First fill EVER questions.....

[Tatooed_Lady]

I know this has been asked before....but in the interest of doing things right the FIRST time around, I'll ask anyhow...
I've read that people on here have their chemicals added soon enough after filling that they can hop in just as the tub comes up to temp....is this just after you've got "the program" down, as to how much of what to level it all out, based on your water's properties?
According to what our dealer stated, just balancing the alk could take a good portion of the day, because you add a little chemical.....wait an hour or two, test, add more chemical......wait.....test.....and before sanitizing and pH are considered, this has to be RIGHT, if I've understood things correctly?
First fill EVER, how long can this take to get alk on target? (not to be confused with the UPSCALE store, Tar'get)

[Brookenstein]

I'm a lucky one... I've got perfect ALK and PH out of the tap, so I do nothing to it.  I just wait till the tub is filled, powered up, then I add my stain and scale stuff and a bit of dichlor then call it good until the water is hot and I can get in.

[Vinny]

Your bathtub er, I mean hot tub can be used immediately if you so choose.

I would get a water sample and take it to your dealer and see how far off the mark it is. Also, there are ballpark figures in the Taylor handbook that states how much of anything needed to get to a specific reading for a specific volume ... one such reading is at 400 gallons - around the size of most tubs and not too far off + or - of others.

I usually add chems except for chlorine as it's heating (10+ hours) and it is ready to use once it's at temp.

Yes, bad water can be corrosive to your tub or pit the tub but it doesn't happen immediately.

[Snowbird]

Brook,

That was gonna be my next avatar.

I guess I gotta look around some more.

SB

[Snowbird]

I know this has been asked before....but in the interest of doing things right the FIRST time around, I'll ask anyhow...
I've read that people on here have their chemicals added soon enough after filling that they can hop in just as the tub comes up to temp....is this just after you've got "the program" down, as to how much of what to level it all out, based on your water's properties?
According to what our dealer stated, just balancing the alk could take a good portion of the day, because you add a little chemical.....wait an hour or two, test, add more chemical......wait.....test.....and before sanitizing and pH are considered, this has to be RIGHT, if I've understood things correctly?
First fill EVER, how long can this take to get alk on target? (not to be confused with the UPSCALE store, Tar'get)

T-Lady
The best source for this info is your dealer or the owner's manual.  Each tub may be a little different.  But here is what I did.

1. Do NOT turn on the power until the tub is filled.
2. Fill tub with tab water.  Unless your water is all gunky it should be fine.
3. If you have a water softener, check the owner's manual or your dealer.
4. Once tub is filled, turn on the power to tub.
5.  Follow start up instructions in manual regarding control panel settings.
6. Once pumps are running, add initial chemicals.  (all I needed to do was add 4 oz of Activate.  Ozonator and chem stick did the rest.
7.  Allow tub to heat up.  Most tubs claim 4 degrees per hour, but on last fill my tub went from 48 to 55 in 65 minutes.  Time will vary.
8. Once tub is warm test for pH and chemicals.  Adjust as required.
9.  You should be able to use the tub when it's warm enough unless the chemicals use prohibit that.

I recommend 2 music CD's depending on your mood.

There is nothing like Santana's Abraxas played loud to get your sexual libido going.  

And for relaxing it's Kenny G played softly.  

Enjoy.

[Tatooed_Lady]

I realize this is pretty much a "YMMV" topic....I just wanted to get the gist of things.....I should probably take a sample of our tap water in for testing, though. It'll be interesting to see what it reads off the bat.