What's the Best Hot Tub

Author Topic: Conflicting information...  (Read 6498 times)

Gomboman

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1656
  • My Pride and Joy
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2007, 11:35:54 pm »
Yep, it smells like fresh watermelon to me. TL, take a light whiff of the bubbles when you're in the tub. You should be able to smell something.
2005 Hot Spring Envoy still going strong. Million-Mile Club....

I want to get in the spa business so I can surf the internet and use Photoshop all day long.

Hot Tub Forum

Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2007, 11:35:54 pm »

PotomacG

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 138
  • What's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding?
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2007, 07:43:10 am »
Quote


Exactly. And being a complete Batman nut, I have in the past said that too myself....which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to pick a few brains around here about, I have a switch that I'd like to use to open a panel. I've been playing with the idea for a while on how to do this and wonder if the motors that some spas use for pop up speakers (they are motors right?) would work?

Here's the switch:


I'd like to have it slide up a panel or picture.

Hey Drew,

Riddle me this...

Who's the Joker who posts Penquin pictures and jumps in his hot tub to avoid Mr. Freeze?

 ;D ;D ;D

Tatooed_Lady

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1386
  • Participating in the Witness Protection Program
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2007, 09:49:44 am »
Quote
Tat, If you've never washed the under side of your cover with a chlorine wash, it's time. Top sides of spa too. Maybe do it a second time in a day or two. Then check for the smell. If you put your nose right over where the bubbles come up there should be some ozone smell. If not, get 'em to check the ozone.
I haven't done a chlorine wash on the cover, but last night during our soak I DID sniff the bubbles (but NOT the ones hubby made all on his own   :o )  and could smell that "funky" smell, and I sniffered by one of the corners (away from bubbles) and I smelled the sanitizer-y smell....sooooo.....I'm guessing that the 'funky' smell is the ozone, since that's where I smelled it 'at the source'. I'm still balancing out the TA and pH, but that shouldn't make a difference in the smell, should it??
RIP C-Rod

Vermonter

  • Junior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 75
  • Patriots!!!!!!!
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #18 on: January 12, 2007, 11:19:39 am »
Hi TTL!

In another post I had tried to describe a method to "capture" the bubbles coming from the ozonator pump train so that you can then "smell" the collected gas to determine if ozone was present.  It involved a glass jar or tumbler, inverted, held over the bubbles until the gas displaced the water, covering the opening and raising the container to the surface, putting it right-side up again and then smelling (quickly) the gas.

That works, but I wanted to mention another approach that you and others might find easier.  Obtain a small-diameter tube that is long enough to go from a perhaps a half-foot above the water in your tub down to the "ozone"  bubbles that are coming from the bottom of your tub.  This can be as simple as a 1/2" piece of copper piping or PVC.  It can be larger than 1/2", but that may cause some problems.  Using the pipe, place one end over a spot the bubbles are emerging and raise the pipe to the vertical position.  Your goal is to get enough bubbles to rise within the pipe so that the air in the pipe that is above your water level gets replaced by the gas of the bubbles.  Depending on how many bubbles you are getting, this may take a while - or it may not work at all.  But if you hold the pipe in place and give it a minute or so and then start smelling the end of the pipe, sooner or later you should smell something other than "air" - if you do, then it pretty much has to be ozone (regardless of whether it smells funky, like watermelons, clean, etc. - those are all sort of subjective descriptions that may not apply for all "smellers").

The key is that you need to wait long enough so that the air in the pipe / tube (above the water level) is pretty much displaced by the bubbles from your ozonator.

Best,

Vermonter

drewstar

  • Mentor Level Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5274
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #19 on: January 12, 2007, 11:39:38 am »
Quote
Hi TTL!

In another post I had tried to describe a method to "capture" the bubbles coming from the ozonator pump train so that you can then "smell" the collected gas to determine if ozone was present.  It involved a glass jar or tumbler, inverted, held over the bubbles until the gas displaced the water, covering the opening and raising the container to the surface, putting it right-side up again and then smelling (quickly) the gas.

That works, but I wanted to mention another approach that you and others might find easier.  Obtain a small-diameter tube that is long enough to go from a perhaps a half-foot above the water in your tub down to the "ozone"  bubbles that are coming from the bottom of your tub.  This can be as simple as a 1/2" piece of copper piping or PVC.  It can be larger than 1/2", but that may cause some problems.  Using the pipe, place one end over a spot the bubbles are emerging and raise the pipe to the vertical position.  Your goal is to get enough bubbles to rise within the pipe so that the air in the pipe that is above your water level gets replaced by the gas of the bubbles.  Depending on how many bubbles you are getting, this may take a while - or it may not work at all.  But if you hold the pipe in place and give it a minute or so and then start smelling the end of the pipe, sooner or later you should smell something other than "air" - if you do, then it pretty much has to be ozone (regardless of whether it smells funky, like watermelons, clean, etc. - those are all sort of subjective descriptions that may not apply for all "smellers").

The key is that you need to wait long enough so that the air in the pipe / tube (above the water level) is pretty much displaced by the bubbles from your ozonator.

Best,

Vermonter

Take a funnel, attatch  a length of hose to it's spout, invert the funnel over the O3 port, and the run the hose/tub up  to smell for ozone.   similair to the sniffer funnels you see dangling from the bumber of Gas Co vans.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2007, 11:40:24 am by drewstar »
07 Caldera Geneva

Vermonter

  • Junior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 75
  • Patriots!!!!!!!
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #20 on: January 12, 2007, 11:55:43 am »
Quote

Take a funnel, attatch  a length of hose to it's spout, invert the funnel over the O3 port, and the run the hose/tub up  to smell for ozone.   similair to the sniffer funnels you see dangling from the bumber of Gas Co vans.

