Jacuzzi J-350 Ozonator

[pratzert]

I've got a Jacuzzi J-350 with the Corona Discharge Ozonator.

I always used to see a small stream of bubbles coming out of the heater discharge stream.  I was told that the stream of tiny bubbles meant that my ozonator was working.

Now, I don't see the bubbles anymore.  Is there a way for me to trouble-shoot the ozonator to see if it is running or not?   I hate to have to pay a tech to come out if it's something small.  But I don't know where to start.

Any help is appreciated, especially from any Jacuzzi dealers ( curent or previous) or spa techs.

Thank You !    Tim

[J._McD]

How long have you had your spa and did you have the air bubbles before?  I would suggest that you locate the mazzie injector to which the ozone line is attached to.  The ozonator has a clear plastic tube that goes to the mazzie injector which is attached to the plumbing.  The line will have a white check valve attached to the line.  Pull the line apart and blow into the line toward the spa plumbing until you see air bubbles coming into the footwell and then reconnect it.  That will verify a clear path for the ozone to be sucked into the mazzie and produce tiny air bubbles.

We have experienced similar problems with a different spa and you may need a service call.  Let me know if this creates a continus supply of air bubbles like you had before.

[Spatech_tuo]

The bubbles being there or not being there has no bearing on whether your ozonator is working. If you were to simply unplug the ozonator the bubles would not change in any way other than the fact they would simply be air rather than ozone in this case. Bubbles stopping is an indication that your injector is not drawing air/ozone at teh entrance to teh injector or the check valve simply isn't opening any longer. Maybe disconnecting the line at the ozone and blowing through the tube as suggested to see if the line is clear will help (be careful, what's in the tube can be nasty) but it may be unblocked and may make no difference or may just work temporarily. Now IF the problem is calcium buildup at the injector and you can get it to start drawing some air again by blowing in the tube you may want to put a little vinegar in a cup and set it down in the equipment compartment and then place the ozone tube in it. Instead of drawing air into the injector it will draw the vinegar in with this setup which will break down the calcium. The vinegar of course is an acid so it may/will drop your Ph some so be prepared to stabilize that after you're finished but drawing some vinegar through the injector in this manner is a good thing to do every few years, especially if you're in an area with hard water.

[lawdawgva]

My dealer gave me an ozonator "care sheet" and while there is really not much you can do to care for an ozonator, the vinegar flush was one of the things on the list.  Unhook the  tubing from the nipple on the ozonator, then put some vinegar in a cup and place the tubing in the vinegar.  If you are gettting suction, this will pull the vinegar into the tubing and dissolve the calcium buildup as spatech mentioned.  If it won't draw anything, you might have a faulty check valve or the venturi injector might be defective or badly clogged.  In this case either replace the check valve or  unscrew the injector from the mazzie and clean the port well with a toothbrush and some CLR or LimeAway then reassemble and try again.

My Del Eclipse Platinum Ozonator has a green LED indicator light showing that power is coming to the unit and you can also hear a faint buzzing or humming coming from the unit which lets you know that it is working.  Good luck on the troubleshooting.

-Sarge

[pratzert]

Thank you everyone for your terrific ideas.

As soon as I can, I'm gunna make use of the suggestions.  It "sounds" like I may be able to fix it myself and save a few bucks.

Thank you all again.  Happy Holidays!  

Tim

[drewstar]

The bubbles being there or not being there has no bearing on whether your ozonator is working. .

Spatech t.u.o,

I understand that  the prescence of bubbles may not be a 100% gurantee that an ozinator is working, however, if there are no bubbles, doesn't that mean that there is definately somehting wrong with the ozone system?

[J._McD]

Spatech t.u.o,

I understand that  the prescence of bubbles may not be a 100% gurantee that an ozinator is working, however, if there are no bubbles, doesn't that mean that there is definately somehting wrong with the ozone system?

The presence of bubbles, or the absense thereof, indicates that the hydraulics are woking, or in this case, not working, it has nothing to do with the ozone.  The problem here is either insufficient draw or a blockage.  This has nothing to do with the ozonator itself.  It could be a "kinked" line running to the injector port either in the EQ area or possibly even in the foam.  If the flow is restricted by a bend in the clear plastic plumbing the warm temperatures soften the plastic line and it kinks.

