24 hour Circ Pumps

[rick]

I was making that point as a previous poster stated that my pumps will wear out faster since they are used in the filtration cycle.  So with that logic, so will an ozonator that's running all the time versus 6 to 8 hours a day.
So who's making the good points here??
You full foaming, wood building, 24hour circ pump cronies really ought to step back and look at yourselves.   It just scares the hell out of you all when another point of view or technology is introduced.  
You must all be narrow minded Bush lovers too!!!
Remember vote Republican or die from the terrorists.
Sheesh!

[rocket]

WOW!  I was surprised to see this topic as heated as the foam issue.

[empolgation]

You don't NEED ozone 24/7, but it is a plus when compared to having ozone on 6-8 hours/day.

everybody Hold on - here we go again...

It must be a plus to put shock in 24/7 as well...
Data! Show me the data.

Kelley, if you are buying a quality, well engineered tub from a reputable manufacturer then whether or not it has a 24 hour circ pump makes absolutely no pertinent difference; It should not be a deciding factor.

Pros:
- "24 hour" filtration at low volume
- "24 hour" ozonation
- an additional pump

Cons:
- "24 hour" filtration at low volume
- "24 hour" ozonation
- an additional pump

[Spatech_tuo]

It must be a plus to put shock in 24/7 as well...
Data! Show me the data.

 

DATA, I don't need no stinkin' data!!

[Mendocino101]

24 hour circ pumps do not wear out quickly, and even if they did they are inexpensive to replace.  A huge, very expensive two speed jet pump that runs 70 times more because it is used to provide circulation for filtration and heating will undoubtedly wear out more quickly than its counterpart in a spa equipped with a 24 hr circ pump; which only runs when the spa is being used.

...

Yes the smaller 24 hour circ most certainly wear out quicker...ask any tech...I do not think there is any real cost saving with them in regards to energy consummation as well....the simple truth about them is that when spas were first built there were no 2 speed pumps at that time that made economical sense so they went with the smaller almost fish aquarium pump for circulating....the advantages of todays 2 speed pumps are high flow filtering with minimal energy costs..the noise if it is a well built spa is hardly noticable......

[Spatech_tuo]

The only knock I have on 2-speed pumps is they fail much more often than single speed pumps.

[HotTubMan]

Its not like 2 speed pumps or circulation pumps are new. The debate rages on. I am certain when cordless drills came out, drill users debated the pros and cons and likely still do to this day. Both have there advantages and disadvantages.  

[UnderTheStars]

Hi Kelly!  I can't answer the pros/cons as far as wearing out etc.   But while the boys continue that argument in the next room, I can answer the noise question for HotSpring:  

I'm a newbie, 6 week old HS Vanguard w/ozone.  You cannot hear the 24 hour circ. pump.  To double check, I just walked outside - I heard the crickets & I heard the AC unit around the corner on the side of our house, but could not hear the tub pump.  I put my ear 1" from the equip. cabinet cover and still could not hear the pump.  I lifted the cover to check - yep, it's running.  The HotSpring circ. pump is silent.  Good luck and keep us posted on your hunt & purchase!
Stars

[Vinny]

Hey, all the manufacturers should go the Beachcomber route and put in BIG circulation pumps to eliminate this problem!

Best of both worlds, no little circ pump and 24 hour filtration!

I e-mailed Emerald about the 24 hour circ pump and they quoted the failure rate as the reason they don't use it.

Now as far as the ozone - do all tubs have a contact chamber? I was under the impression that some don't.

[HotTubMan]

Viny are you suggesting Bigger is Better?

Funny how Beachcomber preaches that bigger/more is not nescarily better and then turn around and suggest that their circ pump is better because of its size.

Most manufacturers do not have the room in the "dog-house" for a circ pump that size.

[Kelley]

Here I am again...
This is Kelley's husband.
As empolgation said show me data....
Well....were's the data?
Gimme responses to these statements  

Big pumps run short time draw big amps
Little pump run long time draw little amps
Amps x time = $

Ozone in contact with water 24/7 is better than ozone in contact with water 4x30min. / day.

All that ozone can possibly do is REDUCE the amount of chemicals required to maintain that sparkling clear water.

Pumps can be made to run 24/7 with a long life span.

I need to have a beer while actually sitting in a hot tub and NOT just talking about hot tubs!!!

[bulmer4nc]

Ozone in contact with water 24/7 is better than ozone in contact with water 4x30min. / day.

All that ozone can possibly do is REDUCE the amount of chemicals required to maintain that sparkling clear water.

I would say these are both true statements.  It just makes sense to me that an ozonator running 24 hours a day will be more effective than one running only 2 or 4 hours a day.

As for reducing chemicals, this is totally true.  We use Bromine and we only have to keep our level at around 1ppm with the ozonator.  It's nice, no chemical smell and it's easier on your skin.  (cheaper too)  

[ebirrane]

everybody Hold on - here we go again...

It must be a plus to put shock in 24/7 as well...
Data! Show me the data.

Kelley, if you are buying a quality, well engineered tub from a reputable manufacturer then whether or not it has a 24 hour circ pump makes absolutely no pertinent difference; It should not be a deciding factor.

Exactly.  There is no data in *either* direction.  There are, I believe, ISO standards for the number of times the water in a tub should be recycled (I think).  24/7 circ pumps don't turn the water over enough to meet them.  I think it is something like 40-50 times a day.

My personal opinion, which is certainly not data, is that my Grandee has a 24/7 pump. We check sanitation, ph, etc.. usually daily, sometimes we forget and do it every 3 days or so.  We drop the chemicals in, hit the clean button, and pump 1 goes on for 30 minutes.  We have crystal clear water.

Once we *totally* forgot about the tub and added no chemicals and no jet pumps for something like 6 days. The water got a greenish hue. We shocked, ran the pumps for about 2 hours, and it cleared up the same evening.

Did the 24/7 pump hurt or help any of that? Who knows. As stated above, quality, well engineered tubs should be the focus and the use or lack of a 24/7 circ pump, in a vacuum, will not help you narrow down tubs.

-Ed

[ebirrane]

Exactly.  There is no data in *either* direction.  There are, I believe, ISO standards for the number of times the water in a tub should be recycled (I think).  24/7 circ pumps don't turn the water over enough to meet them.  I think it is something like 40-50 times a day.

Actually, I believe this also has to do with filtration quality and square footage of filtration as well.  It may be possible that an efficient and large filtration system will require less passes of water through it to get the same results as a less efficient filtration system gets with higher volumes of water through it.

Chances are filtration systems and cleaning cycles are a matched pair.

-Ed

[Gary]

...

Yes the smaller 24 hour circ most certainly wear out quicker...ask any tech...I do not think there is any real cost saving with them in regards to energy consummation as well....the simple truth about them is that when spas were first built there were no 2 speed pumps at that time that made economical sense so they went with the smaller almost fish aquarium pump for circulating....the advantages of todays 2 speed pumps are high flow filtering with minimal energy costs..the noise if it is a well built spa is hardly noticable......

Two speed pump were around way be the introduction to 24/7 pumps. The only reason they came into the hot tub world was only one reason, NOISE. All the other reason stated are just marketing plows.

Gary