Perfect!  I like it.  Thanks, drewstar!

Vermonter

drewstar

  • Mentor Level Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5274
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #21 on: January 12, 2007, 12:04:00 pm »
actually would it really  work?   wouldnt the hose just fill with water being pushed by the circ pump?
07 Caldera Geneva

neocacher

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 190
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2007, 12:10:34 pm »
I have heard people describe the smell from "fresh" to "sickly sweet".  I think it all depends on how your "sniffer" interperets it.  I have an ozone air purifier, with controlable ozone.  When it is set to low, it smells fine;  when I have the setting up to high, it makes me gag.  Natural ozone is nature's oxidizer formed by lighting (in thunderstorms) adding an extra electron to an Oxygen molecule.  However in man-made-situations and too high of a concentration, it is a pollutant, potentially deadly, and smells foul.

Neo
« Last Edit: January 12, 2007, 12:13:40 pm by neocacher »

Vermonter

  • Junior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 75
  • Patriots!!!!!!!
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #23 on: January 12, 2007, 12:21:44 pm »


drewstar,

I had the same thought and true, it might be a problem, but the water flow should follow the path of least resistance.  So, if you offset the funnel slightly, the bulk of the water flow should take the path of least resistance and go around (bypass) the  funnel but enough of the bubbles should still go up so that you get the concentrating effect you are going after.

This is a bit interesting from another standpoint.  Several years ago I wanted to confirm or refute allegations that HS heaters put out water that had temperatures above regulation based levels.  Claims were being made by one individual that the water was much above what spec's allowed.

In that case I used a 4 " diameter section of PVC pipe and a NBS (National Bureau of Standards) calibrated thermometer probe and tried to do what you are concerned about - namely capture all the flow from the recirc pump (which carries all the water from the HS heater), let it come to equilibrium and then monitor the temperature to confirm steady-state.

I forget the exact measurement, but as I recall, the temperature was about 120'F - and was within the regulatory level being cited by the individual as being significantly exceeded by HS heaters.

The relevance of this to the present situation is that I found it was critical to position the pipe completely over the drain / heater return fitting.  If I didn't, then the temperature would drop a few tenths of a degree due to my capturing some of the regular tub water vs. the water coming directly from the heater.  This makes me think that the problem you mention can probably be avoided - but I don't know.  If you try it, please report back.  I'll definitely try it myself sometime in the not too distant future.

Best,

Vermonter

drewstar

  • Mentor Level Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5274
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2007, 12:27:56 pm »
Well, if you wanted to take some time to build a o3 sniffer and collector,  use an inverted funnel attatched to some piping. On the other other end,  would rigging  of some sort of "seperator" work? I'm thinking on making a bend in the pipe that allows the water to drain off, but allow the o3 to rise off above it and into a collection chamber? This could be something   as simple as   90 degree  'T"  or  collection to bowl /chamber with a slow bottom drain.

 or pehaps something like a mix between what brewers use to watch the outgas/fermentation from a vat, (Breman help me out here...) or perhaps a diverter valve similliar to the those found at the end of a snorkel?
« Last Edit: January 12, 2007, 12:33:44 pm by drewstar »
07 Caldera Geneva

Brewman

  • Ultimate Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4092
  • Lead me not into temptation- I can find it myself!
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #25 on: January 12, 2007, 02:04:47 pm »
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but in brewing beer the fermenter needs to be vented to allow the CO2 that is created by fermentation to escape.
 This is typically done by an airlock- the airlock lets CO2 escape out into the atmosphere, but will not allow anything to flow into the fermenter.  

The CO2 that escapes is just vented into the atmosphere- it's not captured.  Which is a little ironic since CO2 needs to be added back at some point to give the beer it's carbonation.  

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but that's how it works in brewing.
Brewman

LtDan

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 394
  • Jacuzzi J345
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #26 on: January 12, 2007, 02:22:40 pm »
Quote
Well, if you wanted to take some time to build a o3 sniffer and collector,  use an inverted funnel attatched to some piping. On the other other end,  would rigging  of some sort of "seperator" work? I'm thinking on making a bend in the pipe that allows the water to drain off, but allow the o3 to rise off above it and into a collection chamber? This could be something   as simple as   90 degree  'T"  or  collection to bowl /chamber with a slow bottom drain.

 or pehaps something like a mix between what brewers use to watch the outgas/fermentation from a vat, (Breman help me out here...) or perhaps a diverter valve similliar to the those found at the end of a snorkel?

I'm guessing you may have built a bong or two back in the day?  ;D

drewstar

  • Mentor Level Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5274
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #27 on: January 12, 2007, 02:47:33 pm »
Quote

I'm guessing you may have built a bong or two back in the day?  ;D

 No sir, officer.
07 Caldera Geneva

Tatooed_Lady

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1386
  • Participating in the Witness Protection Program
Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #28 on: January 12, 2007, 10:18:01 pm »
 :o all I can say to this thread at this point is "wow"...I didn't think it'd get this much interest, but I'm glad it has! I didn't do the funneled tube to the exit point to the sniffer test, just cupped my hand slightly over the point that the bubbles hit the top of the water, took a whiff, and went from there....guess as technical as I CAN be, that was more of a "wing it" style.
So, if I'm reading the last post by neo correctly....a funky odor could mean that there's too MUCH ozone being produced?
RIP C-Rod

Hot Tub Forum

Re: Conflicting information...
« Reply #28 on: January 12, 2007, 10:18:01 pm »

 

Home    Buying Guide    Featured Products    Forums    Reviews    About    Contact   
Copyright ©1998-2024, Whats The Best, Inc. All rights reserved. Site by Take 42