10 Minute Clean?

[drober30]

My HS has a clean button that runs the jets for ten minutes. After I get out of the tub I add Dichlor I press the clean button and let the chem cycle and the water filter for the pre-programmed ten minutes.

The only downside I see is $$$ in electricity.

Do you your clean button or have your tub programmed to run after you exit?

[Steve]

Maybe I don't fully comprehend this "feature", but it seems to me that it's not a required cycle.

After using the spa, the addition of a small of dichlor is required. Turn the jets on high and add it. Circulate for a minute or two and you're done. Now I see this can prevent the need for standing at the tub for those 2 minutes, but I don't believe a 10 minute cycle has any benefit whatsoever. That being said, I don't believe the electrical consumption is much to be concerned either...What did you pay for you tub? That 10 minutes would equate to pennies and not worth the concern IMO when considering your total financial commitment.

As most of us know, all spas filter better on low speed (assuming that they have a proper skimmer for the surface of the water) and provide far better skimming action. Most spas have a bypass on high speed and little of the water is properly being filtered on this speed and more important, none of the residual waste left on the surface of the water (ie. perspiration, oils, lotions, etc.) is being filtered at all. What you're doing is allowing the dichlor to dissolve during this time and the word "cleaning" might be misrepresented here a bit.

Proper filtration should be happening on your filtration cycles and additional filtration when exiting should be redundant on a properly designed filtration system.

When the need for added filtration is required, adjusting those cycles or hitting the 2 speed pump button should allow that pump to run for 2 hours on a low, circulation speed which again, provides the proper filtration spa owners require.

I'm sure you'll get alternate opinions on this.

Steve

[salesdvl]

Steve, You had me at "Hello".  

[Chas]

The only downside I see is $$$ in electricity.
Do you your clean button or have your tub programmed to run after you exit?

The timer works great. Why would you want to have your spa run a filter cycle when not needed. By simply punching the button, you get massive filtration, but only when you need it. You save energy that way.

[Kelly]

Since HS tubs are no-bypass, that ten minute cycle "evens out" filtration across all filters. By running it after a heavy bather load, you're keeping the single filter connected to the circ pump from getting the brunt of the filtrate. It's an on-demand feature that provides quick and intense filtration.

Keep in mind that many tubs don't have no-bypass filtration. So the instructions on some chems are going to recommend filtration times that are far in excess of what's necessary on tubs that are no-bypass. The idea being to move all the water through the filters at least once to remove the organics oxidized by the sanitizer.

When I add chems, I usually just run the pump on high manually (for a minute or two) and move the diverter valve through all settings to make sure everything is well mixed.

[Cola]

Your looking at about 1 cent per minute to run the two pumps on high.  BTW, what does the HS filter down to (micron) compared to other filters? Just curious
Steve

[Lori]

I run the clean cycle every time I put dichlor in, especially after I get out.  I haven't noticed a huge difference in my energy consumption, but HotSprings is one of the most energy efficient tubs on the market!  Plus, it gives me a chance to come inside, and dry off a bit, then when the 10 minutes are up, I can just run out, put the cover back on, and I'm done!  But that is just mej!

[drober30]

I run the clean cycle every time I put dichlor in, especially after I get out.  I haven't noticed a huge difference in my energy consumption, but HotSprings is one of the most energy efficient tubs on the market!  Plus, it gives me a chance to come inside, and dry off a bit, then when the 10 minutes are up, I can just run out, put the cover back on, and I'm done!  But that is just mej!

Lori this is what I do too except I put the cover on right away if I'm only adding the 2 Tsp of dichlor.

If I'm shocking then I leave the cover off for 20 minutes.

I just didn’t know if I should be hitting my clean button every time I exit the tub?

[J._McD]

This is a mathmatical exercise.  I will take a shot at it and this would be my interpretation.  HS experts please correct any misinterpretations or misunderstanding created.

Clean and clear water is the result of proper filtration and sanitation which is accomplished by gallons per minute.  

HS has a circulation pump that is rated, let me assume, 6 to7 gpm, which would equate to 8,640 to 10,080 gallons per day and may not be adequate to filter the water clean with the circ pump only which has a single dedicated filter.  

This turnover rate is approximately 22 times.

The primary pump which requires 2 suction fittings has a dedicated filter on each fitting independent of the circ pump filter (thus 100% filtration).   This pump may have a rate of 180 gpm resulting in an additional turnover of 1,800 gallons during the 10 minute "clean up cycle".  Thus an additional 1,800 gallons is being filtered plus the 10,080

This would represent 11,880 gallons being filtered, and assuming the capacity of the tub is 450 gallons that would be a turnover rate of 26 times, which should be cosidered adequate to filter out oxidized contaminants.

