Ozonators and Asthma

[CarsonCityNewbie]

Getting an ozonator seems like a no brainer--less chemicals has to be  better, right? Then I found a few articles saying O3 could cause respiratory distress in asthmatics ... like me. Anyone heard about this or done any research?

[castletonia]

Can't comment on the asthma, but an ozone doesn't always mean less chemical.  Ozone is an oxidizer.  On a sparingly used hot tub, ozone can actually burn off chlorine faster than it would by itself.  Ozone also works better on spas with 24 hour circulation. 

[CarsonCityNewbie]

This is opposite of info one dealer told me. He said the ozone works with no circ pump because it immediately kills the bad stuff when you run the main pump and have it cycle through for about 30 min. That means no constant level of chlorine is circulating through your system. Why do you think ozone works better with 24 circ? ...Just trying to figure out if I need ozone feature.

[castletonia]

Ozone works best with a 24 hour circulation pump because the ozone is running 24/7.  If you have a hot tub that uses the main pump for heating and filtering, the ozone is only running when that pump is on low speed, which typically will be for less than 8 hours a day.  Ozone only remains in the water for something like 30 seconds after it was produced.  Not sure why they would say having a constant level of chlorine is a bad thing.  You need sanitizer in the water.

[bud16415]

We have ozone and we both are mildly asthmatic and I cant see any issues with that. I sometime wonder how much good they actually do. Our tub also came with frog minerals and after a year I just stopped using them as they didn’t seem to make a difference. My ozone still streams out bubbles but after 3 years who knows if it is making ozone. I don’t know how to test it and really if they told me it was bad I most likely wouldn’t replace it.

Taking care of a tub there are a 100 ways. I tend to take the simple approach and sanatizer / chlorine is what that takes. Then watch your other levels and keep them centered ph etc. When shopping for a tub every dealer you go to seem to tell you about something different. 

[Tman122]

Getting an ozonator seems like a no brainer--less chemicals has to be  better, right? Then I found a few articles saying O3 could cause respiratory distress in asthmatics ... like me. Anyone heard about this or done any research?

If chlorine kills 100 bacteria ozone kills .0001

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  In most cases as like mentioned the ozonator will only work with pump 1 in low speed.  But only during a preset filter cycle.  Turn pump to high it will shut off. 

  Spa's with a circ pump the ozone will or should be on 24/7  but again once you hit that main pump btn the ozonator will shut off.   Least on Jacuzzi/Sundance brands same with Bullfrog. Because "they" don't want you using the spa with the ozone on.   With exception to D1 they were the only ones for quite awhile and maybe now a few others that have Ozone mixing chambers so no off gas. 

[hottubdan]

The reason it should be no issue for you is the ozone should be used up in the water.  There should be no off gassing.

[wmccall]

This is opposite of info one dealer told me. He said the ozone works with no circ pump because it immediately kills the bad stuff when you run the main pump and have it cycle through for about 30 min. That means no constant level of chlorine is circulating through your system. Why do you think ozone works better with 24 circ? ...Just trying to figure out if I need ozone feature.

On this subject, I claim no expertise, but I've purchased two tubs that had ozone, I kept one 9 years and the other 6 years so far.  Both had UV ozonators and the manufacturers said those bulbs would last about 2 years (from memory)  I assume they both failed at one point, I never noticed any difference.

[The Wizard of Spas]

I'll also try an unpack some of this:

To dumb it down a bit, ozone lines tend to have bubble coming out of them.  Ozonators tend to have a life spa- 12-18 months for UV, 18-24 months for CD.  There are variations of these, and these variations can increase in the ability to sanitize the water, or increase the lifespan of the generator.  When the unit stops producing ozone, the only way to notice is to check the actual ozonator to see if the bulb is burnt out, or check the chip, etc.  In most cases, the bubbles will continue, regardless of whether the unit is working.

If you're really into ozone, you can notice the smell of the ozone when you open the cover.  That is always how I know whether or not it is working.

The quality of ozone has many layers:  How slow is the GPM of the ozone line tends to be the best indicator.  If the water is traveling too fast, ozone is not going to be effective.  Also- The length of plumbing will be an indicator of how well the ozone performs.  Also- The increased size of plumbing, or extras like mixing chambers, etc. can increase the effectiveness of the ozone. 

Circulation pumps as a whole tend to be the better route, as others have explained.  It is a slower motor that runs 24/7.  But there are no ozonators that render your tub "Chemical-free," just as there is no way to treat a hot tub that is "Chemical-free."

Think of an ozonator just in the same fashion as your filtration system:  They can vary in quality, and can vary in their ability to help you keep your water clean, but they are only a small part of that, and in no way are a substitute for water chemistry, sanitation, etc.

I hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

if it's included with the spa no biggie, but I wouldn't pay for an ozone upgrade....95% of manufacturers don't even have a proper 'contact chamber' built into the spa so it's not really effective anyway