7 if I can, at least that justifies the point of getting it.  About the ozone though, how do you control this?

[Sam]

The ozone automatically turns on when the circ is on.  Fyi, we run all of our Bullfrog circ pumps 24/7 and haven't noticed an abnormal failure rate.

[bradleyabell]

The ozone automatically turns on when the circ is on.  Fyi, we run all of our Bullfrog circ pumps 24/7 and haven't noticed an abnormal failure rate.

I haven't received my X8L yet, so I don't know the answer to this, but is there a setting in the menu that allows you to change the circ. pump?

[mjdieth]

I haven't received my X8L yet, so I don't know the answer to this, but is there a setting in the menu that allows you to change the circ. pump?

Did you happen to get the backlit LED jets?  I think they look great on the floor, but not sure exactly how bright that will be at night in the Platinum tub.

[d00nut]

At first we were running all BF circ pumps 24/7.  We did start noticing a lot of issues, primarily in the summer.  (We are in AZ.)  Summer is pretty darn hot here.

Pumps can certainly overheat in those temps.  The other thing we noticed is that the filters would clog much faster.  We now have them run between 8-12 hours a day, and have all the issues go away, and still have super clean water.

FYI, the owners manuals suck for BF.  They literally tell you nothing about the "optional" circ pump and how it runs. 

Essentially, if you have the circ pump, it will filter on the filter cycles (you should have two of them.)  If the spa calls for heat, it will click on as well as long as it is in ready mode.

The circ pump should never be on your mind in regards to turning it on and off.  You should set it once at the very beginning, and just let it do it's job from that point on.