Chlorine vs Bromine If you are away from your tub for 2 weeks at a time

[Snowjob]

Hi,
we are getting ready for a new tub, never had one before, trying to read about the chemicals.

I see lots of discussion on Chlorine vs Bromine, looks like these debates have been going on for 12+ years!!

In our use case we will have a tub at a 2nd property, and it will be used on a Friday and Saturday, typically by 3 or 4 people, then it will be unattended for 2 to 3 weeks, during this time no one will use it and no one will be there to check it.

Upon return 2 to 3 weeks later it would be great to be able to open the cover and jump in after a long drive.
It would NOT be great to arrive late on a Friday night and first conduct several science experiments and have to wait for a couple of hours before getting in.

I assume, that in our use case we will need to use some kind of floater dispensing either Chlorine or Bromine

Question:
is one of the chemicals better at lasting a longer amount of time when unattended?
Is one of the chemicals faster at taking correcting actions, if say you arrive after a 2 week absence and you need to make a correction.  ie which one will allow you to add chemicals and wait the shortest amount of time before jumping into the tub?

The tub we are looking at is a J-470, it has the VU light and Ozone system, they claim it uses way less chemicals than some others... will the UV and ozone help keep the tub water safe while we are away?

I assume its safe to drop the water temp to say 90f while away, then use the wi-fi app to crank it back up to 100 prior to arrival?

thanks for any tips / comments, and great website!

[The Wizard of Spas]

In this case- If it is a straight up pick of just chlorine to just bromine- Its bromine all the way.  You can use a floater with bromine.  With chlorine, tablets build up chlorine gas that is noxious and will mess up your cover, headrests, etc. 

Ozone is a standard feature on virtually every tub.  It depends on what type of ozone (UV, Plasma, etc) and how many (lots of tubs are adding a second ozone system to their current one to really cut down on the bacteria, and helping reduce chemicals by 50%).  Note:  Your basic ozone is just going to last 12-24 months, so even when you are getting extra help, its not a long-term asset unless you replace it (which most don't).  Be sure to ask how long they expect the ozone generator to last, and what kind/type it is.

Bromine is tabletized and doesn't emit harmful gases.  It would be your best play, along with some sort of additional pH balancer.  Your key is to make sure you test and balance when you get to the property, and right before you leave the property.  That is the only way to best fend off cloudiness when you return. 

I hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[Tman122]

Hi,
we are getting ready for a new tub, never had one before, trying to read about the chemicals.

I see lots of discussion on Chlorine vs Bromine, looks like these debates have been going on for 12+ years!!

In our use case we will have a tub at a 2nd property, and it will be used on a Friday and Saturday, typically by 3 or 4 people, then it will be unattended for 2 to 3 weeks, during this time no one will use it and no one will be there to check it.

Upon return 2 to 3 weeks later it would be great to be able to open the cover and jump in after a long drive.
It would NOT be great to arrive late on a Friday night and first conduct several science experiments and have to wait for a couple of hours before getting in.

I assume, that in our use case we will need to use some kind of floater dispensing either Chlorine or Bromine

Question:
is one of the chemicals better at lasting a longer amount of time when unattended?
Is one of the chemicals faster at taking correcting actions, if say you arrive after a 2 week absence and you need to make a correction.  ie which one will allow you to add chemicals and wait the shortest amount of time before jumping into the tub?

The tub we are looking at is a J-470, it has the VU light and Ozone system, they claim it uses way less chemicals than some others... will the UV and ozone help keep the tub water safe while we are away?

I assume its safe to drop the water temp to say 90f while away, then use the wi-fi app to crank it back up to 100 prior to arrival?

thanks for any tips / comments, and great website!

This is a tough one.

Best of course to have it ready when you get there is a maintenance service.

Bromine and a floater for sure to keep it clean when your away but chlorine for fast acting (and dissipation) before use.

But a lot depends on your waters balance as wiz mentioned. Bromine drives water balance (PH and ALK) askew, so does chlorine. By using bromine and being away to not adjust balance you may not get the desired results?

Tough one.

[Snowjob]

thanks for the points and comments,

[bud16415]

I’m going to throw out an option and what I would look at if I had that situation. I think I would convert the tub over to salt and use one of a few to chose from after market Chlorine generators. They convert the salt in the water to chlorine and can be set for a daily on off cycle. You would get daily sanitizer and could be set to a low setting when you are away. When you use the tub you just turn it off lift the anode out of the tub by its wire and put it in a holder. When you are there using it when done toss it in the tub, turn power on and push the boast button to give it a little extra depending on how much you use it.   

[sergey]

My 2 cents. I am looking into a similar solution and looks like the only option is Arctic Spa with their Salt System (Spa Boy)
You can control and monitor levels of chlorine and ph remotely from your phone.

[Snowjob]

We looked at the Artic SpaBoy thing,
I might be wrong, but I think you can only monitor the Chlorine levels, you cannot actually change them remotely - but I suppose you don't need to as it is supposed to do that for you.  You can change the temp remotely.

