Total Newbie Question

[Wonderwall]

Ok, so I am a super newbie when it comes to Hot Tubs.

We recently bought a house that happened to have a hot tub.  Before we moved in the cover was left open and leaves,  dirt and algae took over.  So last night I got around to opening it up and cleaning everything.  Although the cover was left open the surface appears to be in A+ shape.

Since the hot tub was installed before we bought the place I don't have a user manual.  And like I said, I know nothing about hot tubs!  What I do know is that the electrical panel says 2000 Balboa M7.

So here is where the super stupid question comes...

How do I turn the hot tub on to see if it works?  The tub is empty right now.  Do I need to fill it in order to check?  I flipped the breaker switch and nothing happened.  Is this a safety mechanism or is it broken?

[hottubdan]

Start by filling the tub.

[Vinny]

As far as nothing happened - it could be a circuit breaker off or a GFI tripped or something as simple as no water in the tub.

After filling the tub through the filter's hole and checking if it works (lets assume it does), buy some type of tub cleaner like swirl away and let it run for about a day. Turn on the pumps many times and adust whatever knobs being careful not to put on the air valve (the water becomes more turbulent and it'll have more air bubles) and get it clean internally. Nothing will happen to the tub if you put the air valve on but you might experience 4 feet of foam. If you're lucky, the pipes didn't get too much crud in it.

After runnning, drain and fill and check PH, adjust to 7.2 to 7.6 (we can help you or a local pool/spa store can too) and hit the tub with about a cup of dichlor and leave that for a day. Again run the pumps and adjust the various knobs - nothing to worry about here. Turn the power off,  dump the water and throw out the filter (take it with you to buy a new one before throwing it out).

Now the tub is clean and disinfected.

Fill the tub up and put the filter on and start it up.

If you get to this part you're ready for the water chemistry lesson!

Good Luck and let us know how you made out.

[hottub.pool_boy]

fill it and turn the breaker on. Would be good to test the gfci. If the spa does not have a gfci breaker or gfci protection, call an electrician. A professional spa retailer in your area is a good allie.

Balboa is the name of the manufacurer of the equipment, not the assembler of the spa. You want a manual for that M7 unit. Probably get it online @ balboa.

[Tatooed_Lady]

as far as figuring out what tub you've got, maybe you could check inside the cabinet where you found "balboa" listed, and find a couple other part manufacturers stickers? The guys on this forum are really good at figuring out obscure stuff.....maybe you could post a picture, as well....the more you can give in information, the easier it will be for them to help you out.
Good Luck!!

[Wisoki]

Certainly fill the spa before turning the circuit on. Even with no water in the tub though, there shoud have been some sort of reaction to power being applied. Since you say NOTHING happened, my first assumption is the service disconnect is off. It will be either a pull out style, or a secondary circuit breaker. So, get as many of the leaves out as you can, fill the tub, check the service disconnect, then turn the main circuit on, with fingers crossed.

I flipped the breaker switch and nothing happened.  Is this a safety mechanism or is it broken?[/b]

[Chas]

Clean it thoroughly, fill it completely, and call a technician. The money you spend on the tech will be worth a fortune in ruined/damaged gear, 'learning curve' frustrations, hot tub rash medication, and general time wasting.

And if you get the right person, you should end up with a good handle on not only the equipment operation of your tub, but some basic chem care skills as well.