This is a relativley new spa and has not had time to accumulate mineral build up.

[drewstar]

The presence of bubbles, or the absense thereof, indicates that the hydraulics are woking, or in this case, not working, it has nothing to do with the ozone.  The problem here is either insufficient draw or a blockage.  This has nothing to do with the ozonator itself.  It could be a "kinked" line running to the injector port either in the EQ area or possibly even in the foam.  If the flow is restricted by a bend in the clear plastic plumbing the warm temperatures soften the plastic line and it kinks.

This is a relativley new spa and has not had time to accumulate mineral build up.

In my little world,  I include the plumbing to and from the ozinator generator when mentioning the term   "ozone system".  Maybe this is where I am getting confused.

Would it be more accurate to say, if there are no bubbles, then there is no ozone entering the tub?

[Spatech_tuo]

Would it be more accurate to say, if there are no bubbles, then there is no ozone entering the tub?

yes and it would also be accurate to say that the presence of bubbles does not in any way tell you whether your ozonator is working because you could watch the bubbles flow and while watching you could unplug the ozonator and you would see no difference in the appearance of the bubbles. Absense of bubbles indicates your ozone plumbing has an issue. The best way to know your ozonator is working is to make sure you hear the buzz (a good barometer) and you can smell the ozone often if you ar familiar with the smell (same smell you get after a strong lightening storm).

[drewstar]

yes and it would also be accurate to say that the presence of bubbles does not in any way tell you whether your ozonator is working because you could watch the bubbles flow and while watching you could unplug the ozonator and you would see no difference in the appearance of the bubbles. Absense of bubbles indicates your ozone plumbing has an issue. The best way to know your ozonator is working is to make sure you hear the buzz (a good barometer) and you can smell the ozone often if you ar familiar with the smell (same smell you get after a strong lightening storm).

if I unplug the ozinator,  bubbles would still be produced?
I thought that the bubles were produced by the 03 converting back to 02?  IF there were no 03 being produced, then ther would be no bubbles.

If the ozonater is not producing the bubbles, what is?

[Spatech_tuo]

if I unplug the ozinator,  bubbles would still be produced?
I thought that the bubles were produced by the 03 converting back to 02?  IF there were no 03 being produced, then ther would be no bubbles.

If the ozonater is not producing the bubbles, what is?

The ozone plumbing draws just normal air through the line if the ozone is unplugged (unless you live in L.A. which means it's brown air). When the ozonator is plugged it creates ozone (O3), which then gets sucked in instead.

I'll harken back to your college days and give you an analogy that should make it click. Let's say you had a quite a few to drink at the frat house and stumbled home but decided you needed a little topper. You put a big bud in the bowl of your bong and start sucking on it. All of a sudden you realize "duh, I fergots to light it" because all you're getting is air no matter how hard you suck. Then you grab your Zippo ®, light up the bud and voila, a thick cloud enters your lungs as you lean back and grab the Doritos ®.

[drewstar]

Thanks. That makes sense.


cept for the bud part.  Put I just replaced "straw" with bud and it all made sense,  

[lawdawgva]

Let's put it this way, if the ozonator is working properly and doing what it is supposed to do, the bubbles you see will be "carriers" of O₃ or ozone.  If the ozonator is not functioning properly (not producing ozone), you will still see bubbles but they will be o₂, because it will simply be drawing in the ambient air as long as there is suction at the mazzie and the line isn't kinked or blocked.

I think some people get confused about the bubble issue.  We normally think of something "blowing" bubbles, but in the case of the mazzie/venturi set up, the bubbles you see are actually produced because of the suction at the venturi port.  The ozonoator is producing ozone which is in turn being sucked into the stream of water flowing through the mazzie, the unit is not "blowing" ozone bubbles into the water.  Hope that clears things up.

-Sarge

[drewstar]

Lawdawg

Both you and Spatech's  answer explained it  well to me.

Thanks.

It did not dawn on me that the system was drawing 02.

It was a slap on the head moment for me. Followed by a "Duh!" sound.

[lawdawgva]

As my grandmother used to say, "we learn something new everyday!".  

-Sarge