SmartChlor question...

[Gale]

For those that use SmartChlor, especially those with the Marquis Spirit hot tub. What setting do you have yours on? The Spirit holds 200 gallons, according to the SmartChlor site it should be set on 0??? They hot tub guy set it on 3, neither sounded right so I have it on 2. It's kinda confusing. And the hot tub guy set the mineral cartridge on 5 but the website says to open it all the way to 6. Any info or thoughts here would be greatly appreciated :-)

[bud16415]

The setting you have it on is mostly going to be dependent on how many people are in the tub each day and how long they are in the tub, it will also depend on if you use swimsuits and how well rinsed they are of laundry products. It will depend on if everyone showers before getting in the tub and if they have personal body products on that will come off in the water. Body lotions and deodorants come to mind. This would also small children that tend to use a tub for other things it wasn’t intended for.

If your usage is up and down like ours is you may want to set the cartridge for kind of an average usage number and then when the bather load is high supplement it with a teaspoon or table spoon of Dichlor or a little bleach.   

[castletonia]

Mineral on 6.  SmartChlor I would start with 2 and adjust if necessary.

[meriflower]

I have a Marquis Spirit and use the Frog@ease with SmartChlor.  I have had my spa up and running for a month and 2 weeks.  I have the mineral cartridge set at 6 and the SmartChlor set at 2.  It has primarily been just me and my spouse.  You can start there but may have to bump it up if heavy usage.   I have only had to shock once I do not supplement after each use.  I found for this system to work is to keep the PH at consistent levels as recommended by the manufacturer.  Of course maintaining alk/hardness/sanitizer too.

[Gale]

Thanks for all the replies. Not sure why he set it on 5, but I'm going to move it up to 6 since you guys and the website says 6. I can't help but wonder though, why bother putting 5 other settings on it? Guess I'll leave the other on 2. It's been so great and sparkly clean so far, I never knew I'd enjoy this so much. So far it's only me getting in every single night for 30-45 minutes and husband will get in with me on weekends. No one else seems interested, I think they think it's an old person hot tub because it's a smaller one, lol. But that's fine by me, I love it! 

[bud16415]

Keep it your secret as long as you can. Setting 2 is a good starting point, if it starts seeming low when you test it open it to 3. It will be no time you will have a feel for it.

[The Wizard of Spas]

The key is pH:  Keep that between 7.4-7.8 and the chlorine will self-regulate.  Hence- "SmartChlor."  The setting on a small tub like what you have is what has been mentioned by posters above.  With respect to the person who mentioned the bleach method- That defeats the purpose of SmartChlor.  The FC is supposed to run .5-1.0ppm w/the TC running at 10-15ppm.  Its in the nature of the DCDMH (SmartChlor) and the specific mineral stick (close, but not the same as the standard frog/N2 mineral stick) to pull from the TC to buttress the FC when bather loads are higher.  But it only works if the temp is above (I believe) 94*F and with the pH at 7.4-7.8.  From there- And this is from King Technology- if you do have routine heavy bather loads, use JUMP START once a week vs once a month. 

That is just a secondary note to the obvious question about the setting on the sticks. But no less important.  Hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[Gale]

Jumpstart? I thought I was only to use that when I drain and refill the hot tub every 3 or 4 months.? I have been shocking with SpaGuard Enhanced Shock once a week for the heck of it. Should I be using the jumpstart pack instead??

[bradleyabell]

Jumpstart? I thought I was only to use that when I drain and refill the hot tub every 3 or 4 months.? I have been shocking with SpaGuard Enhanced Shock once a week for the heck of it. Should I be using the jumpstart pack instead??

Jump start is a form of shock - You should be good!

[The Wizard of Spas]

Jumpstart? I thought I was only to use that when I drain and refill the hot tub every 3 or 4 months.? I have been shocking with SpaGuard Enhanced Shock once a week for the heck of it. Should I be using the jumpstart pack instead??

So I nerd out on this stuff and thus I have spoken w/King Technology chemists on this to get a better feel.  I was told that tho the marketing says JUMP START is a once a month process, they really think that once a week is required if you have moderate to heavy use.  That is also where I got the 94*F+ on the temp (Cooler temps affect the efficiency of the DCDMH) and the notes about how pH balance is critical to the way SmartChlor works.  Make sense?

[Conine2965]

Jump start is dichlor just plain granular chlorine. It should be used when chlorine level is low.