Water too Hot!

[Spoiledrotten]

We just got our new HS Envoy. It seems to run perfectly, but the water doesn't seem to want to cool down. We like the temp around 93* - 95*. I've turned the heat down to 80* but the water still remains at around 100*. I know our weather has yielded some 90* - 94* days and 70* nights lately, but shouldn't the temp drop to that ambient temp over night?

Does the power need to be shut off at the breaker to reset anything or is this thing so well insulated that it holds the heat that well? What do you think?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 I think you have a well insulated spa, pretty much any full foam spa is going to help retain temps, not to mention the ambient air temp makes a difference as well.    A 24hr circ pump and main pump kicking on also contributes heat to the spa.  You might try draining half out, fill it with cold water then set it as low as it will go and gradually bring it up, or just leave it down and see where the temp goes..    Your water alone may be coming out at 50/60* already with warmer temps?? 

[Spoiledrotten]

Thanks for the advice, JJ! I'll try to use a little patience and see where the temps go. I set it on Summer Mode this morning, so may that will also help.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

to answer your question...yes it is insulated that well, even in the winter months with an outside temp of 10-20degrees that spa will take a week to freeze if all power was shut off, the down side is that in the summer it does take awhile to cool off...set the summer mode and if you need to cool it quickly add some cold tap water like someone mentioned above

[Spoiledrotten]

Great! Better that it's insulated that well than to have huge electric bills!

[Spoiledrotten]

No problems with the hot water now. I did set the summer timer so the water doesn't circulate through the equipment bay where the ambient temp is around 95 - 105 during the hotest part of the day. That is a great feature. Now, when we go out in the evening, the water is right where we had it set.

[mike]

No problems with the hot water now. I did set the summer timer so the water doesn't circulate through the equipment bay where the ambient temp is around 95 - 105 during the hotest part of the day. That is a great feature. Now, when we go out in the evening, the water is right where we had it set.

I'm looking at a H.S. Grandee the Vanguard floor was nice but the floor seemed a little small however we like a Lounger too. How do you like your Envoy so far? We live in Florida & you answered my thoughts on the heating issue. I'm looking @ D-1 + H.S. tubs which are both full foam tubs.  I wanted to ask what is the temp you can get it to now?  Hopefully we can get it to stay in the mid ninety's ?  My wife doesn't like it above 100 in the summer & not sure if this will be a problem due to full foam & living in Florida.  What state do you live in?  Sorry about all the questions.

Can I ask you to read my post I listed this morning 07/02/13 < Dimension One Chairman reflection > It's about the lounger foot jets. Can you reply to me how your Envoy lounge floor Jets are? Do you float in your lounge? I'm 6'2" do you thing I would fit in there?  I really would appreciate your feed back very much.  I love the H.S. Moto Jets just freaking Awesome!!  maybe you can give me some in site on your filtration system as well?

Is it difficult to get in & out of your Envoy. Dealer told us it would be due to lounger etc. ?

Thanks, Mike   

[Spoiledrotten]

I’ll have to use a couple of posts to answer due to the maximum allowable characters.

No problems with the hot water now. I did set the summer timer so the water doesn't circulate through the equipment bay where the ambient temp is around 95 - 105 during the hotest part of the day. That is a great feature. Now, when we go out in the evening, the water is right where we had it set.

I'm looking at a H.S. Grandee the Vanguard floor was nice but the floor seemed a little small however we like a Lounger too. How do you like your Envoy so far?

We LOVE our Envoy! We're in it most every evening, sipping on a glass of wine, then on Sat and Sun morings, were up early, sipping on our cup of coffee. It was a great choice for us.

We live in Florida & you answered my thoughts on the heating issue. I'm looking @ D-1 + H.S. tubs which are both full foam tubs.  I wanted to ask what is the temp you can get it to now? 

We are very comfortable with the temps now. It will creep up on you a little after you get in and start the pumps, but only by a few degrees. We have the temp set at 93% and after about an hour of soaking, it will have moved to around 96*. That's fine since we usually have a fan blowing in our directions, which makes everything just about perfect. I might add that we have the summer setting to take effect at 10:00 in the morning and last until 6:00 in the evening, which is about 30 – 60 minutes before we get in.