We went with the Jacuzzi J-470 (due to comfort, and way cheaper than the Artic) and it comes with UV light and Ozone, so the dealer said with a chlorine floater we should be good for 2 - 3 weeks.  Will probably be a bit of trial and error to set the floater to the right dispense level.

As they were 'giving away' 12 months of chemicals with the tub we may start off with this approach and then if there are any problems switch to Bromine and see what happens.

Failing that I will train a couple of local chipmunks or raccoons to check the levels when I am away.

[Tman122]

I am available for hire to check and adjust hot tubs during peoples absence.

Cost of course is variable based on location.

[sergey]

I can be wrong but "chlorine floater" does not exist - there is only "bromine floater".

We looked at the Artic SpaBoy thing,
I might be wrong, but I think you can only monitor the Chlorine levels, you cannot actually change them remotely - but I suppose you don't need to as it is supposed to do that for you.  You can change the temp remotely.

We went with the Jacuzzi J-470 (due to comfort, and way cheaper than the Artic) and it comes with UV light and Ozone, so the dealer said with a chlorine floater we should be good for 2 - 3 weeks.  Will probably be a bit of trial and error to set the floater to the right dispense level.

As they were 'giving away' 12 months of chemicals with the tub we may start off with this approach and then if there are any problems switch to Bromine and see what happens.

Failing that I will train a couple of local chipmunks or raccoons to check the levels when I am away.

[bud16415]

I can be wrong but "chlorine floater" does not exist - there is only "bromine floater".

We looked at the Artic SpaBoy thing,
I might be wrong, but I think you can only monitor the Chlorine levels, you cannot actually change them remotely - but I suppose you don't need to as it is supposed to do that for you.  You can change the temp remotely.

We went with the Jacuzzi J-470 (due to comfort, and way cheaper than the Artic) and it comes with UV light and Ozone, so the dealer said with a chlorine floater we should be good for 2 - 3 weeks.  Will probably be a bit of trial and error to set the floater to the right dispense level.

As they were 'giving away' 12 months of chemicals with the tub we may start off with this approach and then if there are any problems switch to Bromine and see what happens.

Failing that I will train a couple of local chipmunks or raccoons to check the levels when I am away.

The chlorine floater uses the @ease cartridge. It is relatively new and uses a type of chlorine that is designed to be slow release in hot water.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A9EZHK4/ref=asc_df_B01A9EZHK45155600/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01A9EZHK4&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167163693584&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5813672639294341175&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006390&hvtargid=pla-312533894135

[sergey]

Interesting !! I see mixed reviews
from "Doesn't keep the spa chlorinated. Sometimes lasts less than a week."
to "simple , easy and effective"
so - Might work ... But !

This review makes me scared :
"Had this product recommended to me and it looked like an ideal solution for my Jacuzzi J365. I've had the Spa Frog in the tub for almost 3 weeks and there is black mold growing at the water edge and on the headrests. Had the tub 4 years and never had this problem until I relied on the Spa Frog. I followed the settings correctly initially, so now I'll try just opening it up to the full dosage settings and see what happens, otherwise into the trash it goes. Very disappointing for the amount of money paid for the unit and the refill cartridges."

Looks like it could be a big issue - I've found several reviews about the mold.

I can be wrong but "chlorine floater" does not exist - there is only "bromine floater".

We looked at the Artic SpaBoy thing,
I might be wrong, but I think you can only monitor the Chlorine levels, you cannot actually change them remotely - but I suppose you don't need to as it is supposed to do that for you.  You can change the temp remotely.

We went with the Jacuzzi J-470 (due to comfort, and way cheaper than the Artic) and it comes with UV light and Ozone, so the dealer said with a chlorine floater we should be good for 2 - 3 weeks.  Will probably be a bit of trial and error to set the floater to the right dispense level.

As they were 'giving away' 12 months of chemicals with the tub we may start off with this approach and then if there are any problems switch to Bromine and see what happens.

Failing that I will train a couple of local chipmunks or raccoons to check the levels when I am away.

The chlorine floater uses the @ease cartridge. It is relatively new and uses a type of chlorine that is designed to be slow release in hot water.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A9EZHK4/ref=asc_df_B01A9EZHK45155600/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01A9EZHK4&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167163693584&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5813672639294341175&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006390&hvtargid=pla-312533894135

[buba]

I am currently using the spa frog @ease floater. Based on our user load I have found I need to set the level to "4" and shock it weekly with a cap full of granular Chlorine (Clorox brand from Walmart). The current instructions from the manufacture state you only need to shock the tub every 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately that does not work for us as I have experienced the black mold issue when not shocking weekly. Just my 2 cents.

Still undecided about going back to the Brilliance Bromine floater system but want to give the @ease system a fair test over a full 4 month drain & fill cycle.