We picked up an Intex PureSpa on prime day and set it up about 10 days ago. We first tried setting it up with chlorine but even with one tablet it was releasing the chlorine too fast into the water and it had a horrible chloramine smell even after shocking it to 20 ~ 30 ppm. I eventually drained it scrubbed the tub down and flushed the "pipes" out with fresh water. I have now refilled it and gotten the alkalinity down to 100 ppm and the pH to 7.5. I added 99% sodium bromide to bring the concentration to about 30 ppm. The spa has a built in calcium removal system that bring the calcium down to around 200ppm. I'm using the Spa Selections bromide tablets from Walmart. They contain 54.2% 1-bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin 28.9% 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin 15.9% 1,3-dichloro-5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin and 1% other ingredients (If that help anyone). I had added the tablets before adding the sodium bromide. Now that I have added the bromide it had developed a horrible smell just like the chlorine did. So I shocked it with the Spa Selections Non-Chlorine Shock which contains 44.7% Potassium Monopersulfate and 55.3% Inert ingredients. My test kit shows the bromine is around 4 ppm but when the bubbles are on it creates a horrible smell that burns your eyes and nose. Also no one has been in the spa yet so there shouldn't be any ammonia in the water. If anyone needs any more information feel free to ask.
Issues with very strong bromine smell in Intex Purespa
- Thread starter Micim987
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Do you have a test kit that is capable of testing combined chlorine/bromine? Those species of chlorine/bromine are what you smell more potently than simple chlorine or bromine. When you have combined chlorine/bromine products, that means that your sanitizer is actively oxidizing organic material. Even in a new spa, the lines can be contaminated with bacteria and biofilms from residual water sitting in the lines/spa from its initial pressure testing at the factory.
What you likely need to do is maintain a bromine concentration of 10 ppm or higher until you are noticing less smell and/or are not detecting combined bromine with your test kit. A FAS-DPD chlorine/bromine test is necessary to test for CC accurately. For now, as long as you have already added your bromine bank (sodium bromide), you can use regular bleach to quickly elevate your bromine level to 10 ppm. Chlorine immediately converts residual bromide to bromine when added to the tub.
Do you have a test kit that is capable of testing combined chlorine/bromine? Those species of chlorine/bromine are what you smell more potently than simple chlorine or bromine. When you have combined chlorine/bromine products, that means that your sanitizer is actively oxidizing organic material. Even in a new spa, the lines can be contaminated with bacteria and biofilms from residual water sitting in the lines/spa from its initial pressure testing at the factory.
What you likely need to do is maintain a bromine concentration of 10 ppm or higher until you are noticing less smell and/or are not detecting combined bromine with your test kit. A FAS-DPD chlorine/bromine test is necessary to test for CC accurately. For now, as long as you have already added your bromine bank (sodium bromide), you can use regular bleach to quickly elevate your bromine level to 10 ppm. Chlorine immediately converts residual bromide to bromine when added to the tub.
You probably used the wrong type of chlorine tablets originally. The easiest way (not the cheapest or most recommended here) is to by dichlor granuals. You probably only need a teaspoon to tablespoon every other day and you won't have a heavy chlorine smell. If you time the adding of chlorine to after you use the tub, the next time you use it, most of the chlorine has been burned off and you are in "water" vs "chemicals".
I found that bromine has a much stronger smell than chlorine so I switched methods to the dichlor method. Bleach is probably cheaper but I prefer the granuals. It is stabilized so CYA could be an issue over time but most of us replace water every 3 months or so.
I found that bromine has a much stronger smell than chlorine so I switched methods to the dichlor method. Bleach is probably cheaper but I prefer the granuals. It is stabilized so CYA could be an issue over time but most of us replace water every 3 months or so.