Water loss

[Bigbender]

Is adding water every week to maintain the correct water level a normal thing or am I missing a leak somewhere ? The first night I noticed a low level was when I heard the filter sucking some air. At that time, I assumed that it was from my daughters splashing around the night before, so I added two five gallon buckets and that got the level back up where it belonged. Since then, I've added it two more times for a total of about 35 gallons and we've only owned the tub for three weeks.  It's winter here in Pa. and we've been in the tub every night but a few so could all of this loss be from steam evaporation? I've looked for wet spots on the concrete under the tub and everything's dry. The only water loss that I know of is when we stand the cover up before getting in.

[Lori]

I would think that is normal, especially if you aren't seeing any wet areas around the base of the tub!  I ahve to add once or twice a month, normally, but since we went 68 hours without going above freezing, I noticed a big drop in the water level.  I'm assuming it was due to the incredible amounts of steam coming up from the nice toasty water!!!

I'm sure some of the experts will chime in!

So, how are you enjoying the tub?  I guess you guys have been using it alot?

[wmccall]

I'm not far away from you in Ohio so our weather has been comparable (Where in PA?)  I usually only have to add water about every 2 weeks.  In fact when I take my filters out, I make sure I take as much water with me so that I have to add water sooner.

If you can, pop off a side of the spa and look for puddling inside.

[wmccall]

I would think that is normal, especially if you aren't seeing any wet areas around the base of the tub!  I

When I did have a leak inside, It didn't show up on the outside of the tub because of the ABS pan, it would have had to have gotten to more than an inch deep before I saw it on the outside.

[Bigbender]

I would think that is normal, especially if you aren't seeing any wet areas around the base of the tub! So, how are you enjoying the tub?  I guess you guys have been using it alot?

I'm glad you think my shrinking water level is normal. It makes me feel a lot better knowing that I don't have a problem. Some people claim that I'm crazy so I wanted to make sure this wasn't another one of those moments...

Yes, we're enjoying the he_ _ out of it. I sit behind a computer most of the day and my neck gets pretty stiff so this tub is great therapy for me. As soon as you climb in there, the tension starts melting away. I turned on the flood lights tonite (to watch the snow falling), grabbed two beers and snuck in there without telling anyone. After 15 minutes or so, I was "caught" and had company soon after. When I got out an hour later, I felt pretty toasty so I fired up the tractor and plowed the new snow off the driveway.

(Where in PA?)

We live in Blair County. If you draw a straight line from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, we're about dead center in between them. The Penn State campus is north about one hour and the Maryland line is about an hour south.

[stuart]

Here's a trick for you, set a low profile bucket on the step filled to the same level as the tub and see if it goes down at the same rate per week. There will be a little difference but if it is quite noticeable it might be a leak....

[Bigbender]

The bucket test sounds like it might work but I'll have to try that a few months from now. We actually warmed up to 31 degrees last night and for the rest of the week, temperatures are to be in the single digits overnite and in the teens thru the day. They've been talking about a big snow (how big ?) this saturday so I'll probably add a few buckets of water in the morning and climb in later to watch the white stuff come down.

Wmccall mentioned checking the abs pan and I will do this to make sure there are no leaks. It would be wise to check "under the hood" every once in a while anyway. Really though, if all of the water I've lost went to that pan, it would have over-flowed by now.

I've been meaning to ask this question too and forgot... Do you think I should give the tub a small shot of metal gone each time I add this water ?

[stuart]

If your on a well then yes, I would add a bit of Metal Gone when you top it off.

The bucket test was actually setting a bucket inside the tub on the step in so that it was in the same heat environment! Small bucket.....

[Lori]

If your on a well then yes, I would add a bit of Metal Gone when you top it off.

The bucket test was actually setting a bucket inside the tub on the step in so that it was in the same heat environment! Small bucket.....

Ok, that makes more sense!  I was trying to visualize, and I guess I didn't read it right!

Thanks!  I'll remember this trick, in case I ever need to try it!

[wmccall]

Thanks!  I'll remember this trick, in case I ever need to try it!

As long as you have owned your spa, you will probably be certain something is up before you use this trick. (Not that the technique is bad or anything) And with you being vertically challenged your more sensitive to water level changes.

[Lori]

As long as you have owned your spa, you will probably be certain something is up before you use this trick. (Not that the technique is bad or anything) And with you being vertically challenged your more sensitive to water level changes.

You are right about that!  I have lost quite a bit in the last couple of frigid weeks!  Thank goodness the temp is in the 60's today, I can hook up the hose and add a bit!

[Brewman]

At -20, the steam cloud over the spa is really intense.
I've had to add a few 5 gallon pails of water since the cold set in.  No running the outside water here until March.  The water pipes are drained, and the hoses put away.
Brewman

[TALKCalgary.com]

Is not the process of evaporation solely dependent on air pressure and the temperature of the water? If so, the surrounding air temperature would have little to do with evaporation of water from a hot tub.

What you are seeing on a cold day is Condensation. This is the opposite of evaporation. Condensation occurs when a gas is changed into a liquid.  

Just because the cold air allows you to see water vapor above your spa in winter, it dose not mean that your tub is loosing more water to evaporation that it would on a hot day in summer.

[Brewman]

Could be, but I do use the spa less in the winter, and have to add water more often.  

The way I figure (possibly incorrectly) is that the winter air has a very low moisture content, thus absorbing water more readily.  Our summer air can be quite humid
and therefore evaporation is lower.  

There is a homebrew trick to cool a fermenter using a wet cotton towel or t-shirt.  The wet cloth is wrapped around the container, leaving one end in a tray of water.

Evaporation pulls heat from the fermenting beer, allowing the liquid to cool to a temperature below room temp.  This trick works extremely well in dryer air, but hardly at all in high humidity.  I figure the spa water evaporates much in the same way.

Brewman