Nature2 Cartridge hassles

[Chas]

Friends, I have had to do some non-warranty service work on five spas which all had the same problem: the Nature2 cartridge 'let go' and filled the jet pump and/or circ pump up with little spheres and with plastic debris.

All of these tubs had owners who either didn't have any idea the thing was there, or just figured it wouldn't hurt to ignore the cartridge for three years or so...

So, here's a 'heads up.' If you leave your Nature2 cartridge in  place for years, it may very well fall apart and that may be a big problem.

They are designed to be in the water 4 months, not four years.

[Tatooed_Lady]

maybe it's silly to say this, BUT.....maybe they didn't get the lowdown on what the n2 system is, and replacement of it, etc from the dealer when they bought the tub? Were they purchased from the same dealer, perchance?

[Tubaholic]

Or the other side of the coin is some people are just plain LAZY........

[Tatooed_Lady]

Or the other side of the coin is some people are just plain LAZY........

AGREED.

[windsurfdog]

If Chas were the dealer, then it's DEFINITELY USER ERROR!  I can't imagine anyone owning a Chas tub that wouldn't be thoroughly educated....goodness knows I've learned quite a bit from him over the past couple of years.

(The above comments have NOTHING to do with the EFT initiated from southern California that should hit my account soon.... )

[drewstar]

Friends, I have had to do some non-warranty service work on five spas which all had the same problem: the Nature2 cartridge 'let go' and filled the jet pump and/or circ pump up with little spheres and with plastic debris.

All of these tubs had owners who either didn't have any idea the thing was there, or just figured it wouldn't hurt to ignore the cartridge for three years or so...

So, here's a 'heads up.' If you leave your Nature2 cartridge in  place for years, it may very well fall apart and that may be a big problem.

They are designed to be in the water 4 months, not four years.

Thansk Chas!

I've had mine in for several months.  Based on your post, I will be taking it out tomorrow.   I had left it in thinking, what's the harm?  But didn't even consider the unit spilling it's beads....Damn. I would have been fit to be tied.

Thanks again from this lazy spa owner.

I

[drewstar]

maybe it's silly to say this, BUT.....maybe they didn't get the lowdown on what the n2 system is, and replacement of it, etc from the dealer when they bought the tub? Were they purchased from the same dealer, perchance?

I got the lowdown on what the system is and it was heavly pushed by the sales rep.  I bought the unit, he installed it.  If I liked it, I was told to replace it every 3 months.  I wasn't left any paper work on the cartidge and wasn't made aware that it should be removed after 3 months.


I wasn't impressed with it and haven't touched it since.   (9 months).  Let's just say  I'd be a bit annoyed with the rep if it did break and did spill out into the pumps.  I am glad I am removing it.

[Tman122]

I ignore my tub between uses more than I should and the N2 helps in this respect with keeping my water cleaner. I notice after about 3-4 months that the water starts to deteriorate quicker between uses. So I change N2.

Thanks Chas for the heads up. They don't call you the "Spa Nazi" for nothing.

[hottubdan]

chas,

In your case are you referring to Nature2 cartidges in Hot Spring spas or Hot spring's private label AG+?

We have had Nature2 cartridges improperly installed in Hot Spring spas ending up in the jet pump.

Never had an issue with the deteriorating cartridges.  Maybe we have our customers trained to change their cartridges.

[Chas]

chas,

In your case are you referring to Nature2 cartidges in Hot Spring spas or Hot spring's private label AG+?

We have had Nature2 cartridges improperly installed in Hot Spring spas ending up in the jet pump.

Never had an issue with the deteriorating cartridges.  Maybe we have our customers trained to change their cartridges.

Actually, we had three AG+ silver ion cartridges let go - these were a mix of folks who bought the home with the spa in it and didn't know that the thing was even in there, and folks who just decided to not replace it but chose to leave the old one in place for years. The other two were Yellow N2 cartridges with the extension sticks which were put into Tiger River spas. In one the cart. let go, in the other the extension sticks came off and worked there way into BOTH jet pumps. I can only figure that this customer had twin cartridges in, or that they left the old one in when they added a new one.

This latter couple owns a "Siberian" model spa with two hollow cores in the two filters. My tech turned on the jets and it was obvious which pump was affected. After draining the tub, clearing the pump, reassembling and refilling, he turned on the jets only to realize that the noise of the one pump had hidden the noise of the other pump and he had to repeat the proceedure (at my expense) for the second pump. He should have run first one pump, then the other...

I have never had a cartridge go bad when it is changed at four months as Nature2 recommends. Also keep in mind that the private label versions are supposed to be identical to the yellow ones except for a very important set of tabs which keep them from dropping into the plumbing when used on Watkins products.

[Gomboman]

Chas, just curious if you run a N2 cartridge at home? Do you believe in them? I'm running one at home but can't really tell if it's doing anything. I've taken mine out a couple of times and haven't seen a huge difference in my water quality--I also use ozone. I think I'll run more of a scientific test in the future. What's your thought on this topic?

[Chas]

I like Nature2. I run one with Ozone when I actually have a spa at home. I will be running them in our 2006 floor models spas - it is important that we have as little chlorine odor as possible on the showroom floor, but of course we want spanking-clean water.

But I sure won't ever forget to remove the cartidge after four months from now on!