Assuming the primary pump is pulling 11 amps x 240 volts resulting in 2640 watts of consumption per hour, or .440 kilowatts in 10 minutes x .09 cents = approximately 4 cents to run the clean up cycle.


The circ pump at 240 x 2.5 amps = .600 kW x .09 = 5.4 cents per hour or about a $1.30 a day

Ad to this the 20 to 30 minutes of pump operataion and any heat loss or replacement of heat loss and you should be able to roughly estimate your cost of electric.

A meter would be much easier and more accurate.  But, when it comes to filtration, it is gallons per minute that clean the water.

so, drober30, to put your mind at ease forget the $$$ and consider it less than a nickle for each "clean up cycle"

[tonyp]

My HS has a clean button that runs the jets for ten minutes. After I get out of the tub I add Dichlor I press the clean button and let the chem cycle and the water filter for the pre-programmed ten minutes.

The only downside I see is $$$ in electricity.

Do you your clean button or have your tub programmed to run after you exit?

I use MPS before or after entering the tub rather that DiChlor after, so I simply use the clean button to cycle the pumps ( only pimp 1 runs with clean on my Envoy) after adding Ph adjusters etc.  I'll also often give it a last 10 minutes after I put the cover back after shocking.  I leave it off for about 30 minutes first.

[Backpains]

Ok..I don't have the clean up cycle on my Coleman...so here's my take on this senerio..as you all know I use my hot tub more than most people on this forum (5-7 times per day) so my experience with the filtration cycles are for heavy bather loads. First thing in the am...(sometimes this time is 5:30am) we test our water if all levels are fine we don't do a thing. I'm in the tub 4-5 more times during the day in hot temp days I leave the cover half off to drop the temp a bit. at around 9pm we do our last soak for the evening (btw everytime I get out I run the filtration for about 5 min) I add 1 tsp of Bromine after our evening soak to ensurew levels will be fine in the am.

Now...my dealer was down yesterday (sunday) and reset my filtration cycles from 4 hours 2x a day to 5 hours 2 x a day (otherwise I filter from 2-6pm and from 10pm to 2 am) anyway I hope this sort of helps LOL

BP

[drewstar]

I have a Tiger River Caspain, also made by HS.  The clean cylce simply turns on both pumps on high for 10 minutes.

J-McD's assumptions seem correct to me, as well as kelly's. The cost of running the pumps on high for 10 minutes seems minimal to me.

I would be hesitiant to add the dichlor or MPS prior or while usiing the tub as Tony wrote. Wouldn't this possibley cause the water to be excessivley harsh on the skin? Isn't the point to add the chlorine and or oxidizers AFTER use to really bring the levels of the water up, give it a good cycling through, and then after have the levels settle back down?

?

[Chas]

The circ pump at 240 x 2.5 amps = .600 kW x .09 = 5.4 cents per hour or about a $1.30 a day

240 times 2.5 amps is 600 watts, but those numbers don't apply. On a HotSpring or Tiger River Spa the circ pump is 85 watts, total. It runs on 110 volts, but is just 85 watts.

That means to run it 24 hours is only about two kilowatthours, or about eighteen cents.

[spahappy]

Ok..I don't have the clean up cycle on my Coleman...so here's my take on this senerio..as you all know I use my hot tub more than most people on this forum (5-7 times per day) so my experience with the filtration cycles are for heavy bather loads. First thing in the am...(sometimes this time is 5:30am) we test our water if all levels are fine we don't do a thing. I'm in the tub 4-5 more times during the day in hot temp days I leave the cover half off to drop the temp a bit. at around 9pm we do our last soak for the evening (btw everytime I get out I run the filtration for about 5 min) I add 1 tsp of Bromine after our evening soak to ensurew levels will be fine in the am.

Now...my dealer was down yesterday (sunday) and reset my filtration cycles from 4 hours 2x a day to 5 hours 2 x a day (otherwise I filter from 2-6pm and from 10pm to 2 am) anyway I hope this sort of helps LOL

BP

Backpains you do have a cleanup cycle on your Coleman.
It's automatic and doesn't need to be set. Just turn jet one on low and it will go into a four hour clean up cycle.

[Backpains]

Backpains you do have a cleanup cycle on your Coleman.
It's automatic and doesn't need to be set. Just turn jet one on low and it will go into a four hour clean up cycle.

I know that is what I was talking about spahappy.....it's just my filtering times is all it is..goes from 2-6 and 10pm to 2am