Filling a hot tub in winter

[richny]

My new tub remains empty since last week.   I really want to fill it up...but it has not gotten above freezing(its been in the 20's during the day).  My fear is that it will take at least a couple of hours to fill and the water might begin freezing. I am sure plenty of people fill their tub in the winter...but is there any risk of damaging the tub?

Any words of wisdom?

[twok99]

In the winter I fill from the faucet in my basement and use a mix of hot and cold.  Usually ends up around 65.  Better than my tap water at 36  in the winter.  I do need to stop a couple of times to let the gas fired hot water heater to catach up, so the overall process takes abotu 3.5 hours rather than 2.  But it saves a lot of time on the final heating.  I do keep the cover on over the hose to keep some of the heat it.

[NJDave]

richny,
Do you have well water or city water? If you have city water supplied by your township, then it should only take about 45 minutes to fill your tub, If you have well water, then it depends upon your well pump, it could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. If the temperature is at or near 32 degrees, go for it. You could also add some warm water from your sink or water heater. But, you should be fine. Once it is filled the pumps and heater will begin going to work and heat that baby up. I filled 3 tubs yesterday, with temperatures in the high 20's. Enjoy. Dave.

[richny]

sounds good. Tomorrow is supposed to get to 35 degrees (hopefully). I have well water...pressure is a bit low. Too far to run a line to my water heater. I am going to give it a whirl and hope for no leaks  

[NJDave]

Sounds like you will be in Hot Water, the good kind. 35 Degrees would be great, for a fillup. Goodluck. Dave.

[dalop]

hope there is no water left in the pumps or the hoses from the factory. it could cause a problem if it freezes up :-/

[richny]

dalop---that is amazing you say that....I am having a problem with one of my pumps and that is what the factory told me yesterday when I called in a panic. My primary pump that runs the heater works great (thank goodness). The second pump starts for a few seconds and then shuts down. They told me to let the tub heat up overnight and then start in the morning....but I tried at 5am ( temp said 100 F) but still the same thing.

I am not sure what to do today except call them back. They said they open at 1pm today.

Anyone have any ideas what to do? I am not even sure if its ice or not...but should it have defrosted overnight?  Should I take a hair dryer to the hoses? I can't really see any ice.  Sounds like I'll be going to have to get a service tech out here.

[Spatech_tuo]

They told me to let the tub heat up overnight and then start in the morning....but I tried at 5am ( temp said 100 F) but still the same thing.

I am not sure what to do today except call them back. They said they open at 1pm today.

Anyone have any ideas what to do? I am not even sure if its ice or not...but should it have defrosted overnight?  Should I take a hair dryer to the hoses? I can't really see any ice.  Sounds like I'll be going to have to get a service tech out here.

If it was ice it would have thawed by now. Feel fortunate that the filter/heat pump was not the one with the issue and wait for service to see what's wrong with the other pump.

[chaunceyboyblu]

we filled ours and it was bay below twenty. from a frost free outside spiggot and it is on well water so pretty cold. i dont think there is any way it could freeze in that short a time. it took about an hour on ours.

[Brewman]

The risk is that you may have an unanticipated problem, like not being able to power the spa up for some reason, in which case you'd have to figure out some way to keep the water from freezing until repairs got done. Be a bad time do discover a broken flow switch or something else that'd keep your heater from coming on.
Probably a low risk thing, but something to consider.
I won't do winter fills unless I absolutely have to.

[chaunceyboyblu]

what brewman says its totaly true, i didnt even think of that. i would have been soscrewed if it didnt work. the guy that sold it to me was helping, maybee he had a plan?

[Brewman]

It may not be common to have these problems, but when it's cold out like that, you have to be ready to deal with it.  
Knowing my luck at times- I'd be the one to have the problems.  

[Bonibelle]

I am just going to throw this out there but I am very inexperienced,  so first understand that.
My Epic arrived last Wednesday. We filled it and when the installer turned on the pumps, only one started. He tried several times but the first pump would start and shut down. It turns out that there was a valve that was closed. Apparently Marquis has a valve to allow a pump to be removed for replacement or service without draining the whole tub.  The valve was visible as soon as you open the control panel. I don't know if that could be your problem but it was a real simple fix. Good luck

[richny]

thanks for the input. The problem is that the 2nd pump goes on for a few seconds and pushes water, but then shuts down. I have ckd the valves and opened the drain to make sure it was not air locked. By going through the troubleshooting with the company tech support...they think its the pump that is bad. I am waiting the hear when they are coming out. I really am in no rush...my main pump/heater is working fine.

Thanks