Anybody know why spas are not using as many air blowers now?

[Pers Onal]

I have a hydrospa that I love.

It's getting old, about 1999 and I'm thinking about when it dies what to replace it with.

To be clear, I love it. Have replaced all the pumps, blower, heater, control box in it several times.

As long as the surround doesn't leak, I will continue replacing parts.

Went by a local hot springs dealer, none of his models had air pumps. He said they're currently not being manufactured with them.

Is this correct? why?

[Spatech_tuo]

I'm not sure if any major spa manufacturer uses are pump any longer and I'm not sure why they would.

Air pumps just blow air into the water that churns it up but with no therapeutic value of any kind. They're actually a detriment IMO as they cool the water down as well. If I purchased  used spa and it was in there (and actually worked) I'd simply disconnect it.

[silversun]

a few manufacturers still make air blowers. I bought a sundance optima a few years ago with an air pump. I don't use it much, and it didn't factor into my purchase decision, but the kids love it. I actually like that it can help cool the water quickly for it's too hot for the kids to get in. Or if I just added chemicals to drop the PH and I want to aerate it gets the job done quickly.

hot tub are not just designed to provide therapeutic value. they can also be fun!

[CanadianSpaTech]

Noisy is one reason. They often don't get used and water will sit in the lines and go stagnant and then when they do get used they push smelly stagnant water into the spa. Just another thing that manufacturers have to warranty and all the pieces and parts add too the cost of manufacturing and bottom line.

[Tman122]

I loved my air blower for a couple reasons, cooled the water quickly if needed and stirred it up quickly if needed. Turned the tub into a bubbling steamy heaven. All be it at a noisy cost.

[Pers Onal]

Thanks for your input.

I have not had any noticeable problems with the air cooling down, although I can understand that it could.

I used to do long soaks, and would have a problem heating up more when all the pumps were running.

This tub was built at a time no one was foaming in, so the heat from the pumps running even with the air blower on would gradually raise the temp of the water. Doesn't happen now that I am not doing longer soaks. Plus, in South Carolina, we only have two to three months of winter.

The old Hydrospa keeps on keeping on, replacing a few parts now and then.

My wife and I love how it works, and it's perfect for the two of us. As long as the surround holds up, we'll keep on keeping on.

The moral of this story is, if you like what you have and the surround doesn't leak you may be better off replacing parts if you're handy doing repairs.

I have no idea about foamed in spas. I do know that foam would have been a bitch to work around with the configuration. I will assume that foamed in ones have a different configuration to make repairs doable.

[Tman122]

I have no idea about foamed in spas. I do know that foam would have been a bitch to work around with the configuration. I will assume that foamed in ones have a different configuration to make repairs doable.

And a hot wire knife to cut foam.

[Sam]

I bet that it would be pretty difficult to meet CEC energy efficiency requirements with an air blower

[Tman122]

I bet that it would be pretty difficult to meet CEC energy efficiency requirements with an air blower

Actually no, most modern blowers are very efficient. More efficient that pump motors. But yea, they make the tub overall less efficient.

[Sam]

I'm not talking about the blower itself but the fact that it is cooling the water and making the heater work harder, which uses lots of energy.

[Tman122]

I'm not talking about the blower itself but the fact that it is cooling the water and making the heater work harder, which uses lots of energy.

There are heated blowers and ducted blowers that use pump motor heat.

[The Wizard of Spas]

I noticed a lot of them go away around the crash of 2008.  That led to lots of manufacturers having to do more with less, which led to more efficient plumbing designs on trunk lines and more effective motor placement under the cabin, which led to stronger water pressure than before (when everything was just 2 monster-sized motors and a "GO GET 'EM" mentality in terms of build engineering), which covered for the loss of the boost from air blowers.

As others eluded to - Not sure there was one reason.  But fail rate and cost (whether or not it manifested from 2008) were certainly the two biggest factors.  I used to sell Catalina Spas and that was a huge feature for them for many years.  I personally didn't like the noise they created but the pressure was nice.  But again - today's tubs in a general sense are all must better at supplying water and thus the need for said blower has been diminished.