[Spoiledrotten]

Hopefully we can get it to stay in the mid ninety's ?  My wife doesn't like it above 100 in the summer & not sure if this will be a problem due to full foam & living in Florida.  What state do you live in? 

We live in central Mississippi and our biggest issue was usually the state birds (mosquitos) and other pesky flying insects, but shortly after we got our first spa, we bought a canvas style gazebo with bug netting all around.
To counter the heat situation, we also keep the top up on most nights after the soaking. That helps to get the temps back down during the cool night, then I simply lower the cover the next morning. This is the process that seems to work very well for us and we don’t have to worry about the insects getting in the water during the night with the cover open due to the mosquito netting around the tub.

Sorry about all the questions.

Can I ask you to read my post I listed this morning 07/02/13 < Dimension One Chairman reflection > It's about the lounger foot jets. Can you reply to me how your Envoy lounge floor Jets are?

The floor jets in the lounger aren't nearly as powerful as the foot well jets are. The foot well jets just about have to be turned down. Getting back to the lounger, those could use a little more zip, but they are still pretty soothing the way they are. They just don't compare very closely to the foot well or the calf jets in the other seats.

Do you float in your lounge? I'm 6'2" do you thing I would fit in there?  I really would appreciate your feed back very much.  I love the H.S. Moto Jets just freaking Awesome!!   

I'm also 6-2 and the lounge works "pretty" well for me. I don't float but the wife does slightly. If I want the jets hitting my shoulders just right, I have to slouch slightly, but most of my sessions in the lounger are just that; lounging but with the jets either set very low or off so I can enjoy the swirling water around me.

[Spoiledrotten]

Maybe you can give me some in site on your filtration system as well?

The filter seem to be super high quality. I can’t tell you much about them, but I’m sure a tech can. I love the fact that 100% of the water is being filtered with none bi-passing the filtration system. They are relatively expensive as I believe a new set of 5 will be around $350.00 but the lifespan of those are supposed to be around 5 year or more depending on how well you take care of them. I was also advised to rotate them since the one with the gray cover will be the one that is on 24/7 with the ozonator.

Is it difficult to get in & out of your Envoy. Dealer told us it would be due to lounger etc.?

This is a slight issue but is most likely the case will any hot tub. Before I built our steps, we were entering our tub over the wall where the water feature is. We had a small step stool in that area just outside of the spa. We could simply step over the wall and onto the flat portion of the foot well. That seemed very safe and easy. When I built the steps, I built them to the same dimensions as the high dollar steps sold by Hot Spring. I also used them to cover the entrance of the electrical, so that put us getting in over the lounger. You need to be very careful getting in there since the middle of the tub is right over the highest point of the lounger (the knee area), so now we have to step close to the portion of the lounger that supports the opposite side of your lap (   ).  That is not that big of a problem right now since I’m 54 and the wife is 45, but we may have to do something a little different when we’re a few years older. I even thought about building another set of steps like I have now, and putting them on the side where the water feature is. That would give me the “electrical” cover that I wanted for the other side and the entry and exit safety that I want for us. There’s also another down to getting in over the lounger. Those air controls on the lounger side stick out some, and I’m always worried that someone will break one off climbing over that wall.

Thanks, Mike

Mike, I hope this has addressed your questions, but if not, I’ll be more than glad to give you my take on it. I haven’t had this one long, but we truly enjoy it so far. I’m glad I went with this one.

[girlinhotwater]

Mike, I also have an Envoy since June 7th...and can vouch for everything said above by spoiledrotted. Filtration is amazing and water is crystal clear. The foot jets really pack some punch to the point of pain and I usually rotate the pressure down by turning the jet or by the smartjet levers. I am 5'4" and love the lounger, however my feet do not reach to foot jets in the lounger even if I slouch down. I use the high point of the lounger as my little cool down seat. As far as water temps go, I'm in upper IL and have my temp set to 96. I will most likely lower it a little bit when the summer kicks in.

I do not have my steps in front near the control panel for two reasons. One it was very hard to get in and out with the lounger, and two my ass kept turning things on and off on the control panel when I was getting in and out. I put my steps on the opposite side of the water feature and it's a breeze a nice flat seat to safely step in and out.

The Grandee was out of my budget but I also looked at the Vanguard and it boiled down to one little thing, when there are 3-5 people in the spa there is very little foot room. The Envoy has a bigger foot-well due to the design of the captains chair area. We love our Envoy too and use it almost every night.

[mike]

Maybe you can give me some in site on your filtration system as well?

The filter seem to be super high quality. I can’t tell you much about them, but I’m sure a tech can. I love the fact that 100% of the water is being filtered with none bi-passing the filtration system. They are relatively expensive as I believe a new set of 5 will be around $350.00 but the lifespan of those are supposed to be around 5 year or more depending on how well you take care of them. I was also advised to rotate them since the one with the gray cover will be the one that is on 24/7 with the ozonator.

Is it difficult to get in & out of your Envoy. Dealer told us it would be due to lounger etc.?

This is a slight issue but is most likely the case will any hot tub. Before I built our steps, we were entering our tub over the wall where the water feature is. We had a small step stool in that area just outside of the spa. We could simply step over the wall and onto the flat portion of the foot well. That seemed very safe and easy. When I built the steps, I built them to the same dimensions as the high dollar steps sold by Hot Spring. I also used them to cover the entrance of the electrical, so that put us getting in over the lounger. You need to be very careful getting in there since the middle of the tub is right over the highest point of the lounger (the knee area), so now we have to step close to the portion of the lounger that supports the opposite side of your lap (   ).  That is not that big of a problem right now since I’m 54 and the wife is 45, but we may have to do something a little different when we’re a few years older. I even thought about building another set of steps like I have now, and putting them on the side where the water feature is. That would give me the “electrical” cover that I wanted for the other side and the entry and exit safety that I want for us. There’s also another down to getting in over the lounger. Those air controls on the lounger side stick out some, and I’m always worried that someone will break one off climbing over that wall.

Thanks, Mike

Mike, I hope this has addressed your questions, but if not, I’ll be more than glad to give you my take on it. I haven’t had this one long, but we truly enjoy it so far. I’m glad I went with this one.

Wow, Thanks so much for all the information you sent me. This is really helpful, I think the D-1 chairman is out of the pitcure & fully back to the Hot Spring spa's. I'm so happy you & your wife are enjoying your new spa   Hope you have many more years to come.   There was another question on the ozonator sorry can't spell  it the H.S. highlife collection have the c.d. or is it a u.v. system?   I know the D-1 chairman has the uv light system & light needs replacement approximately once a year @ $75  5yrs= $375.00  I believe the cd set up is newer tech & more cost effective @ the 5yr date.  Anyway I need to find out a little more about that.  If H.S. has the CD system I;m going to order the new H.S. next week. Slight problem it's either the Envoy or the Grandee?    Oh yeah how do you like that Bella Fontana water feature w/changing lights? That really looks kool. Does it really change colors like the brochure shows?   I can't wait to order it next week  

Again thanks so much for all the help and good luck on the custom steps your building. To bad were not neighbors my wife is 51 & I'm 56. When your ready to retire some day check out the villages.com   We moved down here two years ago from NYS and never look back. This place is located in three counties and still growing. I sold my car & go everywhere in our golf carts.  I used to live in Florida years ago Tampa etc. and said I would never move to Fl again until I saw this place. My brother retire 6 yrs ago & we came for a visit only & were out the next day looking @ homes. I left travelers ins. monkey business got to be to stressful for me.  I started a p/t cleaning business down here cleaning homes with my wife & we couldn't be happier, we go to work in our golf cart, no chit Lol.

Ok, I'll stop now, nice to talk to you & T/C, Mike.

[Hot Spring Ace]

All the Highlife spas come with a CD ozonator factory installed, no chip or bulb to change. The Bella Fontana's lights do change colors along with all the other spa lights.

[mike]

Thanks Everyone for this import information. As I noted yesterday I will be ordering a new H.S. Highlife spa next week due to your valued information.

[Spoiledrotten]

Mike, I've been out of town, but as HPA noted, there is a CD system. And yes, the water feature is very cool. I didn't like the looks of the constipated water fall that was the other option, but the little wife and I really love the three stream water feature in the bellafontana. It's more of a fiber optic look. All of the light follows the water streams all the way to the pool. Very nice.